POLITICO

Welcome to energy and the midterms — The ‘waron coal’ in West Virginia — Koch vs. Steyerspending plans keep ramping upBy ALEX GUILLÉN | 06/27/14 10:15 AM EDT

As a campaign influencer, you’re getting this monthly newsletter out of POLITICO’s in-depth series All Policy isLocal: Energy, providing deeper coverage of the intersection of pressing policy issues and the most-contestedmidterms. For more from this special reporting series, go to http://politi.co/1iH8vFK (http://politi.co/1iH8vFK) .

WELCOME TO ENERGY AND THE MIDTERMS. This newsletter is a monthly feature of the POLITICO series “AllPolicy is Local: Energy,” examining how energy policy issues are affecting the 2014 midterm elections. Wewelcome your feedback, questions and tips, so please contact me at aguillen@politico.com(mailto:aguillen@politico.com) and follow me on Twitter at @alexcguillen (http://www.twitter.com/alexcguillen) .

FIELD REPORT — THE ‘WAR ON COAL’ IN WEST VIRGINIA: Erica Martinson reports from Huntington: “Deep incoal country, the candidates waging one of the nation’s most closely watched House races are competing to showwho is the most outraged at President Barack Obama’s environmental policies. Democratic Rep. Nick Rahall hasdenounced Obama’s EPA as ‘callous,’ attacked its biggest greenhouse gas rule as ‘disastrous’ and filed legislationto block the heart of the president’s climate agenda. Republican challenger Evan Jenkins agrees that EPA’spolicies are ‘devastating’ to West Virginians — but says the 19-term incumbent championed Obama’s election in2008 and appears helpless to stop the White House now.

“The state where an imprisoned felon ran a close second to Obama in the 2012 primary was always going toprovide challenging turf for Democrats this November, but EPA raised the stakes this month by proposing agreenhouse gas rule that could sharply reduce the nation’s reliance on coal. … Perhaps more than any othercandidate on the ballot, Rahall faces a test: Can red-state Democrats separate themselves from a president sodeeply unpopular back home?” The story: http://politico.pro/1qboWUi(https://www.politicopro.com/story/energy/?id=35579)

KOCH VS. STEYER SPENDING PLANS KEEP RAMPING UP: We’re getting a better idea of how much energy-related spending is going to pour into this fall’s midterms — and the answer boils down to: a lot. Liberal billionaireTom Steyer has pledged to drop $100 million into four Senate races and three gubernatorial elections, at least halfof which will be his own money. And the Kochs’ network aims to spend at least $290 million. That’s not to mentionplans by the liberal Democracy Alliance to spend $374 million during the cycle, or the millions of dollars in projectedspending by industry-connected organizations and green groups like the League of Conservation Voters. In short:If you live in a media market in contested states — like Colorado, Michigan and Iowa — prepare for a tsunami waveof ads and mailers.

QUESTIONS FOR THE NEXT MONTH: Do summer highs mean more political discussions about climate change?

Text Size

Are Louisiana voters impressed that Mary Landrieu got a committee vote on Keystone XL, even if it never getsthrough the Senate floor? Do Colorado voters think Mark Udall or Cory Gardner is better on LNG exports? CanDan Sullivan get away with ignoring his GOP opponents and focusing instead on Mark Begich? Does climatechange continue to be a major issue in the Michigan Senate race? Will an independent candidate with ties to majorenvironmental legislation be a real contender in Maine’s gubernatorial race?

** November’s election gives voters a powerful choice on energy. Smart energy policies can grow our economy,create jobs and establish America as a global energy leader. America is now the world’s number-one natural gasproducer and is projected to become number one in oil by 2015. Get involved at http://ChooseEnergy.org(http://chooseenergy.org) **

TOP SENATE RACES

Louisiana: An increasingly important issue in this race is just how much power Mary Landrieu has atop the Energyand Natural Resources Committee. Her campaign has made a point of bragging about the gavel and its importanceto the oil- and gas-heavy state, including in a recent video in which a New Orleans native called Landrieu’schairwomanship a “major achievement.” But Republican candidate Bill Cassidy scoffs that Landrieu can makeheadway on issues like Keystone because of opposition from Democratic leaders and the White House — a pointthey underscored after a GOP attempt to push a pro-Keystone bill through unanimous consent went down inflames on the Senate floor Tuesday. The vote was a no-lose prospect for Republicans, who at least got to bluntany bragging rights Landrieu might have gained by pushing the bill through her committee earlier this month.

Poll questions we’d like to see in the Bayou State: How important is Mary Landrieu’s committee leadership toLouisiana? Would Cassidy, as a freshman Republican, have more impact in a GOP-controlled Senate thanLandrieu does now? Which candidate do you trust more on energy issues?

Colorado: Energy has lately taken a backseat to immigration and “personhood” issues in the race betweenDemocrat Mark Udall and GOP challenger Cory Gardner, but don’t expect it to stay on the back burner long — andfor the moment, Gardner has the upper hand. On Wednesday, the House passed a Gardner-sponsored bill tospeed up exports of liquefied natural gas, while Udall’s Senate version still has no clear path to the floor:http://politico.pro/1qbmzRp (http://politico.pro/1qbmzRp) . Meanwhile, Udall was on the losing end of a vote lastweek in which the Senate energy committee moved to approve Keystone. Udall’s vote was consistent with his pastpositions — he hasn’t taken a stance on the pipeline itself but opposes Congress meddling in the administration’sreview of the pipeline. But it gives Gardner a talking point, and his vote drew a “disappointing” rating from theDenver Post: http://bit.ly/1nQY0Wv (http://bit.ly/1nQY0Wv) .

Alaska: The Republican primary is still months away, but Dan Sullivan, the tentative GOP front-runner and formerstate natural resources commissioner and attorney general, has already turned his biggest guns on Democraticincumbent Mark Begich. Recent polling shows Sullivan with a slight but consistent lead over Lt. Gov. MeadTreadwell, and he enjoys a sizable cash advantage. Polls for now show Begich slightly leading Sullivan.

— Meanwhile, Begich and Sullivan have been shooting back and forth about which candidate has gottenbacking from the Koch brothers. A Begich-affiliated PAC received money from Koch PAC four years ago, but theKoch-connected Americans for Prosperity has spent serious dough attacking Begich. The New York Times askedSullivan if he wants support from Koch-backed groups like AFP; Sullivan “paused for 25 seconds and then said hehoped to bring all voters together.” (ICYMI: http://nyti.ms/1nkjFVc (http://nyti.ms/1nkjFVc) ).

Iowa: Polls show Republican nominee Joni Ernst, who drew nationwide attention with her ad about castrating pigs,essentially neck-and-neck with Democrat Bruce Braley. A liberal group has gone after Ernst for opposing all energysubsidies, particularly the renewable fuel standard, which is popular in corn-fed Iowa. (Ernst has said she will

support the RFS until all subsidies are gone.) Meanwhile, Americans for Prosperity has taken aim at Braley foropposing Keystone after supporting it before. Braley said he changed his position over concerns the pipelinewould not provide enough energy security for the U.S. and would not send oil to the domestic market.

West Virginia: Coal and EPA’s new climate rules continue to dominate the energy debate between RepublicanShelley Moore Capito and Democrat Natalie Tennant, even though both lobbed heavy criticism at the proposedpower plant regulation that the Obama administration released June 2. The next day, Tennant issued an energyplan that calls for blocking EPA’s regulations, investing in advanced coal technologies like carbon capture, passingnew mine safety legislation and protecting coal miners’ benefits and pensions in bankruptcy proceedings. She alsoargued that the state could become a manufacturing center for solar panels and wind turbines. Polling continues toshow Capito with a healthy lead.

Montana: Polls show Republican Steve Daines outpacing Democrat John Walsh, including a recent poll conductedfor the National Mining Association that gave Daines a 16-point lead. That poll also found that most Montanansoppose EPA’s proposed rule for existing power plants. Daines says “the jury is still out” on whether climate changeis driven by human activity, while Walsh has warned that inaction on climate change threatens major industries likeagriculture and recreation.

New Hampshire: Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and Democratic-aligned PACs made noise last month over accusationsthat Republican Scott Brown had persuaded Senate Republicans to prevent a vote on Shaheen’s big energyefficiency bill. (Brown’s campaign said he spoke with several lawmakers but denied that he “lobbied” against thebill.) More recently, Brown criticized Shaheen over the administration’s new climate rule.

Kentucky: In a race that in some ways mirrors the Louisiana election, Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes ispromising to stand up to Democratic leaders and President Barack Obama on coal issues. But she took fire fromRepublican opponent Mitch McConnell and other critics after POLITICO reported that she did not speak to SenateMajority Leader Harry Reid about coal during a fundraiser, despite saying she had. (ICYMI:http://politico.pro/SUZMuh (http://politico.pro/SUZMuh) ) More than half a million dollars’ worth of attack adsslammed Grimes on the issue. But Grimes has kept up her coal talk on the campaign trail, including a recent tour ofan underground coal mine.

Michigan: Rep. Gary Peters is carving a path as a rare Democrat who is running a competitive race while makingclimate change a prime issue. But Peters is not entirely on board with the administration’s climate agenda; hesuggested that EPA’s new power plant rule would require Michigan to make carbon cuts that are too steepcompared with neighboring states. Republican Terri Lynn Land has declared that climate change is “absolutely areality” but says it’s unclear how much is driven by human activity, matching the stances of GOP senators likeMarco Rubio and John Barrasso. This is another race targeted by Steyer, promising that millions more dollars withgreen roots will pour into the election.

HOUSE RACES

IA-3: David Young, a former chief of staff to Sen. Chuck Grassley, pulled an upset win at Saturday’s convention tobecome the Republican nominee for the seat of the retiring Rep. Tom Latham. Young came in fifth out of sixcandidates in the primary, but a convention of district Republicans selected him over several other candidates —including Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Executive Director Monte Shaw — whose supporters flocked toYoung after they dropped out. Young will face Democrat Staci Appel in what Democrats hope will be one of themore contested House elections.

— Young supports reviving the wind production tax credit and reversing EPA’s recent rollbacks to the RFS, hetold InsideSources in April. “I don’t believe [the PTC] should last forever,” he said. “And I believe we need to find a

consensus between industry and determine at what point they believe they can be self-sufficient — whether thatbe a glide path of five years, seven years, 10 years — because I believe at some point they can become self-sustaining.” He added that EPA is “messing around with the RFS, and we need to get that back in Congress’shands.” More: http://bit.ly/1rnBV2r (http://bit.ly/1rnBV2r)

LCVAF-backed candidates: Two candidates backed by the League of Conservation Voters Action Fund havesailed through their recent primaries: Emily Cain in Maine’s 2nd District, to replace the departing Mike Michaud,and Democrat Aimee Belgard in New Jersey’s 3rd District, to replace the retiring Jon Runyan. Democrat MarthaRobertson is the only Democrat running against sophomore Republican Tom Reed in New York. And in California,two LCVAF-backed Democrats came in second during the blanket primary system this month. Pete Aguilar landed17.4 percent of the vote in CA-31, behind Republican Paul Chabot’s 26.8 percent. In CA-10, Michael Eggmanreceived 26.7 percent, behind incumbent Republican Jeff Denham’s 57.3 percent. Both will go on to the generalelection.

GUBERNATORIAL RACES

Pennsylvania: Democratic former state revenue chief Tom Wolf has at least a 20-point lead in recent polls overRepublican Gov. Tom Corbett, but the incumbent is trying to get mileage out of the EPA power plant rule. Corbetthas joined other GOP governors in slamming the rule and sought to connect it to Wolf. Wolf supports the rule asflexible for states but says it must be implemented responsibly, something he argues Corbett couldn’t do. Steyerhas targeted this race — his NextGen Climate Action hopes to lure low-income voters it says suffer most frompollution, as well as lapsed voters in overwhelmingly blue Philadelphia.

Florida: Republican Gov. Rick Scott and Democratic challenger Charlie Crist are essentially tied in recent polling.Scott has drawn attention for dodging climate questions by saying, “I’m not a scientist,” earning him and otherRepublicans an unnamed rebuke from President Barack Obama at an LCV dinner Wednesday. Steyer is alsogetting involved in this race and will work on boosting Hispanic votes and talking up sea level rise. Crist, a formerRepublican governor who switched parties, still has to get through the Aug. 26 Democratic primary against NanRich.

Maine: Things are looking good for Democrat Mike Michaud, who has consistently shown a small lead overincumbent Republican Paul LePage. The gap isn’t insurmountable, however — and throwing another monkeywrench into the race is Maine’s independent streak, which gives lawyer Eliot Cutler more clout than the typicalthird-party candidate (Cutler nearly beat LePage in 2010). Cutler has some Washington cred: He helped Sen. EdMuskie write the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act, and went on to found an environmental law firm that latermerged with Akin Gump. Cutler’s recent polling has been in the mid-teens, but he is a candidate to keep an eye on.Steyer completes his gubernatorial hat trick here, with messaging set to focus on the threat of climate change toMaine’s forestry and fishing industries.

RECENT AND UPCOMING FUNDRAISERS, via the Sunlight Foundation’s Political Party Time

Alison Lundergan Grimes: DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg and Miramax Films co-founder HarveyWeinstein hosted a cocktail reception for Grimes in New York on Monday: http://bit.ly/1uD1Lj5(http://bit.ly/1uD1Lj5)

Charlie Crist: Broward County Commissioner Stacy Ritter hosted a Fort Lauderdale fundraiser Wednesday:http://bit.ly/1uD1SuU (http://bit.ly/1uD1SuU) . And Bill Clinton will keynote a gala fundraiser for the FloridaDemocratic Party on Saturday: http://bit.ly/1nxd9KO (http://bit.ly/1nxd9KO)

Mark Udall: President Barack Obama headlines an event for the Colorado 2014 Victory Fund on July 9:

© 2014 POLITICO LLC Terms of Service Privacy Policy

CloseSend to a friendWelcome to energy and the midterms —The ‘war on coal’ in West Virginia — Koch vs. Steyerspending plans keep ramping upYour E-mail Friends E-mail(s) Separate emails with a comma. Maximum of 5 emails allowed.

Message Submit

Cancel

http://bit.ly/1kNPqTK (http://bit.ly/1kNPqTK)

** November’s election gives voters a powerful choice on energy. Smart energy policies can grow our economy,create jobs and establish America as a global energy leader. The oil & natural gas industry supports $1.2 trillion ofGDP — that’s 8% of the total U.S. economy. America is now the world’s number-one natural gas producer and isprojected to be the world’s number-one oil producer by 2015. Our refineries create fuels for nearly 250 millionvehicles and commercial, private and military aircraft — as well as the feedstocks for medicines, apparel andfertilizer. With increased access to North American oil & natural gas resources, experts predict we can create 1.4million new American jobs. All that adds up to a fundamental fact: expanding domestic energy production andrefining will create jobs, help grow our economy and keep us secure for generations to come. This election, getinvolved at http://ChooseEnergy.org (http://chooseenergy.org) **