Miami
Environmental groups launch canvassing push to help Democrats in seven House districts
The League of Conservation Voters and the NRDC Action Fund are starting paid field programs in a set of competitive House races. The effort relies on a Federal Election Commission advisory that allows limited coordination with campaigns.
Two environmental organizations are rolling out field programs in seven competitive U.S. House districts, aiming to contact voters while coordinating those efforts with Democratic campaigns, Roll Call reported.
According to the outlet, the League of Conservation Voters and the NRDC Action Fund are taking advantage of a 2024 advisory opinion from the Federal Election Commission that lets outside groups coordinate canvassing activities with campaigns. The change creates a narrow opening for cooperation on face-to-face voter contact, an area that is usually separated by strict barriers between campaigns and allied organizations.
The NRDC Action Fund program is intended to support JoAnna Mendoza in Arizona’s 6th District, Rebecca Cooke in Wisconsin’s 3rd, William Lawrence in Michigan’s 7th and Janelle Stelson in Pennsylvania’s 10th. The League of Conservation Voters, meanwhile, is focusing on Florida Rep. Kathy Castor, Rebecca Bennett in New Jersey’s 7th District and Paige Cognetti in Pennsylvania’s 8th.
Roll Call cited ratings from Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales showing five of the seven contests as Toss-ups. Castor’s race against former Republican state Rep. Mike Beltran is rated Tilt Republican, while Bennett’s contest against Republican Rep. Thomas H. Kean Jr. is rated Tilt Democratic.
Roll Call said Wednesday’s announcement marks the first canvassing programs for both groups under the new policy. The League of Conservation Voters plans to knock on more than 150,000 doors across its three districts and spend a combined $1.5 million, while the NRDC Action Fund is targeting about 20,000 doors in each of its four districts.
The NRDC Action Fund also plans campus voter registration efforts in Michigan’s 7th District and Arizona’s 2nd, where Democrat Jonathan Nez is challenging Republican Rep. Eli Crane, as well as relational organizing in Pennsylvania’s 7th, 8th and 10th districts.
Roll Call also noted that Florida’s new map, enacted by state Republicans this spring, redrew Castor’s 14th District in a way that favors Republicans. According to calculations by Inside Elections cited by the outlet, Donald Trump would have carried the district by 11 points in 2024.
Sources
About this piece. Written by El Notero with AI assistance, from reporting published by the outlet cited above. El Notero did no original reporting on this story.
