Climate Hawks Vote announces endorsements of two Michigan Democrats: Paul Clements for Congress in Michigan’s Sixth District, and Gary Peters for Senate, because the Koch brothers and Big Oil need to stop using Michigan’s shores as a dumping ground for their pollution and Michigan’s politicians for their agenda.
Paul Clements is challenging none other than Fred Upton, chair of the House Energy & Commerce Committee - these days, the House Big Oil Lackey Committee. As the face of Big Oil, Upton has been named the number one enemy of the earth. It’s into his pockets that Big Oil money goes - he’s among the top recipients of money from the oil, gas, and coal-fired electric utility industry. And when Big Oil spilled into the Kalamazoo River, Upton demanded answers for about a week, then went back to business as usual, pushing bills to gut the EPA.
Voting out Fred Upton piqued our interest… but Climate Hawks Vote won’t get involved in a race between a horrible Republican and a mediocre Democrat (we won’t name names, but our scorecard will). Luckily for the voters of southwestern Michigan, Paul Clements is a true climate champion. “Climate change is the greatest threat to Michigan and to the world in the 21st century,” he says.
We wouldn’t be endorsing if we didn’t think Clements has a chance; he’s considered to be Upton’s toughest challenger in years, and anything can happen to entrenched incumbents in a year in which Eric Cantor lost. The district begins as R+1, i.e. a very slight Republican edge that can be beaten by smart Democratic campaigning. Clements has doubled prior Democratic challengers' fundraising, and has a hard-hitting new ad calling out Upton for failing to create cleantech jobs. And he has a message for moderate voters of all parties: formerly moderate Upton changed when he became chair of the Energy & Commerce committee. He's out of touch with the district.
We’re also endorsing Gary Peters, running against Terri Lynn Land in an open seat for Senate. Like Clements, Peters is explicitly running on climate change and the effect it’s having on the Great Lakes. Peters fought the Koch Industries-created piles of petcoke in Detroit, and he’s been carrying a bill to boost electric vehicles - a classic made-in-Michigan solution to climate change.
As before, we’re backing up our endorsement with talons, er, boots on the ground for Peters + Clements voters. Our on-the-ground organizers helped Brian Schatz close the deal in the Hawaii Senate primary, and we helped Ruben Gallego defeat a coal-funded opponent in Arizona’s 7th Congressional District. We're beginning with a voter registration event in Benton Harbor, Berrien County. We aim to win in Michigan.
Organizer Samantha with a friend and our endorsed candidates Paul Clements and Gary Peters
Obligatory request: help us win - every $5 counts.