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League of Conservation Voters
The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) is the independent political voice for the environment. To secure the environmental future of our planet, LCV's mission is to advocate for sound environmental policies and to elect pro-environmental candidates who will adopt and implement such policies.
-- Through our National Environmental Scorecard and Presidential Report Card we inform the public about the most important environmental legislation of the past Congressional session and show them how their own and other representatives voted.
-- We run tough and effective campaigns to defeat anti-environment candidates, and support those leaders who stand up for a clean, healthy future for America.
-- We educate the public, build coalitions, promote grassroots power, and train the next generation of environmental leaders as part of our grassroots efforts.
Blog Posts from League of Conservation Voters
Thank you!
Thank you to everyone who joined us at the 2012 State Summit this week -- we hope you found the panels helpful. We look forward to an exciting 2012 and welcome any suggestions you might have to make the next State Summit even better!
Summit is Almost Here!
The America Votes 2012 State Summit is only days away. Don't miss your chance to be a part of one the most important gatherings of progressives in 2012. Check out the State Summit page here.
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QUICK HIT: Huntsman Slams Fox on Global Warming
You know it's bad when GOP candidates are dropping the gloves with Fox News hosts. GOP Presidential candidate Jon Huntsman appeared on Fox and Friends Monday morning and went toe-to-toe on global warming with co-host Brian Kilmeade. Huntsman has always warned of the consequences of global warming, and he is not backing down as the primary camapaign heats up.
From RawStory:
When the former Utah governor defended the research on climate change, Kilmeade began to slam the scientists behind the studies by saying their findings were "surrounded by corruption."
Huntsman swiftly responded, "Let's get serious with the issues of the day."
Watch the video of the exchange here.
Twitter Round-up Part II
Below are some of the tweets sent out by our AV staff, who are working across the country pounding the pavement and getting out the vote.
At Common Concerns, checking out another great staging location sending canvassers out into PA-6 and PA-7!
Getting CO early vote and mail-in numbers today; progressive returns increasing daily. Keep it up-send in your ballot! Early vote ends Fri
In Columbus OH, volunteers arriving for Planned Parenthood and Equality Ohio phone bank tonight (despite torrential rain!)
Rural Organizing Campaign- aka ROC- rally tonite in Defiance, OH at the UAW Hall to energize rural, NW Ohio voters for GOTV & E- Day.
all hands on deck for GOTV turf cutting in Columbus, OH this morning!
Great work in PA-7 and PA-8 being done by Vote Vets and LCV. Thanks for the site visit and program update team!
Calm before the storm? Not really...gearing up for our 96hr GOTV, let's go CO!
WI: In MKE now at 1 of 2 staging sites here. trained 160 canvassers and drivers yesterday, expecting 250+ more today! #gotv
Manchester, NH: Day 4 on the ground. 28 canvassers out and about. Phonebank in Concord and progressive voter guide ALMOST done! good day.
As always, you can follow America Votes on twitter, @Americavotes
AV Partners Sprinting to the Finish
We're only two weeks away from Election Day, and campaigns across the country are in their final sprint to the finish. Not only are candidates making their final pitches to voters, but so are many of our partners.
We've talked about how the path to victory for Democrats is through a strong ground game
this year, and unions are coming through. Kevin Bogardus at The Hill
is reporting that labor unions are making their final campaign pushes to get out the vote on November 2nd, if not before then. The SEIU has spent $200,000 in the last week on billboards, direct mail, and radio ads, upping their spending total to $1.3 million since mid-September. The spending was in support of several house candidates including Reps. John Boccieri, Mark Schauer, Betty Sutton, and Dina Titus.
"This election is a clear choice," said Teddy Davis, a SEIU spokesman. "One side wants to strengthen the middle class and put people back to work. The other side wants to turn Social Security over to Wall Street, end Medicare as we know it and abolish the minimum wage."
Bogardus also reports that AFSCME has spent $5.2 million in support of Democrats thus far. They've supported not only Boccieri, Schauer, and Titus, by Reps. Kathy Dahlkemper and Steve Kagen as well. The American Federation of Teachers has spent over $430,000 on canvassing for Democrats in New Hampshire, Florida, and Pennsylvania. Meanwhile the AFL-CIO and Working America have spent over half a million dollars on canvassing and report that over 5,000 canvassers have knocked on over 100,000 doors, distributed 17.5 million fliers and sent 14.5 millions pieces of direct mail.
What are the results of this late push? We won't know for sure until Election Day, but early polling seems promising. AFL-CIO Political Director Karen Ackerman told the Wall Street Journal that in Pennsylvania, Joe Sestak has increased his lead among union members from 45-39% on Labor Day to a current 55-29% edge. This comes on the heels of a PPP poll released this week that shows Sestak leading Pat Toomey 46-45%.
Finally, Darren Goode reports for The Hill that the League of Conservation purchased $250,000 in ad buys supporting House members who voted for the contentious "cap-and-trade" climate bill last year. Goode reports that the LCV's recent ad buys push its independent expenditures up to $3 million for the cycle, nearly eclipsing the $3.3 million it spent during the 2008 election. This cycle, the LCV has been especially supportive of several candidates including, Schauer, Boccieri, Titus, and Sen. Michael Bennet. Furthermore, the LCV partnered with Vote Vets to make a $250,000 ad buy in support of Sestak's Senate bid.
Progressives Working Ground Game As Conservative Groups Storm The Airwaves
Sam Stein at the Huffington Post just went up with a piece about the importance of ground game and how it can be a saving grace in a few weeks, as progressive independent groups like Ameriac Votes partners LCV and AFL-CIO invest heavily in canvassing and GOTV.
Stein points out that:
In-person contact tends to be a much stronger way to persuade voters
than television ads. And while the AFL-CIO is limited to talking to
union members, an allied group, Working America, has the leeway to make
election pitches to non-union laborers. An official with the group says
they've knocked on "at least 700,000 doors in 13 cities and 9 states
across the country" to date.
Read the full piece here.
New Hampshire & Wisconsin Primary Round-Up
Seven states plus the District of Columbia held primaries yesterday, including two AV states.
In New Hampshire, the big news was that establishment pick Kelly Ayotte survived a late challenge from Tea Party favorite Ovide Lamontagne to win the Senate GOP nomination. The race was incredibly close as Ayotte won by less than 2,000 votes out of more than 136,000 votes cast. She will face Rep. Paul Hodes in what many consider a toss-up election to suceed retiring Sen. Judd Gregg (R).
Staying in New Hampshire, the other big result for Democrats came in the 2nd Congressional District. Ann McLane Kuster, who had the backing of several high profile progressive organizations defeated Katrina Swett, former co-chair to Sen. Lieberman's 2004 Presidential bid. Kuster, who as we highlighted yesterday had the support of EMILY's List, the League of Conservation Voters, and other leading progressive groups, was leading Swett 65%-34% with many of New Hampshire's larger precints already reported when Swett conceded the race. Kuster will face former Rep. Charlie Bass in the general election. Bass claimed victory in defeating Jennifer Horn in a hard fought GOP primary.
Other notable New Hampshire results include Frank Guinta winning the GOP primary in the 1st Congressional District, advancing to face incumbent Carol Shea-Porter, and incumbent Democratic Governor John Lynch will seek re-election against Republican John Stephen.
Meanwhile in Wisconsin, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett cruised to the Democratic nomination while Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker easily defeated ex-Rep. Mark Neumann. In addition, Russ Johnson won the GOP Senate primary and will face Russ Feingold in the general election. He became the frontrunner almost immediately
Primary Day in New Hampshire & Wisconsin
New Hampshire and Wisconsin mark the last two America Votes states to hold their primaries, and each have exciting races to watch. In New Hampshire there has been much attention been paid to the GOP Senate primary, yet Democrats have a competitive primary of their own in the 2nd Congressional District. Meanwhile in Wisconsin, much of the focus rests on who the Republicans will choose to face Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett.
The main storyline in New Hampshire has focused on the GOP Senate Race. In recent weeks, Tea Party candidate Ovide Lamontagne has surged to challenge establishment and Sarah Palin-backed Kelly Ayotte, long considered the front runner and presumptive nominee. Polls conducted in the last week by PPP and Magellan have seen Lamontagne close the gap to seven points and four points, respectively. The winner of the primary will face outgoing Rep. Paul Hodes in what promises to be one of the most competitive Senate contests this November. But as John Distaso writes for the New Hampshire Union-Leader, while the Senate race may be the big story in the Granite State, it's just one out of four competitive GOP primaries taking place today.
While it's mostly Republican races that are drawing headlines, Democrats remain keenly interested in their outcomes. Along with the New Hampshire Senate contest, the GOP Senate contest in Delaware presents Republicans with a choice between an establishment candidate and a Tea Party candidate. Like Lamontagne, Christy O'Donnell has surged late in a challenge to Rep. Mike Castle in the First State. O'Donnell has drawn support in recent weeks from the Tea Party Express as well as Palin and Sen. Jim DeMint, who view Castle as too moderate. In both New Hampshire and Delaware, many Democrats are rooting for an upset of Ayotte and Castle, who they view as less radical and more electable. With Lamontagne and O'Donnell on the ballot, Democrats believe they have a better chance to win two crucial Senate seats. As DSCC chair Sen. Robert Menendez explains to the New York Times, "In a year where Republicans want these races to be all about Democrats, Republican nominees who have extreme positions help us make the contrasts we need to make."
While the Democratic side of the ballot may be quieter, the race to succeed Rep. Hodes in New Hampshire's 2nd Congressional District also promises to be very close. The Democratic primary pits Katrina Swett, the daughter of wife of former Reps. Tom Lantos and Dick Swett, against attorney Ann McLane Kuster. The race drew the attention of Politico reporter Alex Isenstadt as one of three races where progressive candidates have the opportunity to make hay. Isenstadt writes that Kuster has received support from a broad range of progressive groups including AV partners EMILY's List and the League of Conservation Voters.
Finally in Wisconsin, Jason Stein for the Milwaukee Sentinel-Journal reports that state officials are expecting a record-high turnout for today's primary. Leading the way is the GOP gubernatorial primary between Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker and former Rep. Mark Neumann, with the winner advancing to face Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. Also of note is the GOP Senate primary in which three Republicans, led by plastic manufacturer Ron Johnson, are vying to take on Sen. Russ Feingold in the general election.