TV and field campaigns highlight stark differences between Toomey and McGinty

Pittsburgh, PA – Today, to support Katie McGinty’s bid to unseat Sen. Pat Toomey in the Pennsylvania Senate race, the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) and EDF Action launched a joint $1.5 million TV ad campaign, while LCV separately launched its own approximately $300,000 persuasion canvass effort. These announcements come shortly after LCV named Sen. Pat Toomey to its signature Dirty Dozen list in June. These are LCV and EDF Action’s first general election independent expenditure campaigns in Pennsylvania’s Senate race.

The joint LCV and EDF Action $1.5 million TV campaign will start on Wednesday and run through the end of the month on broadcast and cable for 2200 GRPs in Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, and for 2000 GRPs in Harrisburg. The ad, titled “Friend,” tells voters how Sen. Pat Toomey has voted numerous times to protect nearly $24 billion in tax breaks for Big Oil polluters, while receiving over $700,000 in campaign contributions from them.  You can view the ad here and see the script here.

LCV’s approximately $300,000 persuasion canvass campaign will contact voters in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. The campaign will highlight the stark differences between Katie McGinty’s strong record as a long-time leader and champion in the fight for environmental protections with Sen. Pat Toomey’s record of leading the charge against critical clean air and water protections. Toomey has earned a dismal 7 percent lifetime score and 0 percent 2015 score on LCV’s National Environmental Scorecard, as well as the dubious distinction of being a returning member of LCV’s Dirty Dozen.

“Hard-working Pennsylvania families are ill-served by one of Big Oils’ best friends in Washington, Sen. Pat Toomey – it’s time for him to go,” said LCV National Campaigns Director Clay Schroers. “Toomey has received over $700,000 from Big Oil, a staggering sum that may explain why he has fought to preserve billions in tax breaks for the oil industry and refused to take any action to curb the impacts of climate change. We are thrilled to hit the ground running and engage with voters in their communities to defeat Toomey and elect environmental champion Katie McGinty, who will fight to protect the health of Pennsylvania’s families and the clean air and water they depend on.”

“Pat Toomey has consistently supported tax giveaways for companies that pollute our air and collect billions in profits,” said EDF Action President Elizabeth Thompson. “In an election year, Toomey will claim to be a moderate, but in Washington he always votes against the clean air and water protections that our kids deserve to have every day. Katie McGinty is the fighter they need, a leader who knows that building a clean energy economy is essential to Pennsylvania’s future and our families’ health.”

EDF Action supported McGinty in the Pennsylvania Senate Democratic primary with a $400,000 targeted mail program.

Last week, LCV announced a significant expansion of its first Senate independent expenditure campaign of 2016 in Nevada. In the presidential race, LCV and LCV Victory Fund have engaged in digital advertising and a direct mail campaign supporting Hillary Clinton in early primary states.

In 2014, LCV, LCV Victory Fund, and state LCVs invested a record total of over $30 million in elections — by far the most that LCV has ever spent. Federal races accounted for over $19 million of total spending, while LCV and state LCVs combined to spend over $10 million on state elections.

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Paid for by the League of Conservation Voters, www.lcv.org, and EDF Action, www.edfaction.org, and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.