Harris campaign gets tangled up in fracking again

Less than two weeks before Election Day, Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign made what critics called an unforced error on fracking.

In a recent interview with Politico, Harris’ new climate engagement director, Camila Thorndike, said voters concerned about climate change shouldn’t fear a Harris presidency.

“(Harris) is not promoting (fossil fuel drilling) expansion. She just said they won’t ban fracking,” Thorndike said.

This appears to have returned Harris to her original and long-standing position of opposing the expansion of fossil fuels. Harris famously promised to ban fracking during her 2020 White House campaign. Harris changed course when she became the Democratic nominee for president, telling CNN in August, “I will not ban fracking.”

After Thorndike’s comments caught the attention of the Trump campaign, Thorndike released an updated statement on social media saying Harris “does not support a fracking ban.” She repeated Harris’ comments made during last month’s presidential debate that her decisive vote on the Inflation Reduction Act “opened up new fracking leases.”

Energy groups said Thorndike’s comment proved Harris could not be trusted.

“Wait! Change of plan from this morning,” the US Oil and Gas Association wrote on social media. “As of today, Harris now supports fracking, which is a change of position from this morning when they opposed fracking. … This was a change from their July position in which they supported fracking. … This was a change from their June position in which they were … opposed to fracking. Got it?

The reaction has been negative in Pennsylvania, where fracking is a large part of the state’s energy industry.

“The whole Harris campaign is a scam,” scoffed Pennsylvania Manufacturers Association President and CEO David N. Taylor.

American Petroleum Institute Executive Vice President Amanda Eversole said Harris’ statement about fracking means nothing.

“You can say, ‘I support fracking,’ and still not grant any new lease sales on land, in federal waters, or on federal lands that account for 25 percent of the production,” she said.

The White House has approved three offshore oil and gas lease sales through 2029. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said the sales were made so the department could begin supporting offshore wind power.

No offshore oil and gas leases have been approved this year. The White House previously canceled all leases granted by the Trump administration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

In January, President Biden announced a “temporary pause” on new liquefied natural gas exports and export terminals. He cited climate change as the reason. A study by the National Association of Manufacturers found that a pause in LNG production threatens 900,000 jobs. A federal judge overturned the pause several months later.

“(A Harris administration) would be just like the Biden administration, which is very anti-oil and gas domestic and very anti-industry hawkish,” said energy consultant Tricia Curtis of PetroNerds.

Despite administrative challenges, the energy industry made the United States the world’s largest crude oil producer last year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Russia took second place, followed by Saudi Arabia.

The United States also led the world in natural gas production, primarily due to Europe’s abandonment of Russian natural gas due to the war in Ukraine.

However, Taylor said any gains by the oil and gas industry during the Biden-Harris administration were “despite the administration’s actions, not because of them.”

Energy groups see natural gas as the key to future economic growth. An analysis by the Marcellus Shale Coalition found that the industry generated $40 billion in economic activity and supported more than 123,000 jobs in Pennsylvania in 2022. These jobs paid an average of $97,482 per year.

Donald Trump has been consistently pushing his oil and gas stance during rallies in Pennsylvania as he seeks to win the state’s 19 Electoral College votes.

“On day one, I will tell Pennsylvania utilities to frac, frac, frac and drill, drill, drill, baby, drill,” he said at a recent rally in Scranton. This message may work.

Polls show Trump leading Harris in Pennsylvania by about one point, according to the RealClearPolitics polling average.

Curtis says the Harris campaign is experiencing an identity crisis as it tries to explain previous positions. “(Harris) became essentially a centrist Republican overnight. … It’s inauthentic and untrue.”

Taylor Millard writes about politics and public policy for InsideSources.com.