Energy issues were at the heart of elections all over the country on Tuesday.
Texas Republican Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian easily defeated Democratic challenger Luke Warford. He will remain as chair of the agency that regulates the oil and gas industry in Texas.
Christian has been on the commission since 2016 and campaigned on the promise to fight what he labeled “the Biden administration’s overreach.” He also pledged to increase domestic production of oil and natural gas and to secure U.S. energy independence.
In Louisiana, Public Service Commissioner Lambert Boissiere III fell short of the 50% needed to win outright re-election. It means he is in a runoff with Davante Lewis, a Baton Rouge policy advocate. Boissiere received 43% of the votes while Lewis attracted 18%.
Observers see it as a sign that climate activists who spent big money to unseat Boissiere made an impact with voters.
In northern Ohio’s Crawford County, voters upheld a 10-year ban on industrial wind projects. Final results, cheered by supporters at the County Courthouse, were nearly 75% in favor of continuing the ban.
The vote was a fight against Apex Clean Energy’s plans for a 300-megawatt industrial wind farm in the county.
Voters in Montcalm County, Michigan not only rejected a wind energy project but voted to oust seven township officials who supported wind projects. Four wind energy ordinances were also voted down in the election.
“I voted because of the windmills,” said one voter. “I voted against the ordinance. When these (turbines) are out of service, what can you do with them? They don’t produce as much electricity as you think and you can’t recycling them. You can’t rely on wind and solar, it’s impossible. It’s going to fail.”
California voters rejected a ballot measure that would have taxed the wealthy to fund electric vehicle infrastructure and incentives and wildfire mitigation projects.
Voters in California, New Mexico and Colorado re-elected Democratic governors who have supported renewable energy and tightened regulations on fossil fuel industries.
