Over the last two years, Americans have witnessed a series of record-shattering and destructive climate and weather phenomena. From unprecedented and deadly heatwaves on land and sea to devastating wildfires, relentless droughts, and storms that brought deadly rain and flooding, communities have been tested.
Last year, the U.S. experienced 28 separate billion-dollar weather and climate disasters, a record in the 44 years such data has been collected. The ripple effects of these disasters and climate extremes that caused them go beyond scientific study, permeating every aspect of American life.
Including politics.
President Donald Trump took the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement within months of his inauguration. By contrast, President Joe Biden rejoined the agreement on his first day in office, signaling the dawn of an administration that many view as the most environmentally forward in history.
Once a politically bipartisan issue, climate change and the environment have become polarizing, significant enough to sway election outcomes.
“We project that climate change opinion probably cost Republicans the 2020 presidential election, all else being equal,” noted a 2024 University of Colorado study.
It will play a role again.
With tiny majorities in the GOP-controlled House and the Democrat-run Senate, many of the remaining primaries and the upcoming general election will see dozens of eco-friendly candidates attempt to tip the scales in Congress.
Here are eight pro-environment incumbents and political newcomers to look out for in upcoming primaries and November’s election.
U.S. Senate:
Arizona: Current U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego (D) hopes to take the hotly challenged U.S. Senate seat that Democrat-turned-Independent Sen. Krysten Sinema will vacate. The Democratic state primary takes place on July 30. Rep. Gallego has a 97% lifetime environmental voting record, according to the League of Conservation Voters, a Washington D.C.-based environmental advocacy group.
The former…
Read the full article here
Leave a Reply