We have a new president and vice president coming in January — and our planet breathes a huge sigh of relief.
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris defeated incumbent President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence in a hard-fought contest. In the end, the challengers earned a convincing popular vote majority, but a narrower win in the electoral college. The results were not clear for several days, as several states worked overtime to count the surge of mailed absentee ballots. That counting continues across the country, including here in North Carolina, as other races remain too close to call.
Environmental advocates were thrilled by Biden’s win. The national League of Conservation Voters (LCV) and its affiliates supported the Biden-Harris ticket and made substantial supportive investments in the presidential contest.
“The candidate with the most ambitious plan for climate action and environmental justice ever has won the most votes ever. Over the past few weeks, voters made a clear choice to elect new leaders who will create millions of good paying jobs, center the health and well-being of our communities, and make our country a leader in climate action once again,” said LCV President Gene Karpinski. “This is the end of the toxic, anti-science, anti-environment, racist agenda of the Trump administration — together we defeated the dirtiest president of all time. And to be clear, this victory would not have happened without people of color who had to overcome historic barriers to voting. LCV is so proud to have helped elect President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris, and we can’t wait to work with them to build back better for a more just and equitable clean energy future for all.”
Meanwhile, the question of who controls the congressional agenda is still in play, with two critical runoffs set to take place on January 5 In Georgia. Republicans are expected to win 50 other Senate seats, and Democrats are ahead in 48. If the Democratic candidates win both Georgia runoff contests, then the 50-50 tie will be broken by new Vice President Harris for Democratic control. While it has been decades since Georgia elected a Democratic senator, it had also been 26 years since a Democrat won Georgia’s presidential vote. The Biden-Harris ticket narrowly leads in Georgia’s totals, with a recount expected.
Unfortunately, one of the senators likely to win re-election when all the dust settles is our own Thom Tillis. Go ahead and remind him he still works for all of us and that there is a lot of work to be done on our behalf. Tell him to include support for North Carolina clean energy jobs in the COVID relief package the Senate still has not moved on!
