The candidates are off on a nine-week sprint campaign for Congress. This week in CIB:
Campaign Watch: Scramble for Congress Is On
Assuming the courts allow it to stand, the upcoming June 7 primary for seats in North Carolina’s newly-redrawn Congressional map represents a fascinating show to watch over the coming two months. Here are some key facts about that show to remember.
Fact 1: The districts as drawn have never been contested before. Some are radically different. The Democratic-leaning 12th has gone from a ribbon winding its way from Greensboro down I-85 to Charlotte, to an all-Mecklenburg County compact district. The Republican-leaning 13th has completely changed counties as well—going from a district stretching out arms from Wake County toward the east and south, to one heading from southwestern Greensboro and High Point westward to Salisbury, Statesville, and Mooresville.
Fact 2: This has completely scrambled the competitive fields in these two—both of which have been left without a resident incumbent – and in some other districts. The 12th now has three Republicans and seven Democrats running. In the 13th, there are five Democrats and an incredible 17 Republicans competing for the seat.
Fact 3: There are no runoffs. The Republican and Democrat in both of these wild-scramble districts with the most votes after June 7 will be on the November ballot, whether they win with 60% of the primary vote or 6%.
Fact 4: There isn’t much time for the voters to get to know the candidates. Two months? In the context of the American permanent election campaign environment, that’s a sprint, not a marathon. Plus, in the candidate-heavy races, there’s sure to be a high noise factor, making it tougher for voters to sort out who stands for what.
Fact 5: Except for one statewide primary for a Supreme Court seat, the Congressional contests will be the only thing on the June 7 ballot. That’s typically a recipe for low turnout. Most voters don’t recognize the names or importance of judicial contests, so most of the voters coming out on June 7 will be there for the explicit purpose of picking a Congressional candidate. It’s likely to be a smaller turnout, but one with a higher average familiarity with this usually down-ballot contest. (Conservationists take note: Your vote will matter!)
The upshot of these facts is that the votes of those who turn out will carry a good deal more weight individually than usual. Every election cycle, we see a few cautionary tales of every-vote-counts in razor-thin contests, usually local races. (This year we’re still counting and re-counting the ballots in a Winston-Salem City Council primary, where only six votes separate the two contestants, out of more than 4,000 cast.) On June 7, it’s not completely far-fetched that a Congressional seat could be decided by a literal handful of votes.
Are you interested yet? What if we remind you that who we send to the U.S. House may help decide the fate of our national parks and seashores, climate change action rules, the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species acts, and more?
CIB will watch the competitive contests for attention to environmental issues, and for candidates who make a point of featuring their pro-environment experience…or perhaps their hostility toward all things green.
In the 12th, for example, we note that Congresswoman Alma Adams has chosen to file for re-election even though she faces the challenge of a completely revamped district which has left out her home turf in Guilford County. She has a stellar record on environmental issues during her one year (so far) in Congress, boasting a 97% positive score on the National Environmental Scorecard for 2015. She was endorsed by the League of Conservation Voters Action Fund earlier this year. She will have a tough fight for re-election, though, with a primary field that also includes incumbent Mecklenburg NC House members Tricia Cotham, Carla Cunningham, and Rodney Moore, and former Mecklenburg State Senator Malcolm Graham.
For another example, among the 17 Republican candidates competing in the 13th is one with a history of active work in land conservation. Jason Walser of Salisbury served for 12 years as executive director of the Land Trust for Central North Carolina, working with farmers and other landowners for land conservation purchases and programs.
As this short campaign continues, we’ll look for other candidates and issues to highlight, and report any relevant endorsements from conservation organizations. Stay tuned to the conservation channel!
Around the Globe: Renewable Energy Investment Soars
We close this week with some good news from the global environomics front. According to a United Nations report, renewable energy sources added more new electric power generating capacity last year than all other new sources combined. Renewables are beating coal, gas, etc., in the global marketplace.
Total renewable energy investment jumped to $286 billion in 2015, 3% higher than the previous annual record in 2011. Leading national investors included China (no surprise there), but also Chile, Mexico, South Africa, and India. For links to the source articles, see last week’s Climate Post.
As the signs of problem climate change accelerate, we’re also seeing rapid growth in the capacity of our tools to gain control of the problem. It’s news like that which reinforces our understanding that our efforts can still make a difference.
That’s our report for this week.
