The News
US Vice President Kamala Harris’ move to the top of the Democratic presidential ticket is driving a surge in fundraising from climate-focused voters who were less eager to open their wallets for President Joe Biden.
Harris’ strong track record on climate — as a major contributor to Biden’s climate agenda, as well as in her previous jobs as a senator and California attorney general — and the sense that she stands a better chance of defeating Donald Trump in November’s election have won her endorsements this week from leading green groups and donors. Money is pouring in, making climate activists a vital source for Harris’ record-breaking flood of donations. A virtual fundraiser led by the climate-focused author Bill McKibben Thursday night raised more than $100,000.
Her success also points to a growing truth in US politics: Whereas Big Oil was long the most powerful energy-related political lobby group in the country, renewables and clean tech are growing in clout. Harris’ candidacy spotlights how simply energizing the clean-power sector — whose support for Democrats has flagged under Biden — may close the gap with the support Trump can count on from the fossil fuel industry, or overcome it entirely.
“There’s been a really fundamental vibe shift in the climate community,” said Andrew Reagan, executive director of Clean Energy for America, an advocacy group whose political arm, CE4A Action, is helping to raise money for the Harris campaign. “There was a sense that we didn’t have a shot to win the election, but now there’s the possibility of actually electing a clean-energy president.”
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Tim’s view
Dropping out of the presidential race may be the best thing Biden ever did for the climate.
Over the last several months, his campaign had struggled to win over some environmental groups, especially those on the far left, a remarkable failure given that his opponent is stridently dedicated to scrapping climate-related subsidies and regulations. Biden was seen by some as too soft on Big Oil, especially after green-lighting a major drilling project in Alaska. He fumbled chances to make a clear case to undecided voters about the economic benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act that he got passed, especially in the disastrous debate last month that torpedoed his reelection bid. And there’s a lot of overlap among young people between those passionate about climate action and those frustrated by the Biden administration’s handling of the war in Gaza.
Harris appears to solve these problems, even if her more strident past comments about fossil fuels could turn some voters off. While some of her biggest potential donors from Wall Street and Silicon Valley have said they are holding off on writing checks until she has officially secured the Democratic nomination, to avoid the appearance of a “coronation,” climate supporters see no need to wait. Harris presents a clear sense of continuity from the best parts of Biden’s climate agenda, they say, and would likely push for steps to strengthen it. And if she’s able to beat Trump, she may prove a better steward of Biden’s climate legacy than Biden himself.
“Harris’s nomination gave the efforts to defeat Trump a much-needed morale boost,” said Aru Shiney Ajay, executive director of the Sunrise Movement, a youth-led climate group that had called for Biden to drop out. “We’ve seen this most among young people who are newly ready to knock doors and make calls, but also in an uptick of new individual donors who are ready to open their wallets for a campaign that can win.”
Know More
As the clean energy industry has grown over the last decade, it has emerged as a prominent political force. Today there are numerous fundraising committees led by trade groups from the wind, solar, biofuels, and utilities industries. These have tended to favor Democratic candidates up and down the ballot. During Biden’s first contest against Trump, this apparatus delivered a record $9.5 million to Democrats, plus another $3 million to liberal-leaning outside groups, according to campaign finance tracking group OpenSecrets.
But since then, the industry’s financial enthusiasm for Democrats has waned, and Republicans have closed the gap. Direct support for Trump himself is still rare in the industry, but there are a growing number of enterprise-minded Republican congressional candidates that are drawing clean-energy support. Two of the top five donor groups so far this year have given more to Republicans than to Democrats. If Harris wins the White House but loses Congress, more ambitious parts of her climate agenda would be hamstrung, even if more Republican members are ostensibly pro-clean energy. Putting Harris up top could jolt donors at all levels, said Jon Powers, a former Obama administration climate official who is now president and co-founder of the renewable energy developer CleanCapital and a prominent Democratic fundraiser who sits on the board of the Environmental Defense Fund’s political arm.
“Harris absolutely was an injection of momentum and got people out of a bit of a malaise,” he said. “As a donor, I was very supportive of President Biden, but after the debate a lot of anxiety was introduced. Now, the dollars are moving.”
Room for Disagreement
Harris still faces steep competition, fundraising-wise, from Trump’s powerful donors in the oil and gas industry, some of whom have dedicated millions of dollars to his reelection. Big Oil’s campaign contributions dwarf those from Big Renewables; oil and gas companies and trade groups have donated at least $36 million to Republican candidates in this election cycle.
Notable
- Harris’ go-to climate guy is Ike Irby, a PhD marine biologist who loves electric buses and has advised Harris on climate since 2017.