Electing Climate Candidates

How do you elect political candidates who will make tackling climate change a priority? In this episode, we speak to two groups attempting to figure that out and put climate change at the center of races up and down the ballot.  In 2018, Caroline Spears launched the Climate Cabinet Action Fund to offer bespoke climate data, policy ideas and messaging suggestions to candidates and lawmakers. The organization currently focuses on the state level, where races are low-budget but highly consequential.  We speak to Caroline about the policy “menus” that Climate Cabinet creates for individual candidates, and dig into the role that special interests play in the election infrastructure of both the Republican and Democratic parties.  Later in the show, we turn to Karyn Strickler, founder and president of Vote Climate U.S. PAC, a political action committee tracking key races in the U.S. House and Senate and ranking candidates based on their climate record. There are 26 days until the contentious 2020 election and climate issues could sway the outcome. **From now until November 3rd the Political Climate podcast will donate $2 for every new subscriber to the American Red Cross for every new subscription to the show! If you’re already a subscriber, share the podcast with a friend.  To participate, simply have a new subscriber send a screenshot of their subscription on whichever podcasting platform they like best to [email protected]. Or send us a message via Twitter or Instagram @poli_climate. That’s it!** Recommended reading: CNN: New climate group will offer district-specific policy 'menus' to every congressional candidate GTM: Virginia Mandates 100% Clean Power by 2045 Pew Research: How important is climate change to voters in the 2020 election? Climate Cabinet: The Divided States Of Climate Action Vote Climate U.S. PAC: 2020 Climate Change Voter’s Guide Listen and subscribe to Political Climate on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get podcasts! Follow us on Twitter at @Poli_Climate. This episode is brought to you with support from Lyft. Lyft is leading the transition to zero emissions vehicles with a commitment to achieve 100% electric vehicles on the Lyft platform by 2030. Learn more at lyftimpact.com/electric.