WASHINGTON — The Democratic National Committee ended June with $18.5 million in debt and just $16.3 million cash on hand — a much smaller war chest than the Republican National Committee, which at the end of June had $129 million cash on hand. Political operatives in a midterm election year will tell you that’s cause for alarm as Democrats seek to retake the House and make a longshot bid for the Senate.

3.14 Action, a Democratic-aligned political action committee, isn’t having such a problem.

The PAC has raised and invested $25 million this cycle alone to elect candidates with scientific backgrounds up and down the ballot in some of the most competitive races.

“We’re one of the very few organizations that actually gets engaged in primaries. Most of these national groups stay out of the primaries, engage in general elections, so therefore our influence in primaries becomes really outsized,” said Josh Morrow, the co-founder and chief strategist of 3.14 Action. 

“We take a lot of calculated risk where most organizations don’t, and when we invest in a candidate, we invest —we come in, we raise them a lot of money, we spend a lot of money on the independent expenditure side for them,” he said.

Since launching a decade ago, 3.14 Action has raised $100 million for candidates. Morrow added that he thinks his organization could raise another $25 million from grassroots donors before the cycle is up.

“We are largely based on our grassroots network, and they are very engaged with a lot of the candidates that we’re raising for,” Morrow explained. 

3.14 Action was born out of Morrow’s experience alongside Shaughnessy Naughton during her campaign for Congress in 2014. Naughton, a chemist, had no political background and was running against “the DCCC’s handpicked candidate,” as Morrow described it.

“We built this list of scientists who gave [money] to her, and so we got thinking: Is there no organization out there that exists for people who have a science or STEM background to run for office?”

The PAC has endorsed more than 400 candidates running up and down the ballot this cycle, including 20 new federal and statewide candidates, and more than 300 state legislature candidates.

Morrow said he believes “the road to taking back the House majority runs through 3.14.”

“Every day, the Republicans are doing everything they can to dismantle and gut healthcare and research funding and vaccine skepticism. And so I think we have these unique candidates that are outsiders that bring a different perspective and I think donors like that,” Morrow explained, pointing to some of the country’s most competitive races that have Democratic candidates with science, technology, engineering, and math backgrounds, also known as STEM.

“Donors recognize that candidate quality really matters, and I think that’s why we keep raising and exceeding our goals because we have quality candidates,” he added.

Some candidates who have been on the receiving end of 3.14’s financial support so far this cycle include Dr. Amish Shah, an emergency room physician running for Arizona’s 1st Congressional District, Dr. Richard Pan, a pediatrician running in California’s 6th District, and Dr. Jasmine Clark, a microbiologist running in Georgia’s 13th District. 

Nine of this year’s 3.14-backed candidates are listed on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s “red to blue” program, which targets the seats Democrats see as most viable to flip in their quest to take control of the House this November. 3.14 Action, over the last ten years, has helped to flip a number of these targeted seats, including California’s 27th District for Rep. George Whitesides nearly two years ago.

“It’s critical we elect members of Congress who understand why we need to invest in research and innovation, and can join our fight to not only stop the devastating cuts coming from the White House, but make serious progress on climate change, natural disasters, and disease prevention,” said Whitesides, a former NASA chief of staff. “Our country’s global leadership depends on it.”

The PAC launched a “Guardians of Public Health” program following the confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. last year with the goal of electing 100 doctors across the country to state and federal offices. 

“As a doctor, I know firsthand how important that real-world experience is when Congress is making decisions that affect people’s health and safety,” said Rep. Ami Bera, a doctor who is running in California’s newly redrawn 3rd Congressional District. “I’m grateful for the work 3.14 Action Fund is doing to elect more of these leaders.”

Bera is just one of six physicians that 3.14 Action is working to reelect to Congress in 2026, including Dr. Maxine Dexter in Oregon’s 3rd District and Dr. Kelly Morrison in Minnesota’s 3rd District.

“We’re bringing this unique, diverse perspective and the candidate quality, Morrow said. “I do think we are the future.” 

While the organization has enjoyed a high rate of success over the last decade, not all primary efforts by 3.14 Action to elect more candidates with STEM backgrounds have been successful.

Dr. Jasmeet Bains lost her primary in California’s 22nd Congressional District in June. Dr. Ala Stanford came in a distant third in her Pennsylvania primary in May, despite 3.14 Action sinking more than $1 million into television ads leading up to Election Day. 

Morrow is not letting these losses stop his committee from keeping its eye on the prize.

“We actually have a whole side of our organization that all they do is they recruit candidates. They will start November 1 or right after the election, and whatever seats are available, seats that are going to be up next cycle, they’re already recruiting for,” he explained. 

And while national Democratic organizations like the DNC grapple with cash flow concerns and messaging problems, Morrow hopes they will look to organizations like his and see what can be a blueprint of success.

“We like to take calculated risks and we’re not conventional thinkers — we think outside the box, and I think part of this environment in politics is you can’t be conventional,” Morrow said. 

Editor's Note: This article was updated to correct that 3.14 Action is working to reelect six physicians, not seven. It also was updated to correctly identify Dr. Maxine Dexter of Oregon’s 3rd District as one of the physicians of Congress 3.14 Action is working to reelect. (Aug. 3, 2026)