HELENA, MT – Today Montana Conservation Voters (MCV) Congressional Action Fund & the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) Action Fund announced their endorsement of Superintendent of Public Instruction Denise Juneau for election to the U.S. House of Representatives. If elected, Juneau will be the first female American Indian elected to Congress and only the second woman to represent Montana since Jeannette Rankin’s election 100 years ago.

“Denise will be a champion for conservation issues in Congress and will stand up for our Montana values of clean air, clear water, and protecting public lands,” said MCV Board Chair Juanita Vero of Greenough. “Montana only gets one voice in the House and for far too long Montanans who want to reduce carbon pollution and safeguard our drinking water have been ignored. MCV is excited to endorse Denise who shares our Montana values.”

“We need a strong public lands advocate like Denise in Congress,” said LCV Action Fund President Gene Karpinski. “She understands the important role that our magnificent open spaces and natural resources play in Montana and across the country. In Congress, she will work tirelessly to continue protecting our precious public lands while ensuring we have clean air to breathe and water to drink for generations to come.”

An enrolled member of the Mandan Hidatsa Tribes, Superintendent Juneau was the first American Indian elected to statewide office in the country. During her tenure as superintendent, she has increased graduation rates and expanded college and career readiness opportunities. As a member of the state Land Board, Juneau was the only member to vote against leasing the Otter Creek Coal Tracts. Just last week, the bankrupt holder of that lease, Arch Coal, suspended its application and announced the closure of operations in Montana due to a lack of, “capital and resources.”

In contrast, Representative Ryan Zinke received an abysmal score of 3 percent in the 2015 LCV National Environmental Scorecard. The non-partisan Scorecard is a nationally accepted yardstick used to rate members of Congress on environmental and clean energy issues. Based on key environmental votes in the House and Senate, it is often used by the media to quickly describe a Member’s record. For more information, visit https://scorecard.lcv.org.

Juneau is featured on LCV Action Fund’s GiveGreen website, the only bundling website devoted exclusively to raising money for environmental champions for federal office.

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LCVAF & MCV Congressional Action Fund work to elect pro-environment candidates and defeat climate deniers. Last cycle, LCVAF endorsed over 70 candidates and raised and donated almost $6 million dollars via GiveGreen.

Paid for by the League of Conservation Voters Action Fund and Montana Conservation Voters Congressional Action Fund and authorized by Denise Juneau for Congress.