WASHINGTON - November 8 - The message from the 2006 election is clear. Voters want a new direction for America. Congress should start by delivering a New Energy Future

This fall U.S. PIRG launched the New Energy Future campaign to take advantage of the 2006 Election as an opportunity to show broad public support for moving America beyond oil and toward a cleaner and more secure energy future.

We asked all Congressional candidates to endorse the New Energy Future platform, a bold plan to change America’s course on energy. Our partners in Colorado,  Michigan,  Pennsylvania,  North Carolina and Maine ran similar campaigns focused on candidates for state office.

In the past 6 weeks, New Energy Future organizers, activists, and volunteers have worked in the most high profile congressional races; raising the visibility of the campaign at candidate events, collecting petition signatures, and submitting letters to the editor.  New Energy Future activists turned out to candidate debates from Pennsylvania to Washington, asking the candidates where they stand on energy issues.

Today, we are releasing the names of the candidates who have endorsed the New Energy Future platform, and our preliminary analysis of the role that energy played in the 2006 elections.

Last night’s returns demonstrate that the American people want Congress to move America toward a new, cleaner energy future. Candidates across the country and across the political spectrum endorsed the New Energy Future platform, showing that the platform is not just good policy but good politics. Looking at the endorsers of the New Energy Future campaign who have won the election, and the debate on energy issues in some of the top Congressional races:

• Energy issues were a factor in many of the most competitive congressional races.
• Clean energy is a winning issue, and has support from across the political spectrum.
• Key majority leaders now support bold action on clean energy.

Energy issues were a factor in many of the most competitive congressional races.
Thirty sevenmajor party candidates in the fifty races targeted by the campaign endorsed the New Energy Future platform, with at least 18 and as many as 21 candidates winning In addition to endorsing the New Energy Future platform, candidates in many of these districts ran ads to stake out their position in support of clean energy, energy independence and solutions to rising gas prices. Candidates also criticized their opponents for their ties to Big Oil. Many of these ads also connected oil industry political contributions to corruption and the war in Iraq.

With candidates running ads and talking about energy, there is little surprise that energy played a role in the press coverage of the elections as well. For a sampling of press coverage of the New Energy Future Campaign, and the role of energy in the elections, visit our NEWS page.

Perhaps one of the best examples of a victory for a New Energy Future is that Jerry McNerney, who unseated Rep. Richard Pombo (CA-11), campaigned heavily on his record as a renewable energy businessman, and featured wind turbines and the slogan “New Energy for Congress” throughout his campaign. As chairman of the Resources Committee, Rep. Pombo is widely known as an opponent on environmental issues, and was attacked in the campaign for his ties to Big Oil.

Environmental and energy issues also played a role in New Energy Future endorser Ron Klein’s defeat of Rep. Clay Shaw in Florida’s 22 nd district.

In Illinois, Peter Roskam, who won in the one of state’s tightest races showed his commitment to leadership on clean energy by endorsing the New Energy Future platform.

In the Senate, energy ads ran in at least nine states. Six Senate candidates in high profile races in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New Jersey endorsed the New Energy Future platform.

In Connecticut, Senator Joseph Lieberman, a political moderate supporter of environmental and clean energy legislation and a New Energy Future endorser, touted his record on global warming and energy in ads and speeches as he successfully fended off Democratic challenger Ned Lamont.

Clean Energy Enjoys Broad Political Support. The 2006 elections saw even some of the most conservative candidates supporting renewable energy, reducing our dependence on oil, and energy conservation. This trend was highlighted by New Energy Future endorsers reaching across the political spectrum from California’s Lynn Woolsey to Pennsylvania’s Rick Santorum and Curt Weldon, Georgia’s Mac Collins and Sanford Bishop, and Minnesota’s Gil Gutknecht.

In several races both candidates staked out a position in favor of clean energy by supporting the New Energy Future platform. Support for the New Energy Future crossed partisan lines in 15 races including the following races:

• Connecticut District 2: Rob Simmons and Joe Courtney
• Connecticut District 4: Chris Shays and Diane Farrell
• Connecticut Senate: Joe Lieberman and Alan Schlesinger
• Illinois District 6: Tammy Duckworth and Peter Roskam
• Iowa District 2: Jim Leach and David Loebsack
• Minnesota District 1: Gil Gutknecht and Tim Walz
• New Jersey Senate: Robert Menendez and Tom Kean
• Pennsylvania 8: Mike Fitzpatrick and Patrick Murphy

Similarly, where we sought the support of state candidates for the platform, there was bi-partisan support for the platform. For example, in Pennsylvania, more than 141 state candidates, including more than 50 incumbents, from across the spectrum endorsed the platform.

Key Democratic Leaders Committed to Support Clean Energy. Representative Pelosi, the presumed next Speaker of the House, has consistently supported clean energy policies.In the battle for House majority leader, frontrunners Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (MD), and Rep. John Murtha (PA) have both staked a claim as leaders on energy by endorsing the New Energy Future platform, as did Senate Energy and Natural Resources Ranking Member Jeff Bingaman (NM). After decades of federal policy favoring Big Oil and other powerful energy interests over clean energy and energy efficiency, we hope that the new House leadership will bring momentum for a major shift in our nation’s energy policy priorities.

In our state-based efforts, we saw similar support from leadership, including Joe Hackney, the Democratic Majority Leader in North Carolina and Senator Patricia Birkholtz, the Republican Chairwoman of the Michigan Natural Resources Committee.

The message from the 2006 election is clear. Voters want a new direction for America. The 110 th Congress should respond by delivering on an agenda for a New Energy Future that will put our national security, the economy and our environment ahead of Big Oil and other powerful interests.

The full list of New Energy Future endorsers who will be coming to Washington for the 110 th Congress is available at http://uspirg.org/NEF.html.

New Energy Future Endorsements among the 50 Targeted Races (winning candidates listed in italics):

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