©2024 League of Conservation Voters
Your weekly resource to learn what the environmental movement is saying about the news of the day and the political fight of our generation. Be sure to follow LCV on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
“Together, we will fight to lower costs, make prescription drugs more affordable, make childcare and family leave more accessible, and fight for every person in America to, once again, have reproductive rights restored to them. It’s the honor of my lifetime to receive this vote of confidence to serve working families from Greeley to Commerce City in Washington, D.C.”
— Dr. Yadira Caraveo, who successfully defeated Barb Kirkmeyer to represent Colorado’s 8th District in Congress. Kirkmeyer had a record of close ties to the oil and gas industry, while Dr. Yadira Caraveo has a long history of fighting for the health of children and is a strong clean energy jobs advocate.
“Many Democrats talked about their clean energy investment and their clean energy leadership in the campaign. That really kind of sets us up to continue pushing forward into our energy future.”
— Jamal Raad, president of Evergreen Action, a climate change advocacy organization based in Washington.
“We’re going to polka tonight and get back to work tomorrow.”
— Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers, in response to being reelected governor. Evers was a part of a Green Wave of state and local climate champions who won this week.
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BIG WINS FOR CLIMATE AND DEMOCRACY! Despite an uphill climb, the climate community stepped up like never before in 2022 — and in the vast majority of cases, climate voters showed up and climate champions won this midterm election cycle. While control of Congress still hangs in the balance, this is far from the red wave that pundits predicted. Voters overcame barriers and turned out in force for the candidates who passed or supported the Inflation Reduction Act. At the state level, we have a true Green Wave on our hands – climate champions won governors’ offices and state legislative seats across the country, and we expect to see renewed urgency for clean energy and climate policy on day one.
LCV Victory Fund and affiliated entities alone invested $100 million and contacted millions of voters, our biggest midterm campaign ever to boost turnout among voters who care deeply about climate change and the environment. Environmental donors also helped raise a midterm record $26.9 million in contributions directly for candidates through GiveGreen, a project of LCVVF and NRDC Action Votes.
Though many races have not been called yet, many candidates have already made history this election cycle. In the U.S. Senate, Sen. Alex Padilla is the first Latino Senator elected to represent California.
In the House:
LCV Action Fund-endorsed climate and democracy champions also won in Illinois, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Texas, Missouri, Maine, Kansas, Florida, Virginia, Vermont, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Connecticut, Hawaii, New Hampshire, Michigan, and New Jersey. You can get to know all of the LCV Action Fund and state affiliate endorsed candidates that were elected to Congress this cycle in LCV’s New Member Guide.
For a summary of LCV Action Fund’s work this cycle, check out the memo we released last Thursday.
For a summary of LCV Victory Fund’s work this cycle, check out the memo we released last Friday.
ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS REACT TO ELECTION RESULTS, DISCUSS FUTURE OF CLIMATE JUSTICE POLICY: The League of Conservation Voters (LCV), Climate Power, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) Action, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Action Fund, NextGen America, and Sierra Club held a post-election press conference to analyze the results of the 2022 midterms so far and discuss the future of climate and environmental justice policy. Watch the post-election press conference here and see highlights from our speakers here.
OUR TAKE: LCV President Gene Karpinski said, “The good news, as we gather here today, is that the climate community stepped up like it never has before in the election space. Climate voters showed up big time in race after race after race. And, in the vast majority of cases, climate champions won up and down the ballot. The main ways we’re going to make progress on climate are: one is to make sure the Inflation Reduction Act is implemented well; second, we have to push the Biden administration to take aggressive executive action to make all the progress he can make; and three we need to continue to make progress in the states. The states is a very powerful story of the progress we’ve made in the last four years – and in fact, it’s fair to say today that, looking at yesterday’s elections, there was a big green wave in states across the country.”
STORIES FROM THE FIELD: “I LIKE TO BREATHE DEEPLY”: Over the course of the last month, we’ve talked with LCV members who volunteered with the GreenRoots program. Our election week story comes from Magali, who has lived in Pennsylvania for 40 years, and, while supporting John Fetterman’s campaign, found connection with voters over the promise of good paying jobs in a growing clean energy sector. Read the full series of GreenRoots stories from the field: Magali (PA), Jeremy (CO), Bob (FL), and Cynthia (AZ).
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HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE STATES:
MEMO: STATE ELECTIONS SAW A GREEN WAVE IN 2022: Last night, across the country, leaders who ran on climate won. In state elections up and down the ballot, we saw a Green Wave of environmental champions. For example, nearly all of the governors who promised to pass major clean energy and environmental legislation in 2018 won reelection. Until this year, nearly all major progress on climate and clean energy has come from state and local leaders who have tackled the climate crisis head-on. As a result of their leadership, 40% of the country now lives in a place committed to 100% clean energy. State and local leaders will also be crucial for implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act, ensuring we use its funding to build a stronger clean energy economy and invest in those communities who need it most. We now have leaders in key offices across the country ready to build on this success with bold environmental agendas. View a breakdown of the climate and democracy champions that were elected as governors, state legislators, attorney generals, judges, and more here.
MONTH OF NOVEMBER: Native American Heritage Month
©2024 League of Conservation Voters