An environmental group funded by business tycoon Tom Steyer is pulling off the gloves and prepping a seven-state, $100 million attack against so-called Republican “science deniers” in hopes of swaying November voters.
NextGen Climate, which was launched last year to help secure Democratic Party wins in contested areas such as Iowa and Florida, now plans to get in the middle of the Senate races in Michigan, New Hampshire and Colorado, as well as the governor’s races in Maine and Pennsylvania, CNN reported.
“This is the year, in our view, that we are able to demonstrate that you can use climate, you can do it well, you can do it in a smart way, to win political races,” Democratic adviser Chris Lehane told CNN.
One of Mr. Steyer’s most recent political triumphs came in Virginia, where he spent about $8 million to help propel Terry McAuliffe into the governor’s mansion over tea party-backed Ken Cuccinelli.
The group plans a similar full-court press for other targeted states in the coming months, Mr. Lehane said, CNN reported.
“We are not some super PAC that’s going to come in, throw up some ads and leave,” he said. “[We’re going to] come into these states and really run a total campaign.”
Some of the candidates in their sights include former Sen. Scott Brown in New Hampshire, Terri Lynn Land in Michigan and Cory Gardner in Colorado — “anti-immigrant, anti-women, anti-science” Republicans, Mr. Lehane said.
The group will steer clear of Arkansas, Alaska, North Carolina, Louisiana and Kentucky, however, since Democratic contenders in those states all support drilling for the Keystone XL pipeline, CNN reported.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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