August 10, 2021

PHILADELPHIA — Today, with the news breaking that John Cranley is officially entering the Ohio gubernatorial race, 314 Action Fund re-emphasized its endorsement of and support for Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley in the same race. 

Whaley has solidified support — both political and fundraising — since her launch earlier this year. She has endorsements from key labor unions (OAPSE/AFSCME Local 4, IUE-CWA, the Ohio State Council of Machinists, SEIU District 1199, CWA District 4), local elected officials, and national groups and figures, including 314 Action. Whaley also made history with her most recent fundraising report, announcing that she has raised more in the first half of the off year than any Democratic challenger in this race has in the past.

314 Action Communications Director Alexandra De Luca released the following statement:

“There is no stronger or more qualified candidate in the Ohio governor race than Mayor Nan Whaley, and we are proud to stand with her in this fight. Her background in science, alongside her demonstrated, successful leadership as mayor of Dayton, proves that she knows how to truly help those she was elected to serve. Other candidates can join the fray, but only one — Nan Whaley — has what it takes to take on the anti-science, anti-facts Republican nominee next November.”

Ahead of critical election, 314 Action Fund will commit its vast resources and six-million-strong membership base of grassroots supporters to ensure that Whaley’s campaign has the backing it needs to win this November. During the 2020 election cycle, 314 Action Fund’s independent expenditure arm spent over $11.5 million in support of science candidates, including significant expenditures in several primary contests.

In 2022, 314 Action Fund will aim to spend $50 million to elect scientists across all levels of government, with initial targets of seven U.S. Senate races, forty U.S. House races, and twenty-one statewide races — including the Ohio gubernatorial race. In 2020, the organization spent $25 million on behalf of its endorsed candidates and raised a total of $5 million in grassroots donations for scientists running for office.

ABOUT NAN WHALEY:

Nan Whaley came from a family that raised her to know the value of determination and hard work. Her dad was an Ironworker, and her mom worked at a laundromat close to their family home. Whaley was the first person in her family to graduate from college, earning a chemistry degree from the University of Dayton.

As mayor of Dayton since 2013, Whaley has led the city through some of its most pressing challenges by following the facts and fighting for evidence-based policies. Whaley has focused the city government’s resources on combating the opioid crisis and successfully reducing overdose deaths by 50 percent. Under her leadership, the city established universal, high-quality pre-K for the city’s children. In the wake of the mass shooting that killed nine people in Dayton in 2019, Whaley combined empathetic leadership with a do-now attitude to bring attention to the urgent need for common sense legislation to curb gun violence, one of the biggest public health crises facing our nation.

Whaley is running for governor because corruption by Ohio politicians and power brokering by corporate interest groups have left Ohioans’ voices unheard in Columbus. Whaley is stepping up because Ohioans deserve a leader they can trust to do the right thing — in their interests, not in those of big corporations.

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314 Action Fund is powered by a grassroots community of over six million people working to elect scientists, doctors, and STEM professionals who will use science and facts to address our most pressing issues like climate change and health care. In 2018 and 2020, we played a pivotal role in flipping the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, electing eleven Democratic scientists to federal office, as well as over 100 to state and local offices. In 2021 and 2022, 314 Action Fund will continue working to elect science leaders and defeat climate deniers in Congress and legislatures across the country.