LCV is fighting every day to create a brighter, safer, healthier future for people and the planet.
LCV is fighting every day to create a brighter, safer, healthier future for people and the planet.
Your weekly resource to learn what the environmental movement is saying about the news of the day and the political fight of our generation. This week, with just days left before the election, we’re tracking key races and ad campaigns alongside growing calls for action on energy affordability and data center development. We’re also covering the fight to defend public lands, clean air, and clean water from polluters as Trump continues to roll back climate protections.
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“The Earth is not ours to abuse and poison – not the land itself, and not the people living and working on it.”
– Dolores Huerta, a labor and environmental justice hero, who passed away earlier this week.
“Native people need to understand that their votes do count.”
– Molly Miller, Mohican elder, reminding Indigenous voters in Wisconsin to participate in the upcoming elections.
“We believe that everybody, regardless of where they live or what their income is, deserves clean air, clean water, access to the outdoors, to be protected from the extreme heat, and to have their voices heard.”
– Vianey Olivarría, Chispa Arizona Executive Director, on ensuring all communities are protected from the worst impacts of climate change and have the resources they need to participate in elections.
“Democrats have really hammered home that they are going to work to deliver affordability for families and to stand up to the Big Polluters who are making record profits while we all suffer, and I think that that is a strong and unifying theme across these various races.”
– Matthew Davis, LCV Action Fund Vice President of Federal Policy, on the role of energy policy and costs in competitive Senate races.
VIRGINIANS MARCH TO DEMAND A PAUSE ON DATA CENTER DEVELOPMENT: More than 300 people marched to Virginia’s state Capitol on October 24th to call for a moratorium on new data center development until environmental and ratepayer protections are in place. This was the final stop of a two-week series of marches across the state organized by Chesapeake Climate Action Network Action Fund, Virginia LCV, and partners. Protesters raised concerns about rising electricity bills, data center water use and pollution, and the targeted siting of data centers in Black and brown communities. They demanded clean energy standards, protections for communities, and guardrails to ensure ratepayers don’t foot the bill for data centers.
VALCV TAKE: Virginia LCV Deputy Director of Advocacy and Campaigns Sarah Ahmed said, “While our electricity bills creep higher and higher, while our wells run dry, and while families and pets live with a constant industrial hum in their ears, the richest corporations in history are cashing in and we are bearing the cost. This is not some arbitrary talking point being said by some environmentalists. This is what the people of Virginia who elected you [state leaders] are demanding.”
MARYLAND LAUNCHES $200 MILLION PROGRAM FOR CLEAN ENERGY: Maryland’s Utility RELIEF Act created the “Megawatts for Maryland” program, which will award $200 million to large-scale solar, wind, and battery storage projects over the next two years. The program aims to expand in-state electricity generation and help lower energy bills as demand rises.
MDLCV TAKE: Maryland LCV Director of Climate Policy and Justice Rebecca Rehr said, “An investment today in this type of program means people save over time.”
TRUMP WEAKENS FEDERAL RULES ON METHANE POLLUTION: The Trump administration announced a proposal to roll back federal requirements for oil and gas companies to detect and reduce methane leaks, including from hundreds of thousands of low-producing wells that are responsible for roughly half the industry’s methane emissions. The changes would also allow companies to flare more gas and end EPA’s Methane Super Emitter Program, which used satellites and other technology to identify major methane leaks and help deliver an increasingly costly product to consumers rather than wasting it.
OUR TAKE: Ahead of the proposal, Healthy Communities Program Director Madeleine Foote said, “By announcing EPA’s intent to roll back the 2024 Methane Rule, Administrator Zeldin and President Trump are making it crystal clear that they are willing to sell out the health and safety of our families and environment in order to reward their buddies in the oil and gas industry. Weakening these common-sense safeguards will expose our communities to even more unnecessary, dangerous air pollution, harming public health and exacerbating the climate crisis, all so that Big Polluters can rake in even more profits. This action puts on full display the corruption of Trump, his administration, and the oil and gas industry, as outlined in Senate Democrats’ corruption report. We urge EPA to not release this proposal and maintain strong methane pollution standards to protect public health and our environment for generations to come.”
ARIZONA ADVOCATES GATHER TO DISCUSS MULTIRACIAL VOTERS’ PRIORITIES AHEAD OF MIDTERMS: Black, Latino, and Indigenous Arizonans gathered in Phoenix for the Arizona People’s Convention to learn about community members’ priorities and goals after the midterms. Multiple speakers addressed issues including workers’ rights, voting access disparities, and housing affordability.
CHISPA AZ TAKE: Chispa Arizona Executive Director Vianey Olivarría said, “Our vote speaks volumes, and when we march later to the polls, we’re going to make sure we’re heard. We’ll keep showing up, organizing and demanding that our elected officials listen to the people of Arizona because our power does not end on Election Day.”
NEVADA ADVOCATES WARN DATA CENTER EXPANSION WILL STRAIN WATER AND ENERGY SUPPLIES: Environmental and community advocates held a press conference to push back against data center expansion in Nevada. Speakers cited concerns about data center water use, rising energy demand and costs, and fossil fuel development, including plans for new methane gas plants to fuel data centers.
NCL TAKE: Nevada Conservation League Communications Organizer Bri Schmidt said, “We’re spending millions on new methane gas plants in the proposed plan… When we have solar, we get over 300 days of sunshine in Nevada. These are solar panels that are already installed in our homes that people already have that could be helping to meet demand.”
WISCONSIN APPROVES NEW GROUNDWATER STANDARDS FOR PFAS: Wisconsin’s Department of Natural Resources unanimously approved groundwater limits for six PFAS chemicals, a step toward protecting drinking water from these pollutants. PFAS were found in 71% of private wells in Wisconsin sampled in 2022, and these standards will help address this contamination, which is linked to serious health risks..
WCV TAKE: Wisconsin Conservation Voters Government Affairs Manager Peter Burress said, “There are real costs of inaction. There are real costs associated with facing cancer treatments, miscarriages, heart surgeries and developmental challenges.”
DOLORES HUERTA, LABOR AND CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER, DIES AT 96: Dolores Huerta, who co-founded the United Farm Workers and helped secure the first health and benefit plans for farmworkers, has died at 96. A lifelong organizer, Huerta also fought against toxic pesticides, advocated for healthy environments for workers, and championed environmental justice education through the Dolores Huerta Foundation.
OUR TAKE: LCV said, “Dolores Huerta — who received California Environmental Voters’ Environmental Leadership Award in 2016 — was a labor and environmental justice hero. Thank you, Dolores, for always fighting for people and the planet.”
CHISPA AZ TAKE: Chispa Arizona said, “We honor the life and legacy of Dolores Huerta, a fearless organizer whose fight for dignity, justice, and the rights of farmworkers helped shape generations of social movements. Dolores showed us what it means to stand with our communities, stand up against injustice, and organize for a better future. Her work opened doors for countless Latine organizers, women, and young people who continue to carry that fight forward. As we mourn her passing, we also celebrate the movement she helped build and the generations she inspired. Her legacy lives on in our communities, in our organizing, and in every person who believes a better world is possible. Rest in power, Dolores. ¡Sí se puede!”
ENVIROVOTERS TAKE: California Environmental Voters CEO Mary Creasman said, “Dolores Huerta is a matriarch of the climate movement. She was a tremendous partner in our fight for climate justice, pushing our state to address the intersectional issues of health, environmental, racial, gender, and economic justice.”
LCV, LCV ACTION FUND REACH OVER 500,00 VOTERS AHEAD OF ELECTION DAY: LCV Action Fund and its state affiliates have endorsed 186 federal candidates in the 2026 midterm elections. LCV also invested $3.5 million in its organizing programs, including its GreenRoots voter mobilization program and newly launched Clean Energy Corps field program. Combined, these efforts have reached over 500,000 voters, with LCV members and organizers completing nearly 30,000 volunteer shifts. Organizing programs focused on mobilizing LCV members to volunteer on behalf of LCV Action Fund-endorsed candidates and turning out voters who have been historically excluded from outreach efforts.
LCVAF TAKE: LCV Action Fund Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Sara Chieffo said, “In the days leading up to the election, voters are turning out for the pro-environment, pro-democracy candidates up and down the ballot who are committed to putting families and communities first, and who support real energy solutions that put us on the path to a more affordable, clean energy future.”
LCV VICTORY FUND TARGETS ENERGY BILL VOTERS IN MIDTERM ELECTIONS: LCV Victory Fund and its state affiliates have invested over $110 million in federal, state, and local races to elect pro-environment candidates in the 2026 midterm elections. The effort has targeted millions of voters through knocking on over 4 million doors, sending over 6 million pieces of mail, and serving streaming, linear TV and digital ads to tens of millions of voters. LCV Victory Fund focused on the “Energy Bill Voter,” a new bloc of swing voters concerned about rising energy costs, and highlighted how Trump and Republicans in Congress have repeatedly broken their promise to lower costs in favor of giving handouts to Big Oil, Big Polluters and monopoly utility companies.
LCVVF TAKE: LCV Victory Fund Senior Vice President of Campaigns Sara Schreiber said, “We identified Republicans’ self-inflicted vulnerability on energy affordability early on and were consequently able to deploy our biggest midterm investment ever, over $110 million, aimed squarely at voters’ concerns. We focused our efforts on targeting a new voting bloc, the “Energy Bill Voter” – this bloc of swing voters are more likely to be Women, Black and/or Latino, non-college-educated, less engaged with politics, independent, moderate, or soft partisan voters – critical voters to win in a midterm. To reach these voters, we went on offense and invested more and earlier than ever before in districts Trump won in 2024 to communicate with voters early about who is responsible for their rising energy costs and cutting clean energy.”
LCV VICTORY FUND RELEASES NEW MEMO HIGHLIGHTING KEY STATE AND LOCAL RACES: LCV Victory Fund outlined the most important state and local races that will shape energy costs, the fight against Big Polluters, and environmental protections. LCV state affiliates have invested $20 million in 2026 races, including gubernatorial races in Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin; utility commission seats in Arizona and Georgia; and state legislative races in Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. The memo also highlighted Colorado’s Amendment 82, a ballot measure that could overturn bedrock health and safety protections for residents and workers.
LCVVF TAKE: LCV Victory Fund Senior Vice President of Campaigns Sara Schreiber said, “State leaders have been our best bulwark against Trump’s worst attacks. They have also been the major source of progress over the last two years; Governors who have expanded clean energy infrastructure, attorneys general who beat the Trump Administration in court, utility boards that froze rates increases, and legislatures that have passed laws to lower energy costs and hold big polluters accountable… These are the races to watch that will be a harbinger for the shift in the country and could lay the groundwork for major policy opportunities in 2027 and beyond.”
LCV VICTORY FUND LAUNCHES $225K AD CAMPAIGN IN IOWA HOUSE RACE: LCV Victory Fund launched a new $225,000 digital ad program targeting former Representative Joe Mitchell in Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District. The ad calls out Mitchell’s support of hiking up healthcare costs for Iowans, and his record of receiving more than $300,000 from corporate interests.
LCVVF TAKE: LCV Victory Fund Senior Vice President of Campaigns Sara Schreiber said, “Joe Mitchell has made it clear who he is siding with and it is not Iowan. Iowans deserve a leader like Lindsay James who has a plan to lower costs, including healthcare and energy costs.”
ON THE BLOG: Stay tuned for more new content coming soon to The Power Source! In the meantime, check out last week’s midterm voting mythbusters blog to get the facts on voter ID, mail-in-voting, and early voting before Election Day.
ON OUR SOCIALS: Trump’s oil and gas stocks are doing just fine, even as families face high costs at the pump. We’re calling out some dangerous rhetoric from the Georgia GOP Senate nominee, busting myths about renewable energy, and chatting about things that just feel MAGA. Don’t forget to check out some Good Climate News you might have missed. And with Election Day right around the corner, we’re reminding you that showing up for the outdoors means showing up at the polls, too.
NOVEMBER 2: Comment period closes on EPA’s proposal to eliminate standards for climate pollution from power plants.
NOVEMBER 2: Comment period closes for the Census Bureau’s proposal for numerous changes to the Residence Rule in the 2030 Census that would undercount various communities.
NOVEMBER 3: ELECTION DAY.
NOVEMBER 4: Climate and environmental groups’ post-election press conference on how energy issues shaped the midterms.
NOVEMBER 11: Veterans Day.
NOVEMBER 26: Thanksgiving.
DECEMBER 16: Comment period closes for EPA’s proposal to gut standards for methane pollution from oil and gas companies.
©2026 League of Conservation Voters