Mathematics

The only new face unseating an incumbent in California’s 53-member Congressional delegation turned out to be an alternative energy entrepreneur with a doctorate in mathematics. Rep.-elect Jerry McNerney, a wind energy specialist, unseated seven-term Rep. Richard Pombo from the state’s 11th District in the San Francisco Bay Area. Pombo was chairman of the House Resources Committee. Environmental groups have taken credit for defeating Pombo whom they accuse of trying to roll-back various environmental protections in California and elsewhere.