Physicists and the elections

Republican and Democratic national committeemen agree that if the physics community by itself had to elect the 90th Congress, it would choose a House and Senate somewhat more Democratic than would the general population. There would be no approach to consensus on any national issue. From California to Illinois to New York, reports that PHYSICS TODAY has gathered from political observers among scientists indicate that physicists of both Republican and Democratic stripe are offering strong support to individual candidates, that the Johnson‐Humphrey supporters of 1964 have largely repudiated the administration and that several physicists are taking the perilous jump into political life. At the national level the Republicans are making a vigorous bid to gain support from scientists. Meanwhile the Council for a Livable World, a political action group formed by Leo Szilard in 1962 and directed mainly by scientists, is mounting its biggest nonpresidential‐year effort to elect key senatorial candidates.