AMERICAN elections are generally not won or lost on science. However, some scientific issues are bound to be on the minds of many voters in the run-up to the midterm elections on 7 November. Concerns over stem cells, carbon emissions and energy policy could even play a part in toppling the Republican party鈥檚 12-year majority in the House of Representatives (see 鈥淒ecision time for America鈥�).
While newspaper headlines will focus on the shifting fortunes of the Republicans and Democrats in Congress, the change that may prove more significant for scientists is happening within the Republican party itself.
After six years of a White House mindset that famously eschews 鈥渞eality-based鈥� thinking, there are clear signs that the US electorate is dissatisfied. As a matter of survival, Republican candidates are therefore taking up positions that are pointedly at odds with those of the Bush administration, particularly over matters such as climate change, where the White House is perceived to be especially antagonistic towards the scientific community.
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All this should come as welcome news for the close to 10,000 researchers who signed a petition from the Union of Concerned 杏吧原创s voicing concern over the administration鈥檚 misuse of science in pursuit of its political agenda. The move by many Republicans to portray themselves in a different light suggests that, whatever happens on 7 November, the relationship between US scientists and legislators could be about to change for the better.