ICYMI: Washington Post, “Democrats win big in Virginia and New Jersey despite fossil fuel ads”

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Earlier this week, voters across the country rejected the extreme MAGA agenda and climate denial. Republicans in New Jersey and Virginia desperately tried to paint key investments in clean energy as a political liability, airing ads stoking anti-wind hysteria, parroting Big Oil talking points, and celebrating canceled offshore wind projects. Read more in the Washington Post:

“Democrats won crucial victories on Tuesday night in Virginia, where they recaptured the House of Delegates and held onto the Senate, and New Jersey, where they maintained control of their legislative majorities.

“The Democratic victories came despite ad campaigns from the fossil fuel industry urging voters to reject liberal climate plans in both states.

“In Virginia, the oil and gas industry spent tens of thousands of dollars on ads criticizing Virginia’s adoption of California’s clean car standards. And in New Jersey, fossil-fuel-industry-funded groups paid for a flurry of ads falsely claiming that offshore wind turbines kill whales.

“But the messages seem to have fallen flat.

“‘From spreading Big Oil-backed conspiracy theories about offshore wind to hysteria about car bans, Republicans were putting money behind anti-climate and anti-clean energy messages because they were willing to bet it was going to help them win elections,’ Christina Polizzi, a spokeswoman for the environmental group Climate Power, said in an emailed statement. ‘It didn’t.’”

Read the full article here.