From the Director’s Desk: Ballot Watch - 5 Races We're Watching
Ballot Watch - 5 Races We're Watching
Next week we will all exercise our individual right to cast a ballot to assert who we want to represent us locally, in our state, and nationally. The Presidential race gets the national headlines, but the “down ballot” races offer plenty of intrigue. All told there are 468 seats in the U.S. Congress involved in active races. All House of Representatives seats and a third of the Senate seats are on a ballot. I have included a link to the Cook Political Report which produces an index of sorts that tracks each race, classifying each as either Likely Democrat, Lean Democrat, Democrat toss-up, Republican toss-up, Lean Republican, and Likely Republican. The report offers a handy, heads-up means of seeing the national picture as well as the races that are currently close. Using this report and our accumulated experiences over our last three fly-ins I found five close races involving members who we have visited over the last handful of years, or in one instance a close race for a Senate seat vacated by a retiring incumbent.
My comments are not meant to serve as an endorsement of any one candidate and instead are intended simply to inform.
Incumbent in BOLD
Maine’s 2nd Congressional District
Jared Golden (D) vs. Austin Theriault (R)
Maine is an important state for our sector. Mainers know wood and wood pellets and wood pellet retailers do brisk business in Maine. Drive around the state in the fall and you won’t go far before you see a load of pellets being unloaded at a residence. The 2nd Congressional District of Maine has been represented by Jared Golden (D) since 2019. Jared has been a strong supporter of wood pellets and the wood sector generally, coming aboard as a co-sponsor in the BTU Act and other pro-forest sector bills. Jared consistently takes to our meeting requests and has been amongst the PFI’s strongest supporters in the House. Jared is being challenged this year by Austin Theriault, described on his campaign website as an “entrepreneur and former NASCAR driver.” Additionally, Austin grew up in a multi-generational logging and farming family. Mainers trying to make a decision solely on which candidate is likely to offer the most support for the forest products sector will have a difficult choice.
New York’s 19th Congressional District
Mike Molinaro (R) vs. Josh Riley (D)
Mike Molinaro finds himself in a tight re-election bid in New York’s 19th congressional district. Molinaro has been in his seat for just one term, winning with 50.8% of the vote in 2022 over Josh Riley, his challenger once again this year. Rep. Molinaro made our fly-in party’s day earlier this year when he took a meeting with us on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. Our group was struck by his pragmatism. According to a Bipartisan Index created by the Lugar Center and the McCourt School of Public Policy, Molinaro was the second most bipartisan member of the House during the 118th U.S. Congress. On his website, he champions an energy future that includes a “smart balance of renewables, natural gas, and nuclear energy.” Josh Riley is an attorney from Endicott, New York. Josh has served as general counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee. His website espouses his commitment to American manufacturing and an interest in creating good jobs by “building the American-made products we need to find climate change.”
Oregon’s 5th Congressional District
Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R) vs. Janelle Bynum
Similar to Rep. Molinaro, Lori Chavez-DeRemer is a first-term representative in Oregon’s 5th Congressional district. Rep. Chavez-DeRemer is on the important House Agriculture committee, serving also on the subcommittee on forestry. She has been an important touchpoint for the PFI during our last two fly-ins. Chavez-DeRemer is challenged by Janelle Bynum, an entrepreneur with a degree in Electrical Engineering and a master’s in business administration. Bynum currently operates four restaurants as part of a family business. Bynum offers this on her campaign website, “we’re already part of the solution in the state legislature, sponsoring legislation to make Oregon the clean energy hub in the country.”
Michigan Senate Race
Elisa Slotkin (D) vs. Mike Rogers (R)
During our last two fly-in cycles, our advocacy efforts were focused on the Farm Bill and key provisions and programs within the Farm Bill important to our sector. As such, Sen. Debbie Stabenow from Michigan was critically important. Sen. Stabenow was 11th on the Senate seniority list and chair of the Agriculture Committee with jurisdiction over the critically important farm bill. Her successor will find themselves at the bottom of the seniority list, but a senator from a state with strong a robust forest products sector is important to the PFI’s interests.
Mike Rogers, the Republican candidate is a veteran and a former FBI special agent. Rogers served in the U.S. House of Representatives representing Michigan’s 8th congressional district from 2001-2015 and served on the House’s Committee on Energy and Commerce. Rogers’ campaign website espouses his interest in deregulation and cyber-security. His website makes one mention of energy noting, “On the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Mike worked to secure our nation’s energy independence and unleash American-made energy by reducing the regulations and tax burdens on American families and small businesses.”
Elisa Slotkin, the Democratic candidate, also served in the U.S. House of Representatives serving on the Armed Services, Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs committees. A former CIA analyst, Slotkin completed three tours in Iraq as an analyst. Slotkin’s campaign website notes that a priority is bringing critical supply chain manufacturing to the United States and was key in the passage of the CHIPS Act that brought microchip manufacturing back to the United States.
Wisconsin Senate Race
Tammy Baldwin (D) vs. Eric Hovde (R)
Incumbent Tammy Baldwin has been a Senator in Michigan since 2013 having previously served in the House representing Wisconsin’s 2nd congressional district from 1999 – 2013. Baldwin serves on the crucial Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. On her campaign website, Baldwin notes that supporting manufacturing in the state of Wisconsin is a top priority and she is working to connect the state’s university engineering programs by passing her Manufacturing Universities Act.
Baldwin is challenged by Republic Eric Hovde, an entrepreneur. Hovde highlights four issues on his campaign website: cost of living, immigration, foreign policy, and healthcare.
Regardless of how these and other elections shake out, the Pellet Fuels Institute looks forward to working with whoever wins to educate them about our industry, the value we add to the forest products and retail economies, and where and how federal policy and regulation impact our business.
Get out there and vote.
