Rep. Southerland’s defeat a victory for Dirty Dozen program

WASHINGTON – League of Conservation Voters (LCV) President Gene Karpinski tonight congratulates Gwen Graham on her victory in Florida’s 2nd Congressional district. LCV Action Fund endorsed Graham for Congress, and LCV named her opponent, Representative Steve Southerland, to the Dirty Dozen.

“Gwen Graham’s victory is a big win for clean water and the people of Florida. She’ll work in Congress to create bipartisan solutions that grow our clean energy economy and safeguard our planet for generations to come. Graham will help protect the Gulf of Mexico from pollution, and we are looking forward to working with her in Congress,” said Karpinski.

Representative Southerland’s defeat is a significant victory for LCV’s Dirty Dozen program. In October, LCV named Representative Southerland to its 2014 Dirty Dozen list, which targets candidates — regardless of party affiliation — who consistently side against the environment and are running in races in which LCV has a serious chance to affect the outcome.

LCV, LCV Victory Fund, and state LCVs have spent nearly $30 million this cycle, close to a six-fold increase from the 2010 midterms and by far the most that LCV has ever spent. Beyond our independent expenditure work, LCV Action Fund, with the support of NRDC Action Fund PAC, has raised or contributed nearly $6 million for federal and state candidates through the GiveGreen program this election cycle. This represents the most money ever raised through GiveGreen during a single election cycle and is more than two and half times the amount raised in the 2012 cycle.

###