Winning the House majority requires going on offense. In a new memo, 314 Action is highlighting six races with strong candidates that are flying under the radar in 2026, including FL-07, FL-15, MN-01, MT-01, NC-11 and AR-02.
“Democratic overperformances combined with rising health care costs, and RFK Jr.’s attacks on science and vaccines—an issue with broad, bipartisan support—make these districts especially fertile ground for STEM candidates,” said 314 Action Executive Director Erik Polyak. “There are few seats in the country more vulnerable than these in the midterms—if Democrats want to win tough races and take advantage of voter disapproval with RFK Jr., then we need to support more scientists, doctors, engineers, nurses, and teachers running for office in competitive districts.”
NOTUS: RFK Jr. Is Inspiring More STEM Candidates to Run. Will It Expand Democrats’ Map?
Key Points:
- 314 Action is expanding its list of congressional race targets to include six districts it believes have been “overlooked.”
- The candidates in those races are Jake Johnson, a public school math teacher in Minnesota; Matt Rains, an engineer and rancher in Montana; and Chris Jones, a scientist and minister in Arkansas.
- Other candidates on the PAC’s list include Jamie Ager in North Carolina’s 11th District, Darren McAuley in Florida’s 15th District and Bale Dalton in Florida’s 7th District.
- 314 Action is raising $25 million in 43 House races in hopes that its candidates will flip swing seats. The Democrats running in these districts will face uphill battles. All the contests 314 Action considers to be “sleeper” races are all in historically conservative places, where Republicans have up to an eight-point electoral advantage.
- Still, the PAC also attributes its success recruiting to backlash against Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda and his apparent disregard of the scientific consensus around vaccines.
- The PAC is encouraging candidates to run on rising health care costs, and connect rising prices to the overall affordability crisis Americans are facing.