The 2024 elections are here – and the stakes could not be higher.

We’re endorsing some of the strongest climate leaders in the country running in the toughest and most important races for climate action – and we need your help so they win! Please donate today to elect our 2024 Spring Green New Deal slate of climate leaders! We’ll be rolling out new endorsements weekly – so stay tuned as we build out a class of climate movement candidates to win this spring.

In the lead up to November’s presidential election, there are state and local elections that have huge impact on climate, environmental justice, access to abortion, and democracy itself. What’s more, driving turnout for progressives in these critical down ballot elections helps us win up-ballot at the congressional, and presidential level.

At Lead Locally, we are helping recruit, train, and resource leaders that, if elected, will:

• Build climate majorities in state legislatures that could lead the nation but need to do more;
• Regulate the fossil fuel industry and state utilities to enact fair utility rates and support the clean energy transition;
• And lead as Green New Deal Mayors and City Councillors in cities across the country where they can pass bills to support clean energy, enact bold environmental justice plans, and lead on progressive reform.

All eyes this year of course will be on the White House – but many of these races require just a fraction of what a Senate or presidential race costs, and your money in these elections go SO much further to elect bold climate champs to important positions.

Help elect Green New Deal leaders across the country this spring by donating today!

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania is a battleground state in the elections, and with the oil & gas industry. We’re supporting a new generation of progressive leaders who will stand up to fracking, fight for environmental justice, and invest in Green New Deal-style legislation like the Whole Home Repairs Act. We’re backing:

• Ashley Comans for House District 34: Comans is running in Pittsburgh and is an advocate for better maternal and child health outcomes in PA. She has long spoken up about the harms that environmental pollution causes to childbirth in her district, one of the most polluted in the state. She believes a Green New Deal would allow for a just transition for workers, clean air and water, and renewable energies that don’t force PA to choose between jobs and community health. 
• Cass Green for House District 10: Green is a community organizer in Philadelphia who has co-founded multiple community art initiatives and currently works with the District Attorney’s office on juvenile diversion and restorative justice work. She’s running for office as a progressive demanding investment in clean energy, good jobs, affordable housing, and public schools.
• Andre Carroll for House District 201: Carroll has been an organizer with the Working Families Party, a public school educator, and worked at the Philadelphia City Controller’s Office where he created a high school financial literacy program. He’s running to pass a statewide Green New Deal to bring solar to schools and incentivize home solar installation, to protect the state’s Whole Homes Repair program, and pass efforts to deal with environmental pollution from infrastructure like the Chester incinerator in his district. 
• Anna Thomas for House District 137: Thomas is running to flip a Republican held seat in one of the tightest races in PA! A current planning commissioner & former school board student rep, she knows that Pennsylvanians want clean air, safe drinking water, clean energy, and safeguards against toxic pollution.
• Danielle Friel Otten for House District 155: Friel Otten got her start organizing against the proposed Mariner East pipeline which was proposed just feet from where her children play, threatening local safety, health, as well as the climate. Since being elected to office, she has been a climate leader, supporting legislation that transitions Pennsylvania to renewable energy sources and protects communities from pollution.
• Carol Kazeem for State House District 159: Kazeem has made environmental justice the core of her campaign; she’s fighting to end the expansion of polluting industries in her hometown of Chester, PA which have harmed the health and wellbeing of primarily Black communities for decades.
• Nikil Saval for State Senate District 1: An incumbent legislator and climate champ, Saval led the charge to pass the historic Whole-Home Repairs Act, a new program to repair and weatherize the homes of low-income families while creating family-sustaining jobs. If re-elected, he will continue to work to expand the program, make use of Inflation Reduction Act funding, and continue to be a voice against loosening regulations or expanding fossil fuel infrastructure on the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee.
• Mandy Steele House District 33: Steele is a former Fox Chapel Borough Councilmember who founded an award winning non profit that restores natural wetlands to protect residents from the effects of increased rainfall. She has won fights in her town for more solar, the first ban in the state on a toxic chemical, and led 21 other PA towns to take formal action on toxic chemical bans.

New York

Last year, New York passed historic public power legislation, the Building Public Renewables Act, in a win for climate, utility affordability, and labor! These community leaders are running to ensure the BPRA is fully funded and implemented – and to pass new measures to ensure New York hits its climate goals, like the HEAT Act to end subsidies to the natural gas industry or the Climate Change Superfund Act to force fossil fuel companies to help pay for the climate damages they caused. We’re backing:

• Claire Cousin for Assembly District 106: Cousin’s has led a local social justice organization and is a two-term county supervisor. If elected, she’ll fight to hold polluters accountable by passing the Climate Change Superfund Act, ban new fossil fuel infrastructure, reduce utility bills, and bring private utilities under public control.
• Claire Valdez for Assembly District 37: Valdez is a union organizer in Queens who knows we must transition to a just, renewable future and end environmental injustice  – and can do so by creating good, union jobs. She’ll fight to ensure the proper implementation of the Build Public Renewables Act, and use taxes on the rich to fund a Green New Deal for schools, housing, and transit, and ensure workers and tenants have access to the benefits of the transition to a renewable economy.
• Jonathan Soto for Assembly District 82: Soto is a Bronx organizer with a track record of work that lifted up his community. If elected, he wants to pass legislation that helps low and middle income families retrofit their housing to be more energy efficient and move off fossil fuels, to stop fossil fuel subsidies, and to uplift green union jobs through the BPRA.
• Eon Tyrell Huntley for Assembly District 56: Huntley has represented his Brooklyn community as a bargaining representative for his retail union, and as the PTA president for his daughter’s school. If elected, he’ll focus on fully funding and implementing the Build Public Renewables Act, passing the NY HEAT Act, passing the Climate Superfund Bill, and investing in climate resiliency and renewable energy especially in frontline Black, brown, and low-income communities.
• Kristen Gonzalez for Senate District 59: A former community organizer and tech worker, Gonzalez was part of the organizing that stopped the NRG and Danskammer fracked gas plants in New York and led to the passage of a historic public power bill. She has been a champion for the climate movement in office where she’s worked to secure a $10 billion investment in the state budget for a Green New Deal to fund renewable energy, public transportation, building electrification, climate resiliency projects, and the creation of more than 50,000 green, union jobs.
• Sarahana Shrestha for Assembly District 103: Shrestha first ran for office in an insurgent climate-forward campaign that knocked over 56,000 doors in the Mid-Hudson Valley, defeated an incumbent, and built power for an eventually successful campaign for publicly owned renewable energy through the Build Public Renewables Act. We’re helping her get reelected so she can continue to hold the state’s utilities accountable, fight for all major climate efforts in the legislature, and lead organizing for bold climate action in New York.

Oregon:

• Doyle Canning for House District 8: Canning serves as the legislative director for climate justice champion State Representative Pham where she has drafted some of the state’s foremost climate justice bills like the COAL Act which would divest over one billion state dollars from coal and the state’s clean energy standard, the strongest in the nation. If elected, she will be one of the top climate voices in Oregon’s legislature – fighting to protect its forests and ensuring labor is brought to the table in the fight for a transition to clean energy and good jobs.
• Lyndsie Leech for Eugene City Council Ward 7: It’s critical that cities continue to electrify new construction – reducing building emissions that contribute to climate change as well as health disparities. After Leech championed Eugene’s passage of OR’s first ordinance banning natural gas in new residential construction, the regional utility NW Gas spent millions to overturn it. While recent judicial decisions have killed that effort, we need to keep courageous climate leaders like Leech in office to ensure Eugene is a national leader in city climate policy.

Portland: Portland has led on climate action by passing the Portland Clean Energy Fund which invests in clean energy projects that will help get the city and region off fossil fuels. Not only is the Fund now facing attacks to defund its work, the City Council recently acquiesced to the controversial Zenith crude-by-rail project  and will face more decisions on whether to expand natural gas infrastructure within the city. We’re backing:

• Candace Avalos for Portland City Council District 1: Avalos’ work has contributed to her East Portland community for years, as a student advisor at Portland State University and as the executive director of a local nonprofit that brings environmental investments to Portland’s neighborhoods. She’s running to ensure the Portland Clean Energy Fund prioritizes frontline communities and the city takes further action towards climate justice.
• Mitch Green for Portland City Council District 4: Green is an Army veteran, energy economist, community college professor, and union member. If elected, he’ll ensure the city council does not take backroom deals with fossil fuel companies like Zenith Energy, and encourage the city to supercharge its  clean energy investments by taking advantage of federal funds from the Inflation Reduction Act.
• Robin Ye for Portland City Council District 3: Ye has been a community organizer in Portland for years – and served as Campaign Manager and Chief of Staff for progressive Oregon State Representative Khanh Pham. If elected, he will work to reverse the decision that allowed Zenith oil terminal to continue moving oil trains through Portland (and surrounding communities), hold utilities accountable to fair rates, and work to protect the Clean Energy Fund program and ensure it funds projects that benefit all Portland residents.

Arizona

• Analise Ortiz for State Senate District 24: Since getting elected to the State House, Ortiz has been at the forefront of initiatives addressing climate change, combating fossil fuel pollution, and advocating for environmental justice. She’s now running to join the Senate where she’ll lead on legislation to combat air and water pollution, invest in clean energy, and promote environmental justice.

• Christine Marsh for Senate District 4: An incumbent climate champ and Arizona’s former Teacher of the Year, Marsh will continue to fight for a healthy environment and clean energy for future generations if reelected to the Senate.

Salt River Project Utility Board

The Salt River Project (SRP) is one of the largest public utilities in the country, and they have one of the largest proposed gas plant expansions in the country. They are overseen by an elected board, and 6 community leaders are running together to create a plan for SRP to transition off dirty energy (coal and gas) and to invest in affordable clean energy. Those include:

• Sandra Kennedy: a former member of the Arizona Corporate Commission is a consumer advocate and climate champion
• Lauren Kuby: former Vice Mayor of Tempe, and a Senior Global Futures Scientist at Arizona State University
• Casey Clowes: a community organizer, environmental lawyer, and leading disability and voting rights advocate with Progress Arizona
• Anna Rose Mohr-Almeida is a clean air advocate enrolled in the Fulton School of Engineering at Arizona State University. Anna founded Kids Climate Action Network, a youth leadership community that works to improve air quality, biodiversity conservation, and carbon sequestration
• Nick Brown: an energy analyst, and current member of the the SRP Board
• Andrea Moreno: an industry veteran and former SRP-employee who is committed to change
  

Texas

As one of the country’s top fossil fuel producing states, it’s critical we elect progressive climate leaders to the TX state legislature and municipal leadership to fight for clean energy, air, and water. We’re backing several local and state candidates this cycle:

• Molly Cook for Senate District 15: Cook is an emergency room nurse and local organizer who helped lead the Yes on Prop B Fair for Houston Campaign to ensure Houstonians had a fair vote for their region’s major transportation council. She’s headed to a runoff and, if elected, will be a champion for health equity that includes tackling environmental injustice and corporate polluters affecting her district, and a major advocate for public transportation.
• Erin Zwiener for House District 45: Erin Zwiener has been a constant climate champion in a state where activists face uphill battles to block the growth of the fossil fuel industry and enact a plan to transition to renewables. Her office founded the legislature’s first climate caucus, which has been integral in increasing penalties for corporations that violate air, drilling, and environmental codes.
• Taral Patel for Fort Bend County Commission Precinct 3: Patel is Fort Bend County’s former Chief of Staff where he worked to digitize all county records, establish affordable housing, and lead the county through the pandemic and historic storms. He wants Fort Bend to become the first “Green County” in Texas through electrifying its fleet, expanding charging station infrastructure, starting a rooftop solar pilot program, and more.

The Port of Brownsville: 

LNG (Liquified Natural Gas) exports are proposed all along the Gulf Coast, including in Brownsville, TX, a beautiful city along the coast known for its beaches and recreation areas. A team of local leaders are running for the Port Commission to stand up to dirty pollution, and instead develop the port for clean energy opportunities like offshore wind. Those include:

• Josette Cruz Hinojosa: a local environmental justice leader who has organized to stop the LNG export facilities;
• Patrick Everitt: a waste investigator for TCEQ who has worked to clean up pollution for his whole life; and
• Andres Rios: a local accountant who has worked for many small businesses in the area, and wants to build good opportunities for his kids and grandkids.

Washington, DC:

• Janeese Lewis George for City Council Ward 4: Lewis George grew up in the same Ward she represents now – and has been a leader for her community throughout her career as a Councillor and at the Attorney General’s office. In office, she has led on climate and environmental justice by introducing bills to fully replace lead pipes in the city, fund affordable social housing that does not rely on fossil fuels, broaden curbside composting, reject an expansion of natural gas infrastructure, champion public transit, and much much more. 

New Mexico:

• Heather Berghmans for State Senate District 15: Berghmans grew up in New Mexico and has served her community as the finance director for the NM House Democratic Campaign Committee, helping to elect Democratic State House legislators. She’s running to move the state away from the fossil-fuel industry, promote the adoption of green technologies as quickly as possible, and safeguard New Mexico’s natural resources.
• Eleanor Chavez for House District 26: Chavez has been a tireless climate champion in New Mexico’s House of Representatives where she’s voted against tax breaks for oil and gas companies, promoted the development of wind and solar, and helped protect the state’s water, land, and air.
• Carrie Hamblen for State Senate District 38: Hamblen is a former journalist and radio host who has championed climate and environmental justice as an incumbent legislator by supporting efforts to incentivize electric vehicles, support cities trying to move to clean energy, and push water conservation measures.
• Harold Pope Jr. for State Senate District 23: Pope is a former Air Force officer who was the first African American elected to New Mexico’s Senate when he won his seat. He’s supported climate action throughout his tenure by supporting tax credits and funding for renewable energy, health protection zones to protect children from oil and gas operations, and by cosponsoring the Green Amendment to ensure the right to clean water, air, and land.

Colorado: Colorado has become one of the fastest growing states in the country and, as a result, has become one of the most important places to pass plans to move its housing, transit, and industry off of fossil fuels. While the state has committed to hitting 50% clean energy by 2030, it remains one of the largest fracking states and has yet to tackle some of its largest sources of emissions like from buildings. Building the bench of Democratic climate champs further in its primaries could lead to better drilling restrictions, building electrification bills, and much more! We’re backing:

• Yara Zokaie for House District 52: Zokaie is the Chief Deputy Assessor for Larimer County and previously organized to pass paid family leave and sick leave in CO. If elected, she’ll fight to transition away from oil & gas, regulate fracking which disproportionately affects communities of color, and advocate for better public transit.
• Bryan Lindstrom for House District 36: Lindstrom is a public school history teacher and teacher’s union leader who has organized to elect leaders to the school board to fight for teacher pay increases. He’s running for office to push for more walkable and climate friendly communities, and to transition away from fossil fuels to clean energy union jobs.
• Junie Joseph for House District 10: Joseph has been a leader for climate action in the state legislature having successfully pushed for tax credits for electric vehicles and bikes, enacted policies that force home insurers to provide electric options to consumers, and commissioned a study on compost diversion. We’re fighting to keep her in office to continue to champion climate action.
• Tim Hernández for House District 46: Hernandez is an incumbent legislator who has served his community as a high school teacher in Denver and as a board director for the teachers association before running for office. In office, he’s championed bills for climate justice, tenants rights, workers, and much more – and will continue to work with frontline communities if reelected to address environmental injustice and ensure public services are accessible to communities of color.

• Mike Weissman for Senate District 28: Weissman is an incumbent environmental champ who has helped pass bills to support clean energy, force oil and gas wells to fund the cleanup of orphan wells, and much more. He’ll work to ensure CO plays it’s part in preserving a livable climate for future generations if reelected.

Alaska:

• Suzanne LaFrance for Anchorage Mayor: Anchorage’s former Assembly Chair, LaFrance is headed to a runoff for Mayor with the sitting incumbent — a Trump-supporting Republican whose halted progress on the climate plan the city has passed. LaFrance will return the city to Democratic leadership and plans to pursue federal funding through the Inflation Reduction Act to expand renewable energy infrastructure in the city, and expand access to electrification incentives for residents.

California:

• Dr. Flojaune “Flo” Cofer for Sacramento Mayor: Dr. Cofer has a long history of advocating for public health equity, and was the top vote getter in the primary as a progressive running to be Sacramento’s next Mayor. She’s headed to a runoff and, if elected, will pass a Green New Deal for Sacramento to transition the city to 100% renewable energy while creating jobs from building new bike lanes, weatherizing existing homes, planting trees, and building sustainable affordable housing.

Washington:

• Alex Ramel for House District 40: One of the state’s toughest fighters for climate action, it’s integral we help protect Alex Ramel’s seat in House District 40. Ramel helped develop the state’s ambitious 2021 energy strategy and championed the passage of policies that required the adoption of electric heating, moved utilities further off fossil fuels, and helped cut into the state’s building emissions. Outside of office, he works for the environmental advocacy organization Stand.earth helping local governments find ways to say no to fossil fuel expansion.

Virginia: 

• Kenya Gibson for Richmond City Council District 3: As a School Board Member, Gibson has fought hard to address environmental inequities facing the city’s students as a result of failing infrastructure that have caused poor air quality from failing HVAC systems, lead exposure, and landfill placement near schools. If elected, she wants to lead on climate and environment justice in Richmond by addressing the city’s methane leaks, protecting the James River from coal ash dumping, and investing in public infrastructure that make cities more liveable and less reliant on fossil fuels.

Nebraska:

• Christa Yoakum for Lancaster County Board of Commissioner District 2: Yoakum originally ran for the state’s Public Service Commission to fight back against the Keystone XL pipeline locally — the tar sands pipeline that galvanized a national movement and threatened her community’s water and land. She’s since been elected to Lancaster County’s Board of Commissioners where she’s supported renewable energy by changing the county’s governing documents to allow for wind and solar energy development locally and by championing the City-County Climate Action Plan.