Wehby’s defeat a victory for Dirty Dozen program

WASHINGTON – League of Conservation Voters (LCV) President Gene Karpinski tonight congratulates Senator Jeff Merkley on his victory in the Oregon Senate race. LCV named his opponent, Monica Wehby, to the Dirty Dozen, and LCV Action Fund endorsed Merkley and raised or contributed over $140,000 to him through its GiveGreen program. Additionally, LCV mobilized its members as volunteers for Merkley’s campaign, as part of its Green Roots program.  

“Senator Jeff Merkley is an environmental champion who never stops fighting to protect our air, water, lands and wildlife. We look forward to continuing our work with Senator Merkley to hold corporate polluters accountable, combat climate change and safeguard public health,” said Karpinski.

Wehby’s defeat is a significant victory for LCV’s Dirty Dozen program. In October, LCV named Wehby 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.

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