Statehouse wins give Democrats new power to push clean energy

Before Tuesday’s election, Republicans held more governorships and state legislative seats than Democrats, along with an advantage in state trifectas—unified control of the governor’s office and both chambers of the legislature.

That advantage has disappeared, clearing the path for more climate and clean energy legislation, according to analysts and advocates.

Democrats swept the vast majority of competitive races at the state level, flipping control of governors’ offices from Republicans in Georgia, Iowa, Ohio, Nevada, and Texas.

Democrats have a 29-19 edge in governorships, with Kansas too close to call and Alaska likely to take a while to declare a winner.

The party is on track for a net gain of hundreds of legislative seats, potentially giving it control of more nationwide than Republicans for the first time in more than a decade. Going into the election, Republicans had 4,072 seats and Democrats held 3,257 a research and lobbying firm. Democrats had a net gain of more than 350 seats on Tuesday and are likely to add several hundred more as results continue to be tabulated

Democrats won five new trifectas: Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, with Arizona likely to be the sixth once officials finish counting. Those additions would give the party 22 trifectas, with Republicans holding unified control in 18 states and nine with split control. Kansas is yet to be determined.

Republicans lost trifectas in Iowa, Georgia, Texas, New Hampshire, and Ohio. Before the election, Republicans had trifectas in 23 states, Democrats had 16, and 11 were under split control.

The implications for climate and energy policy are likely to be profound, said Caroline Spears, executive director of Climate Cabinet, an advocacy group.

“In the states, we had a generational political window shift to make people’s lives better, to lower costs, and to lower climate pollution at the same time,” she said in a conference call.

This was the “affordability election” with concerns about inflation and high energy prices, she said.

Newly elected lawmakers will enter office with energy policy proposals to address voter concerns, she said. She noted that renewable energy is less expensive than fossil fuels and can be developed quickly, promising rapid benefits for consumers. The growth of electric transportation reduces greenhouse gas emissions and shields consumers from the volatility of gasoline and diesel, she said.

Jay Inslee, former Democratic governor of Washington and a prominent advocate for climate and clean energy policies, urged lawmakers to seize this opportunity.

Inslee took a jab at President Donald Trump, calling him the election’s clear loser, even though he wasn’t on the ballot.

“The chief climate denier got his head handed to him,” Inslee said.

John Farrell, co-director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, a research and advocacy nonprofit, said in an interview that he is excited to see what comes next with the new trifectas.

“There is this growing sense that more accountability measures are needed in order to rein in [utility] rates, and that utility companies are central to that problem,” he said.

Farrell sees an opportunity for Wisconsin to catch up with neighboring states that have already established climate and clean energy agendas. He’s pleased that Democrats’ legislative majorities in Minnesota are large enough to give the party leeway to propose more ambitious policies. In Michigan, he is encouraged by residents calling for publicly owned utilities and pushing back against the influence of large utilities.

In the past, Farrell might have worried that utilities would stave off consumer-friendly policies by showering newly elected Democrats with campaign donations. But he thinks scenarios like this are less likely now because the public is wary of candidates they view as puppets for large companies. And some candidates have shown it’s possible to win without accepting money from utilities.

“We’re in a moment right now where there is enough scrutiny to make it harder for that sort of check-writing strategy to be successful,” he said.

Dan Gearino covers the business and policy of renewable energy and utilities, often with an emphasis on the midwestern United States. He is the main author of ICN’s Inside Clean Energy newsletter. He came to ICN in 2018 after a nine-year tenure at The Columbus Dispatch, where he covered the business of energy. Before that, he covered politics and business in Iowa and in New Hampshire. He grew up in Warren County, Iowa, just south of Des Moines, and lives in Columbus, Ohio.

This story originally appeared on Inside Climate News.

Inside Climate News
Inside Climate News

Source: arstechnica.com