A growing number of voters in the major swing state of Pennsylvania have grown wary of Vice President Kamala Harris’ flip-flop on a huge economic issue for them and their state. Specifically, they believe the 2020 Harris who said she would work to ban fracking, not the 2024 Democratic nominee Harris who now claims she won’t.
Pennsylvania plays a crucial role in the Democrats’ Blue Wall strategy to thwart former President Donald Trump’s potential political comeback. Many political experts believe that winning the Keystone State is key to securing the presidential election. According to anonymous campaign sources, Harris reportedly reversed her stance on banning fracking—a key issue for American energy independence and Pennsylvania’s economy—in July. This policy shift may come too late to sway voters in the state.
Emanuel Paris, a 31-year-old who works at his family’s 400-employee construction firm, said he is now inclined to vote for Trump due to Harris’s reversal on fracking. “It’s not like we can just shut off everything else and switch to solar and wind,” Paris told the Washington Post. Paris represents a segment of Keystone State voters who are disillusioned by Harris’s perceived alignment with proponents of the Green New Deal, a legislative effort aimed at using climate change as a means to reshape the U.S. economy along more socialist lines.
Eliminating fracking would lead to job losses and a decline in state revenue. The Marcellus Shale Coalition estimates that around 2,000 landowners receive royalties from leasing their land to natural gas wells, which are vital for funding local schools, police departments, and conservation efforts. According to the Post, fracking has generated $3.2 billion in state and local tax revenue and has resulted in over $6 billion in royalty payments. A 2022 study by FTI Consulting found that approximately 121,000 jobs in Pennsylvania are connected to the fracking industry.
Jeff Nobers, executive director of Pittsburgh Works Together, explained Harris’s promise to ban fracking is burned into his memory. “Whether she likes it or not, she said it, and that gets remembered,” he told the Post. “People are looking at whether companies will be willing to invest here, what they are willing to put into this industry. And you have your potential next president having taken that position as recently as the last election. There’s already uncertainty with just what does she believe, what she would do,” he said. “And if she doesn’t support a ban on fracking, what is her energy policy plan?”
Others questioned why the Democrat party would attack the livelihoods of so many. “Banning fracking?” Smokin’ Steer BBQ owner Dave Hunter asked the Post. “Why would you ever be talking about that?” Sixty-four-year-old Bavington Roadhouse co-owner Ron Valenti said he will not vote a straight Democrat ticket. “Back in the day I would just vote Democrat right down the ticket,” he told the outlet. “Today? No.”
Polling in Pennsylvania indicates a tight race, with most surveys showing Harris holding a slight lead over Trump, though it falls within the margin of error. As with most elections, voter turnout in November is expected to be a key factor in determining the outcome. And for the record, Trump has never said he would ban fracking. In fact, while oil production has actually gone up during the Biden administration, some could argue that’s because Trump made becoming energy independent during his first term a big priority. It’s also something he plans to focus on during a second term, if he wins.