When US voters head to the polls on 4 November, they are poised to set in motion a major political shift that promises to intensify partisan strife over issues such as climate change, immigration and research funding. For the first time since 2006, Republicans are likely to win full control of the US Congress - having seized the House of Representatives in 2010, they are now predicted to take control of the Senate. The development seems inauspicious for US researchers who depend on government funding. Prominent Republicans have repeatedly questioned the veracity of biological evolution and human-induced climate change, and party leaders' push for drastic spending cuts has resulted in across-the-board reductions known as sequestration, which slashed 5.1% from science agencies' budgets in 2013.
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