Climate Deniers on the Ballot in 2018

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As the midterm elections approach, DeSmog is taking this opportunity toย highlight some of the top climate science deniers currently running for office in the U.S.

Did we miss someone notable? Let usย know.

Rep. Clay Higginsย (R-La)

Recently featured on DeSmogย for some of his other extreme views, Rep. Clay Higgins of Louisiana’s Third Congressional Districtย qualifies as aย climate science denier on top of being aย โ€œwarriorโ€ for the natural gasย industry.

Higgins told PBS News Hour in August 2017: โ€œClimate change has always happened, that’s my argument, well before, you know, we had four-wheel drive trucks and boats and Suburbans rolling around or, you know, large industrial plants andย whatnot.โ€ย 

Andย the climate denier-in-chief Donald Trump, who recently made a similarly flawed argument on 60 Minutes,ย tweeted his support: โ€œWe wantย Clay!โ€

North Carolinaโ€™s Ninth Congressionalย District

North Carolina was recently devastated by Hurricane Florence, which has raisedย discussions of climate change in a historically skeptical state. The congressional seat in the Ninth District, which felt the impacts of Florence,ย is currently up for grabsย after the Republican incumbent lost in theย primary.

Running on the Republican side is Mark Harris, a conservative Baptist preacher and avid Trump supporter. While Harris has run for office before, he has notย won.

In 2014 when asked if he believed in climate change, he simply said, โ€œNo.โ€ย 

Running against Harris is Dan McCready, a Harvard Business School graduate and former marine who started a solar investment fund after graduating from Harvard. Polls show a tight race. Though both candidates were asked at a debate about their views on public education andย climate change, neither directly answered theย question.

This remains a close race as in twoย recent polls McCready led in one and Harris led in the otherย (although both were within the margin of error). McCready does haveย a major fundraising advantage over Harris for theย last weeks of the campaign making this a competitive race in a district that was expected to be an easy win forย Republicans.ย 

And while the candidates aren’t talking about climate change, their future constituents increasingly are.ย As The Washington Post recently reported, the state’s extreme weather has been making believers out of former climate deniers. One Trump supporter reportedly said, โ€œI always thought climate change was a bunch of nonsense, but now I really do think it isย happening.โ€

Floridaย Governorย Race

The race to be the next Governor of Florida will conclude long before the recovery fromย Hurricane Michael does. Notably, the current governor of Florida, Rick Scott,ย banned use of the phrase โ€œclimate changeโ€ in governmentย communications.

The Republican candidate is Ron DeSantis, a three-term Congressman who recently resigned from Congress to run full-time for governor. DeSantis is a Trump favorite, with the Presidentย recently tweeting: โ€œA great Congressman and top student at Harvard &ย Yale.โ€

In a recent debate DeSantis said he doesnโ€™t โ€œwant to be an alarmistโ€ โ€” a favorite term of climate science deniers โ€” when talking about climate change, despite commentingย shortly after Hurricane Michael devastated theย panhandle.

Democratic candidate Andrew Gillum got straight to the point, sayingย if he is elected, the people of Florida will โ€œhave a governor who believes in science, which we haven’t had for quite some time in this state.โ€ He is also campaigning on cutting greenhouse gas emissions and shifting to renewableย energy.

For a state battling climate-fueledย sea level rise, hurricanes,ย and toxic algae, a belief in science in the state house would indeed be aย novelty.

The co-owner of the only house on Mexico Beachย that survived Hurricane Michael with barely any damageย summed up the reality when speaking with DeSmogโ€™s Julie Dermansky: โ€œIโ€™m tired of politicians lying to us. The American people need to understand they are lying. The people who are denying climate change are not telling the truth.โ€ Incidentally, he’s aย Republican.ย 

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA)

Rep. Rohrabacher is a longtime Congressman representing Orange County, California, who is known forย climate denyingย statements such as, โ€œI disagree with the theory that CO2, done by mankind, is a major cause for climateย change.โ€

Despite his district’s typically conservative history (though Hillary Clinton beat Trump there by two points in 2016), Rohrabacher finds himself in a competitive race against Democrat Harley Rouda.ย Last week the Los Angeles Times reported that a national Super PAC closely aligned with House Speaker Paul Ryanย stopped spending money on Rohrabacherโ€™s race โ€” a troubling sign for his campaignโ€” but perhaps a positive one for theย climate.

Texas Senateย Race

Former Republican presidential candidate and incumbent Texas Senator Ted Cruz is well known for his climate denialism. Now facing a tough challenge from newcomer Beto Oโ€™Rourke, Cruz gave a classic non-response to a question about climate change in a recentย debate.

โ€œOf course, the climate is changing,โ€ย Cruz said.ย โ€œThe climate has been changing since the dawn ofย time.โ€ย 

On the other hand, Cruzโ€™s opponent Oโ€™Rourke was quite clear on his position on climate change at the debate:ย โ€œThe climate is changing. And man-made climate change is aย fact.โ€

In a state that suffered $125 billion in damages from Hurricane Harvey โ€” which broke rainfall records forย a continental U.S. city โ€”ย 70 percent of adults agree global warming is happening, though only 42 percent believe that it will harm themย personally.

Pennsylvania Governorย Race

After belittlingย as โ€œa little young and naiveโ€ an 18-year-old constituentย who asked him about climate change (and his campaign contributions from the fossil fuel industry),ย Pennsylvania Republican candidate for governor Scott Wagner said, โ€œAre we here to elect a governor, or are we here to elect aย scientist?โ€ย 

In past comments, Wagner has used typical denier talking points when discussingย climate change, saying: โ€œI havenโ€™t been in a science class in a long time, but the earth moves closer to the sun every year โ€” you know the rotation of the earth. Weโ€™re moving closer to theย sun.โ€

He went on to say: โ€œWe have more people. You know, humans have warm bodies. So is heat coming off? Things are changing, but I think we are, as a society, doing the best weย can.โ€

In case you were wondering: No, human body heat is not causing climate change and neither is the position of the Earth to the sun. And no, climate scientists don’t think we’re doing the best we can.

Notableย Mentions

In a debate for the open Senate seat in Arizona, Republican candidate Martha McSally responded to a question about climate change by saying, โ€œI canโ€™t believe this is the last questionโ€ and didnโ€™t directly give an answer.ย Democratic candidate Kyrsten Sinema said, โ€œI do believe that climate change isย real.โ€

However, in response to a similar question by the Arizona Republic earlier this month, McSally, a representative who has frequently voted against the climate,ย acknowledged: โ€œOur environment and the Earth’s climate are changing and there is likely a human element to it.โ€ But she went on to call Obama’s signature climate change program, the Clean Power Plan, โ€œcrushing regulationโ€ and failed to offer any specific approach to addressing climate change inย Arizona.

Not exactly denial but not exactly embracing the scientific consensusย either.

And while Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) isn’t up for reelection this year, he lost no time in the wake ofย Hurricane Michael’sย devastation to unleash a string of climate denial talking points,ย including doubtย that climate change is substantiallyย caused by human activity.

When asked by CNNโ€™s Jake Tapper what he would tell his children 20 years from now about what he did to help stop the impacts of climate change, Rubio didnโ€™t have good news for the kids:ย โ€œWeโ€™re going to have to do something โ€ฆ But Iโ€™m also not going to destroy our economy. Thereโ€™s a realityย here.โ€

Check out this video for more of Rubioโ€™s views on climateย change.

Climate Change and Electoralย Politics

As the impacts of climate change become more severe, widespread, and frequent, expect climate change to play a bigger role in electoral politics (it certainly has plenty of room toย grow).

For example, one of the few Republicans in the country who isย outspoken in acknowledgingย climate change is Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-FL) who represents southern Florida, including the Florida Keys. If nothing is done about sea level rise, much of his district may be underwaterย in a fewย decades.

Main image:ย Hurricane Michael overflight of Mexico Beach, Florida. Credit: U.S. Coast Guard, publicย domain

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Justin Mikulka is a research fellow at New Consensus. Prior to joining New Consensus in October 2021, Justin reported for DeSmog, where he began in 2014. Justin has a degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Cornell University.

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