Climate Hawks Vote — Scorecard

112th Congress (2011-2012) 

• Jerry Moran (R) not scored
• Pat Roberts (R) not scored

113th Congress (2013-2014)

• Moran (R) not scored
• Roberts (R) not scored

114th Congress (2015-2016)

• Moran (R) not scored
• Roberts (R) not scored

We haven't yet scored either one of these Republicans. Please join our email list and grassroots movement to elect climate hawks in this and other states in 2016 and after. 

Climate Hawks Vote — Scorecard

112th Congress (2011-2012) 

• Jim Risch (R) not scored
• Mike Crapo (R) not scored

113th Congress (2013-2014)

• Risch (R) not scored
• Crapo (R) not scored

114th Congress (2015-2016)

• Risch (R) not scored
• Crapo (R) not scored

We haven't yet scored either one of these Republicans. Please join our email list and grassroots movement to elect climate hawks in this and other states in 2016 and after. 

Climate Hawks Vote — Scorecard

112th Congress (2011-2012) 

• Johnny Isakson (R) not scored
• Saxby Chambliss (R) not scored

113th Congress (2013-2014)

• Isakson (R) not scored
• Chambliss (R) not scored

114th Congress (2015-2016)

• Isakson (R) not scored
• David Perdue (R) not scored

We haven't yet scored either one of these Republicans. Please join our email list and grassroots movement to elect climate hawks in this and other states in 2016 and after. 

Climate Hawks Vote — Scorecard

112th Congress (2011-2012) 

• John McCain (R) not scored
• Jon Kyl (R) not scored

113th Congress (2013-2014)

• McCain (R) not scored
• Jeff Flake (R) not scored

114th Congress (2015-2016)

• McCain (R) not scored
• Flake (R) not scored

We haven't yet scored any of these Republicans. Please join our email list and grassroots movement to elect climate hawks in this and other states in 2016 and after - we helped elect Ruben Gallego to Congress in Arizona's 7th District. 

We're delighted to announce our first two endorsements: Brian Schatz for Senate-Hawaii and Stanley Chang for Congress in Hawaii's 1st Congressional District. And we're backing our endorsements with boots, or in our case talons, on the ground in advance of the August 9 primary.

Practically the first words Brian Schatz said upon arrival in Washington were: "Climate change is urgent, solveable, human-caused, and real." He's shaken up the Senate by, among other things, organizing the #UpForClimate all-night talkathon. And he told a Netroots Nation 2013 panel the same thing that they heard at Climate Hawks Votes' NN13 off-grid talk the previous day: we need to elect Democrats who will prioritize the climate crisis, not just treat it as yet another Democratic issue.

Update August 27 - Victory! You know you've made an impact on the race when Gallego backers tweet Wilcox staffers to "enjoy their dirty coal money." We phonebanked, we rallied, we meme'd, but most of all we got the word out: Wilcox has secret deals with dark-money-source APS and openly takes coal-funded electric utility money. Local media tried to portray the race as simply one of personalities - they weren't interested in Gallego's efforts to talk climate policy with an editorial board - so we immediately obtained 400 signatures on a petition to the papers to cover climate issues.  In short, we highlighted the contrast between a climate hawk and one who doesn't care about the issue (or worse, would obstruct progress), and emerged victorious, thanks to smart on-the-ground organizing. Gallego defeated Wilcox, 48% to 36%, and is assured of a fall victory with no Republican opponent.

It's a rare chance to elect a climate hawk in the House of Representatives this year in Phoenix, Arizona. We're delighted to endorse Ruben Gallego in Arizona's 7th Congressional District, in a Democratic primary August 26. 

Here's the setup. Retiring Rep. Ed Pastor has represented the deep blue district, but he's apparently taken a vow of climate silence - he's scored a grand total of 3 points, out of 100, on our scorecard by cosponsoring a handful of solar bills and otherwise ducking the issue. The front-runners are Iraq war veteran Ruben Gallego and county supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox, facing each other (and assorted others) in less than five weeks. 

Gallego's announcement focused on climate change and wage disparity: "There really needs to be an argument on these issues, also from a Hispanic perspective," he said. "I think we need Hispanic congressmen and congresswomen to start stepping up and talking about climate change, start talking about a living wage or at least a higher minimum wage, because that directly impacts Latinos here in this country." He opposes both the Keystone pipeline and the Rosemont copper mine, and he wants to bring more solar energy (and jobs!) to the sunny state. Rep. Raul Grijalva, MoveOn, Dolores Huerta, and DailyKos are among his endorsers.

Meanwhile, his opponent takes coal money but doesn't bother to include an energy/environment page on her website. Best guess: she'll avoid mentioning climate and score in the same range as Pastor. Gallego, on the other hand, can be one of the few chances in 2014 to put a climate champion in the House.

Polls from a while back showed Gallego leading by a few points, but with a huge percentage of undecideds - in other words, the kind of race where voter contact and turnout make a difference. And that's why we're backing up our endorsement with boots on the ground, just as we're doing in the Hawaii primaries. Best of all for Arizona's democratic future, the more we turn out voters in a district that historically doesn't vote much, the more we help turn them into habitual voters...and help turn around the politics of a sometimes-crAZy state.

We’re endorsing climate hawk Shenna Bellows to be the next Senator from Maine because business as usual is no longer good enough in the face of a local and worldwide crisis. Long-time incumbent Susan Collins admits the existence of a problem, to her credit; but far from proposing credible solutions, her actions range from policy homeopathy to delay to active hindrance.

While working on our sophisticated scorecard measuring leadership - not just votes - on climate for Senate Democrats, we are also tracking four Senate Republicans in advance of the 2014 election. We’re measuring Susan Collins’ record of public engagement, bills authored and cosponsored, press releases, website, and internal Senate groups joined, beginning January 2011, using the same yardsticks we’re applying to Democrats. And, to be blunt, her record of leadership is worse than her mediocre voting record.

We weight public engagement far more than any other factor. Leaders need to be interacting with citizens on this immense issue, whether it’s speeches on the Senate floor or town halls with local fishermen or keynoting business conferences. Collins hasn’t done any of that. Instead, she had one moment in the spotlight in September 2011 delivering the GOP’s rebuttal to President Obama’s weekly address, in which she demanded a time-out for EPA regulations.

The bills she’s authored have been, mostly, to track, curb, and delay “major regulations,” DC-speak for EPA rules. She’s cosponsored a pro-Keystone XL bill and bills to “rein in the EPA.”

Her press releases likewise sound a similar theme: the only acceptable response to climate change is to sit down and do nothing for a year. Or two. Or until Congress thinks of a plan to repeal and replace Obamacare, ooops, we mean, EPA regulations.

Collins’ appeal to some national environmental groups is obvious: she accepts the science, unlike most Republicans of the climate zombie era, and bipartisanship sounds nice. But her  delay-and-dither approach is flat out wrong. Maine, faced with ocean acidification and warming seas affecting its iconic lobster harvest, deserves better. Support for business-as-usual politicians like Collins, and her many counterparts on the Democratic Party side, is tantamount to acceptance of a business-as-usual carbon emissions trajectory.

We founded Climate Hawks Vote to elevate the voices of those few leaders who see the climate crisis as a priority. Shenna Bellows has earned our endorsement. She will seek limits on carbon emissions. She opposes the Keystone XL pipeline. And - unlike Collins - she’s taken a firm stand on an issue important to Maine voters and the larger climate community: she’s opposed the proposed Portland Montreal Pipeline Reversal, a plan to re-engineer an existing pipeline to carry carbon-intensive tarsands from Canada to Portland, Maine and then to the global marketplace.  Maine needs to elect Shenna Bellows to the Senate.

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 was 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. His new ad - watch it here - touts clean energy solutions.

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. Climate Hawks Vote aims to defeat Upton to send a clear message: Big Oil and Michigan waters don’t mix.

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.  

Climate Hawks Vote is delighted to endorse Scott Peters in California’s 52d Congressional District of San Diego for his strong climate leadership and for taking first place in our August 2014 survey. And his approach just may break partisan gridlock in Congress.

Scott Peters has a reputation as a problem solver. Climate hawks tend to fly on the left wing of the Democratic Party, but Peters has demonstrated that climate transcends political partisanship. He’s spoken out onsuper-pollutants, national security, and resiliency, all issues that should not be bogged down in partisan bickering.

Peters eked out a victory in 2012 in a swing district, and he’s facing a very tough reelection fight - DC pundits consider his race one of the few true tossups of 2014. He could have ducked the thorny climate issue. Instead, he stepped up to the plate in a big way once in office, taking on a leadership role in the House Sustainable Energy & Environment Coalition, authoring bills, and speaking out in the national and local press. That took political courage.

His courage is reflected in our scorecard, which measures leadership - not just votes - on climate. In the short time he’s been in Congress, he’s in fifth place among all Democrats in the House of Representatives, above stalwart climate hawks in Oregon, Vermont, and deep blue parts of California; the scorecard is cumulative since 2011.

Peters has also been endorsed by the US Chamber of Commerce - the first time we’ve ever agreed with the Chamber! but that fact gives us hope: perhaps climate can transcend politics. We need to return Scott Peters and his problem solving approach to Congress.

Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshire Senator, has earned a very high score on our scorecard, and thus our endorsement. She’s carrying one bill, the Energy Savings & Industrial Competitiveness Act, so we knew she had an interest in energy efficiency. What surprised us in scoring her actions was the depth of her commitment to the issue. She’s stumped for energy efficiency up and down her home state. She’s visited manufacturers, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Ivy League classes, an island historic hotel, and, it seems just about every business in the state to send a message with broad appeal: the energy that is both the cheapest and the cleanest is the energy that isn’t used in the first place. She’s been speaking out on energy efficiency, frequently and consistently, for years. And in doing so, she’s educated and engaged the public on a critical issue with bipartisan appeal.

If Shaheen were in the House of Representatives, she’d rank among the top half-dozen House Democrats on our tough scorecard. Again, we’re scoring leadership to separate climate hawks from those who might vote the right way but who duck the issue in engaging with the public.

Shaheen is being challenged by a joke of a Republican who’s flip-flopped as much on climate science as his residency. However, Climate Hawks Vote doesn’t endorse mediocre Democrats who’ll put the climate crisis on the back burner just because they’re fighting bad Republicans. Rather, we selectively endorse only those who demonstrate leadership. Here, Jeanne Shaheen understands the moral imperative of the climate crisis. She’s working with a Republican, Rob Portman (R-OH), to pass a solid bill. She’s earned our endorsement, and she deserves another term in the Senate.