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Friend — The path forward on climate action runs through the states.
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As a supporter of LCV, you know that environmental progress doesn’t only happen in Washington, D.C. In fact, a lot of critical progress happens at the state and local levels — especially where LCV and our 30+ affiliates in the Conservation Voters Movement have been successfully leading the fight to advance clean energy and climate action.
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Friend, our issues remain popular — this was true even in November’s elections. To secure pro-environment policies, our movement worked to elect pro-environment leaders — and won. Below we're sharing just a few of the important electoral victories that YOU helped our movement win in states across the country, which will help us to keep pushing climate action forward in the months and years ahead:
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- California
California voters passed Proposition 4, a historic $10 billion climate bond, which was a top priority of California Environmental Voters. The bond will provide vital funding for climate resiliency, wildfire mitigation, air quality, conservation, and clean energy, with at least 40% allocated to vulnerable and disadvantaged communities. - North Carolina
The North Carolina League of Conservation Voters (NCLCV) ran and won its largest ever electoral campaign to protect North Carolinians and their environment. NCLCV, through its independent expenditure PAC, the Conservation Votes PAC (CVP), successfully helped to elect environmental champion Josh Stein as governor, while NCLCV’s coordinated PAC, Conservation PAC, endorsed many victorious candidates, including Jeff Jackson, who will be the state’s next attorney general. CVP also helped to break the anti-environment supermajority in the state legislature, protecting the governor’s ability to veto bad legislation. - Ohio
Ohio voters passed Issue 47 to fund public transit and infrastructure in Central Ohio as part of the LinkUS initiative. The Ohio Environmental Council Action Fund celebrated this win which will increase transit services by 45% in the region, as well as help to build more than 150 miles of bike paths, trails, and sidewalks — a major victory for accessible, reliable, and sustainable transportation. - Pennsylvania
Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania celebrated that pro-environment lawmakers retained control of the state House, maintaining a one-seat majority in the face of strong headwinds. This majority means that the House will continue acting as a counterbalance to pro-polluter bills coming out of the state Senate and backing up Governor Shapiro’s pro-environmental policies. Notable victories included protecting Representatives Brian Munroe in Bucks County, Jim Haddock in Lackawanna and Luzerne Counties, and Mandy Steele in Allegheny County. - Washington
62% of Washington voters rejected Initiative 2117 that would have dismantled the landmark 2021 Climate Commitment Act (CCA) — the nation’s strongest cap-and-invest law. The carbon market created by the CCA has reduced climate pollution and generated over $2.15 billion for green projects, such as electric vehicle rebates, air quality initiatives, and clean energy infrastructure. Initiative 2117 was so bad that it was nominated by Washington Conservation Action Votes to this year’s LCV Victory Fund’s Dirty Dozen in the States — the first time a ballot initiative has ever appeared on this list. By wide margins, Washington voters also elected pro-environment leaders for every major statewide position, including governor, state attorney general, and public lands commissioner.
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Friend, these recent victories by our movement give me so much hope. They show how even with Trump as president, there’s so much progress to be made — but only when we ALL work together.
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LCV and our state affiliates are fiercely committed to protecting people and the planet, and we know how to fight back against what is coming. After anti-environment leaders won control of the federal government in 2016, we focused on advancing clean energy progress in the states and blocking Trump’s most extreme anti-environment policies and appointments. Today, thanks to policies we helped win since 2017, more than 40% of people in the U.S. live in a city, county, or state that is committed to 100% clean energy.
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Our nationwide movement is even more powerful now and will continue to make progress in 2025 and beyond, while also pushing back on Trump’s dangerous pro-polluter agenda. At the federal level, this means working to block MAGA Republicans’ efforts not only to gut environmental investments from the Inflation Reduction Act and protections for clean air, clean water, and public lands, but also to weaken voting rights, undermine democracy, or roll back our fundamental rights and freedoms.
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These attacks are both bad policy and politically unpopular. Together, we will fight to stop them while continuing to advance progress at the state and local level.
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Thank you for staying in the fight with us!
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Gene Karpinski President League of Conservation Voters
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