DC Update From the U.S. Oil and Gas Association - 8.15.2024

Kamala Harris Forgot She Hates Fracking But Pennsylvania Hasn’t Forgotten

Bloomberg reports from Pennsylvania: 

Kamala Harris faces a problem in Washington County, Pennsylvania, where gas drilling rigs and well pads dot the rolling green farmland.

Ask Mickey Molinaro, an asphalt worker with a bushy beard and easy-going smile. Harris, in her last White House run, called for a ban on fracking, before reversing her stance this year. And fracking helped Molinaro survive the Great Recession.

…

“Energy is a big deal here,” Molinaro said, leaning against his truck, tar coating his jeans. “Harris supports the Green New Deal and that kind of stuff. She runs on a platform that’s anti-fossil fuel.”

To win in this highly competitive battleground state, Harris will have to overcome that baggage. No matter that her campaign insists she doesn’t want to ban fracking. Harris has not yet spelled out how she would treat the oil and gas industry should she win the presidency, and in the absence of a new approach the old one could be costing her votes.

All the evidence points to the fact that Kamala still wants to ban fracking. It’s not enough for an anonymous campaign staffer to claim otherwise. If she doesn't support a fracking ban, she needs to publicly disavow her past statements.