Fracking quickly drills its way into Harris' run
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Photo illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
The most vote-rich swing state will test the political salience of the Biden-Harris energy record — and whether Kamala Harris' move left in her brief 2019 primary run will help Donald Trump.
Why it matters: Pennsylvania is likely a must-win for Harris (if she's indeed the Dems' nominee), and it's the nation's second-largest natural gas producing state after Texas.
Driving the news: Republicans are circulating Harris' endorsement of a fracking ban during her short-lived 2019 White House run — even though she walked it back after becoming President Biden's running mate.
- Harris also co-sponsored a Senate resolution embodying the Green New Deal, which Republicans have for years sought to link with big-government extremism.
Between the lines: "I think that Harris will be more open to attacks on fracking than Biden, given her rhetoric and policy positions before she became vice president," Christopher P. Borick, who directs the Institute of Public Opinion at Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania.
- In 2020, Biden lost badly to Trump in portions of southwestern Pennsylvania and southeastern Ohio, at least partly due to his conflicting comments on fracking (and Trump's attacks on them), political analysts have said.
- But strong support from Democratic-leading areas such as Pittsburgh and Philadelphia helped Biden narrowly win the state.
- And an outright ban on fracking was never in the cards anyway, given the need for legislation to do so.
What they're saying: "Kamala was a proud supporter of the Green New Scam and has promised to ban fracking and kill good-paying energy jobs in Pennsylvania and across the heartland," Trump campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt tells Axios.
Yes, but: The politics of energy in 2024 are not cut-and-dry, and Pennsylvania is no exception.
- Recent Pew Research Center polling is the latest to show voter support for renewable energy and cutting carbon, which have been Biden-Harris priorities.
- Meanwhile, Pennsylvania natural gas production has remained at record levels in the Biden years.
- Harris' stances on climate and energy could energize younger voters, a key voting bloc.
And Biden-Harris energy policies are funneling federal cash into Pennsylvania.
- For instance, it's part of the multibillion-dollar hydrogen "hubs" program under the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law.
- Just yesterday EPA announced nearly $400 million in grants for climate projects there under the Inflation Reduction Act.
- The Harris campaign didn't immediately provide comment for this story.
Flashback: Biden narrowly won Pennsylvania in 2020, when Harris' past positions were far more recent.
- Polling this cycle showed Trump with a consistent lead there over Biden before he dropped out.
- More limited polling on Trump vs. Harris in Pennsylvania has also shown Trump ahead.
- A recent NYT/Sienna College poll, before Biden stood down, showed Harris closer to Trump, though both matchups were within the margin of error.
The bottom line: Expect to hear more about fracking in perhaps the most important battleground state.
- "I don't know if the distance between Biden and Harris on this matter is big enough to either change voter preferences or affect who turns out in Pennsylvania, but I expect the Trump-Vance campaign to go after her harder than they would Biden, given her past engagement on the issue," Borick tells me over email.
