Washington D.C. – The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) Action Fund, which works to elect pro-environment candidates, announced its endorsement of MJ Hegar for election to the U.S. Senate from Texas. 

“MJ Hegar understands that the climate crisis is a national security threat, a threat to all our children’s futures, and will be a powerful advocate for climate action,” said LCV Action Fund Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Tiernan Sittenfeld. “Having a pro-environment Senate has never been more important — and that is why we are proud to endorse MJ Hegar. Texans deserve a Senator who will stand up for public health, fight for our environment, and help the state become a leader in the clean energy sector.”

“I’m proud to partner with the League of Conservation Voters Action Fund in the fight to address our climate crisis and ensure the health and safety of our communities, the world we are leaving for the next generation, and our national security,” said MJ Hegar. “We can’t afford to wait for action. Here in Texas, not only are we witnessing firsthand the negative effects of climate change, but our economic future depends on Texas leading in the renewable energy sector.”

MJ Hegar grew up in Leander, Texas, and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin. During college, Hegar was in the Air Force ROTC program and upon graduation was commissioned in the U.S. Air Force. She then served three tours of duty in Afghanistan where she flew Combat Search and Rescue and medevac missions as a helicopter pilot. In 2009, on her third tour in Afghanistan, she was shot by members of the Taliban, but continued the rescue mission while wounded and took actions that saved the lives of her crew. She was awarded the Purple Heart and Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor, one of only a handful of women to earn the latter distinction. In 2012, Hegar was the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit brought against the Department of Defense that resulted in the repeal of the military’s Ground Combat Exclusion policy, which excluded women from serving in ground combat positions.  She has made it clear that climate change is one of the top reasons she decided to run for the U.S. Senate and believes that Texas can be the leader of our clean energy future. Hegar faces Senator John Cornyn in the general election. Cornyn has amassed an incredibly anti-environment voting record during his time in Congress, earning an abysmal 5 percent lifetime score on LCV’s National Environmental Scorecard. Among many other anti-environmental votes, he recently voted for H.R. 3055, which undermines the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) by jeopardizing its ability to acquire new lands, and for the environmentally destructive and xenophobic border wall. 

About LCV Action Fund

The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) Action Fund, the connected federal political action committee (PAC) of the League of Conservation Voters, works to elect leaders who stand up for a clean, healthy environment and to defeat anti-environment candidates who oppose climate action. Since the 1990 election cycle, LCVAF has helped elect and re-elect 90 U.S. Senators and 450 members of the U.S. House of Representatives. Over the last several years, our efforts have also helped elevate climate change and clean energy as critical issues in key elections.

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Paid for by the League of Conservation Voters Action Fund and authorized by MJ for Texas