Environmental groups were already going to spending a lot of money on taking out vulnerable Republican incumbents like Senator Mark Kirk (R. IL). Well their list is getting bigger:
http://www.mcall.com/...
Environmental groups are targeting Republican Sen. Pat Toomey and several other U.S. senators in coordinated ad campaigns aimed at those who oppose a recently finalized federal carbon-emissions rule.
The National Resource Defense Council Action Fund and Environmenal Defense Fund Action are spending $1 million on television and digital ads calling on Toomey to support the Clean Power Plan.
The Clean Power Plan rule, unveiled by Environmental Protection Agency last month, creates the first-ever national standards aimed at limiting carbon pollution. Pennsylvania power plants will be required to reduce their carbon emissions by nearly 35 percent by 2030
The ads are part of a larger campaign with other environmental groups, including the Sierra Club and the League of Conservation Voters, to target Republican senators who are facing reelection battles next year. Other ads take aim at Sens. Richard Burr of North Carolina, Rob Portman of Ohio, and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, according to The Hill.
"Sen. Toomey is a focus because he is from a state where the public supports action on climate, and yet (he) has been opposed to any real action," said David Goldston, director of government affairs for NRDC Action Fund.
A recent poll from Quinnipiac University found that Pennsylvania voters support federal requirements that coal-burning power plants reduce pollution, 67 percent to 28 percent.
The Pennsylvania ads, which will begin airing Sept. 8 and will run for several weeks, focus on the public health effects that supporters of the emissions rule say would result from cutting carbon pollution. - Morning Call, 9/1/15
And another Tea Party Senator Ron Johnson (R. WI) is really feeling the burn:
http://www.jsonline.com/...
The League of Conservation Voters and Environmental Defense Action Fund said they are spending $1.6 million in Wisconsin for an ad campaign against the incumbent senator.
Johnson's re-election bid next year is shaping up as a rematch of his 2010 race against Democrat Russ Feingold, who lost his seat to Johnson.
In July, the League of Conservation Voters said it would spend $98,000 on ads on satellite television. This time around, ads will be aired on TV in the Milwaukee, Madison and Green Bay markets.
The first of several ads says that voters should urge Johnson to end his opposition to the EPA’s proposal to limit carbon emissions. The Obama administration’s plan is known as the Clean Power Plan, and it’s engendered strong opposition from business groups and the utility industry.
They claim the carbon limits will lead to higher energy prices. Also, in Wisconsin, opponents are criticizing the plan because they say it penalizes coal-intensive states like the Badger State.
Supporters say in addition to cutting carbon dioxide emissions, the lower emissions will lead to cleaner, healthier air. - Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel, 9/2/15
Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are going to be two very competitive races. Johnson is already looking like a one term Senator especially with Russ Feingold (D. WI) seeking a rematch. By the way, Feingold is going to be getting a big boost on the campaign trail:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) will campaign for former Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) in Madison next month, in an attempt to help one of her ideological allies, who was defeated by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) in 2010, return to Congress.
"Ron Johnson sides with the big guys who have already made it, while Russ sides with Wisconsin students and working families," Warren argues in an email scheduled to be sent to supporters Monday afternoon, and provided in advance to The Huffington Post.
The email contrasts Feingold and Johnson's stances on higher education and student loan debt. While Feingold and Warren believe that the federal government shouldn't be able to profit from such debt, Johnson voted against Warren's legislation in 2014 that would have allowed students to refinance their loans. The Republican senator called the legislation “grossly unfair” because the bill would make up for any lost revenue by increasing taxes on wealthy households.
Unpaid student debt has doubled since 2007 to nearly $1.3 trillion. Approximately 40 million Americans have student loan debt, with the average borrower owing nearly $30,000.
Johnson, who has argued that some students take more than four years to graduate because it's too easy to get a loan, has repeatedly said he doesn't believe the federal government should be involved in student loan programs. - Huffington Post, 8/31/15
Now Pennsylvania, my home state, has taken an interesting turn. While I have long been a Joe Sestak (D. PA) supporter I am becoming more intrigued with Katie McGinty's (D. PA) campaign. McGinty, who recently resigned as Governor Tom Wolf's (D. PA) chief of staff, has been gaining several major endorsements from groups like EMILY's List and the United Steelworkers and fromer major political names like Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto (D. PA), former Governor Ed Rendell (D. PA), Pittsburgh based Rep. Mike Doyle (D. PA) and Philadelphia based Rep. Bob Brady (D. PA). In fact, one of those big names is helping run McGinty's campaign:
http://www.mcall.com/...
Former Gov. Ed Rendell is chairing Katie McGinty's campaign for the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey next year.
Rendell says in an emailed release Monday that he encouraged McGinty "to run because she's a problem solver who knows how to get things done."
McGinty was secretary of the state Department of Environmental Protection in Rendell's administration. - Morning Call, 8/11/15
If McGinty wins the nominee and defeats Toomey, she will be the first female Senator from Pennsylvania and the only female member of the Pennsylvania delegation. I for one would like to see how the primary plays out. Whoever wins the nominee in Pennsylvania will have my support because defeating Pat Toomey is a top priority for me in 2016. Feel free to vote for your preferred in the poll below but please do check out McGinty and Sestak's campaign websites and please do donate and get involved with Feingold's campaign:
http://www.katiemcginty.com/
http://joesestak.com/
http://www.russfeingold.com/