Vice President Kamala Harris's campaign said she no longer supports a fracking ban, but political strategists and energy experts say the sudden policy shift will do little to bolster support among key voters in November.
Harris said there was “no question” she would end fracking if elected president in 2020, But her campaign recently told The Hill she no longer wants to outlaw the practice after videos of her supporting the ban resurfaced after President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 race.
The campaign can revert to Harris' old fracking positions all it wants, but that may not be enough to allay concerns among key voting groups — especially Pennsylvania's more rural, blue-collar voters — that Harris could wage war politics on the industry Strategists and energy experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation that if elected, Biden would further escalate his climate agenda to their detriment.
this will not work. Kamala made it clear in the recording that she wants to ban fracking:
“I am committed…to finally ending fracking once and for all”
“Without a doubt, I support a ban on fracking” https://t.co/9LVfZE4nuS pic.twitter.com/RsDuxUzTOc
— Kyle Martinsen (@KyleMartinsen_) July 26, 2024
“She will find herself between a rock and a hard place on fracking and other issues like Gaza. She has all of her past statements, as well as the Biden-Harris administration's record opposing fracking and LNG exports“, Jon McHenry, a Republican polling analyst and vice president of Polaris Public Opinion Research, told DCNF.
“That's a good thing for her base of supportersPeople who were upset about Joe Biden representing the Democratic Party and excited about Kamala Harris a few weeks ago, They want her to ban fracking, and they're happy to have a younger, more liberal candidate running for president.“
“The problem is she has to win over independents In states such as Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia, North Carolina and Arizona, Who wants to see this country develop more energy? for us more energy independent,McHenry continued. “She wanted to own her energy and she wanted to ban it.” …
The Biden administration decided in January to freeze approvals of new LNG export terminals, a move that critics said was Aimed at appeasing climate-conscious voters and deep-pocketed environmental interest groups ahead of the election.
“Climate change and a ban on fracking are at the heart of her 2020 campaign! I mean, she went on The Tonight Show and sang a song about it! No one will believe anything except she is a climate fanatic“Political strategist and CNN broadcast expert Scott Jennings told DCNF.
“She is the Greta of American government, and that should scare every energy worker in Pennsylvania and any American who suffers under her radical views.”
Just weeks after announcing her candidacy, Harris had already secured the support of a major environmental group with deep pockets opposed to fracking.
Meanwhile, two of the more radical groups in the environmental movement – the Sunrise Movement and the Climate Rebellion – have so far not received official recognition. …
The political and electoral implications of Harris's erratic policy on fracking are most evident in Pennsylvania, a natural gas producer and a key swing state in the 2024 cycle.
Former President Donald Trump narrowly won Pennsylvania in 2016 but lost to Biden in another close race in 2020; McHenry said the 2024 election in the state will be fiercely contested again. A new poll from Susquehanna Polling shows Harris favoring Trump by 4 points, with 7% of respondents unsure who they will support in November.
Pennsylvania will produce more natural gas than any state except Texas in 2022according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration and The natural gas industry directly and indirectly supports approximately 123,000 jobs in the state through 2022according to an August 2023 report prepared by FTI Consulting for the Marcellus Shale Alliance.
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