To: Interested Parties
From: Pete Maysmith, SVP of Campaigns, LCV Victory Fund
Date: November 1, 2024
Re: $164 million invested to defeat Donald Trump and support pro-environment candidates 

The stakes could not be higher this election cycle. Once again, former President Donald Trump– who we previously named the dirtiest president of all time through our Dirty Dozen program– and his MAGA Republican allies are vowing to reverse the historic climate and clean energy action made by the Biden-Harris administration, putting not only our health and safety at risk, but also our democracy. 

Voters are understandably focused on kitchen table issues like everyday costs including groceries and utilities. But this year voters are also feeling the impacts of climate change as there were record breaking extreme weather events across the country including heatwaves, hurricanes, flooding, wildfires and droughts. As climate change continues to show up in people’s lives, both climate – and the solutions – have increasingly become more of a kitchen table issue. The clean energy plans already put in place by the Biden-Harris administration provide solutions that help to lower costs for families, while at the same time addressing the climate crisis. Recent polling has shown that people care about clean energy with 76 percent of registered voters saying they support a transition to clean energy.

That is why we made our largest-ever investment of nearly $164 million in this year’s election cycle up and down the ballot. Our priorities this cycle were to defeat climate-denying Donald Trump, maintain a pro-environment Senate majority and take back the House from MAGA Republicans. 

In order to accomplish this, we worked with partners–new and old–to educate, mobilize and engage voters about the stakes of this election and to let them know that there are pro-environment candidates up and down the ballot that will work to lower costs, create jobs, and protect access to clean air and water. The purpose of these partnerships was not only to expand our reach, but also to work together with movement leaders to engage voters across demographics. As a result, our paid media–including ads and mail programs–  and field organizing, reached young voters, women voters, and voters of color– including Black and Latine voters.

• The voters we engaged: Knowing the landscape, we set out to connect with more voters than ever through our traditional, tested large-scale tactics like calling, texting, mail programs, door knocking, and ads across TV, digital, and radio platforms as well as innovative tactics like relational organizing and content creator strategies. 

• The partnerships we’ve forged: This year we continued our expansive partnerships and forged new relationships to increase our reach among voters including women voters, young voters, and voters of color– including Black and Latine voters. These partnerships included: Somos PAC, EDF Action Votes, NRDC Action Votes, United Steelworkers union (USW), Future Forward, Climate Power Action, Priorities USA, Women Vote, BlackPAC, Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy, VoteVets, Senate Majority PAC and House Majority PAC.
• The issues we talked about: The economy was the number one issue for voters this cycle. Given that, we were intentional about elevating for voters the clear, positive economic benefits of boosting clean energy and tackling climate change. A clean energy economy is a solution that helps to lower costs for families and create job opportunities, while also reducing pollution and increasing access to clean air and water. 

Throughout this cycle we have seen Trump and his MAGA Republican peers continue to spread lies about climate change and accept campaign funding from the same Big Oil executives that are price gouging consumers at the pump, contaminating our air and water, and spewing climate pollution. In May, Trump made his own bid to Big Oil for $1 billion for his campaign in exchange for the reversal of the Biden-Harris administration’s historic climate progress. 

If the extreme weather occurrences this year are any indication, now more than ever, we need to build a clean energy economy that tackles the climate crisis, lowers costs, and creates high-paying family sustaining jobs. To fight back against corporate special interests and misinformation, LCV Victory Fund and affiliated entities ran our biggest election campaign ever to increase voter turnout, educate voters about the stakes of this election, and help them make a plan to vote with an investment of nearly $164 million. 

By the Numbers
By the end of Election Day, LCV Victory Fund and affiliated entities will have targeted millions of voters through knocking on over 3.4 million doors, sending nearly 6 million pieces of mail, making more than 2.2 million phone calls, and serving tv, cable, and digital ads to tens of millions of voters.

Nearly $164 million invested in priorities races for the 2024 election cycle including: 

• $30 million for Presidential race
• $24 million for Senate races 
• $20 million for House races
• $2.4 million for Governors races
• $19.2 million for state legislative races 
• $9 million for other races (local, judicial, utility commissions, etc)
• $57 million in contributions raised through GiveGreen
• $2.5 million invested in GreenRoots, LCV’s members-focused grassroots organizing campaign

LCV Victory Fund’s federal Dirty Dozen list of candidates who consistently side against the environment and are running in races that have a serious chance to affect the outcome, included three time offender and dirtiest of all time Donald Trump and several of his MAGA peers who have followed his lead in denying climate change and cozying up to Big Oil and the ultra wealthy. In the states, LCV state affiliates nominated 12 of the worst candidates in the nation at the state and local level that are anti-environment and pose a serious danger to our democracy.

The White House– $30 million
LCV Victory Fund’s top priority this cycle was to defeat former President Trump. In order to defeat the 3-time Dirty Dozen member and the dirtiest president of all time we ran our largest and most ambitious presidential program ever to engage and turn out voters by forging new partnerships, expanding our field efforts and employing innovative tactics like relational organizing and content creator strategies. 

On the first day of the Democratic National Convention in August, LCV Victory Fund announced a $55 million advertising effort for Harris in coalition with Future Forward PAC, Climate Power Action and EDF Action Votes– which later grew to nearly $60 million— in key battleground states including Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Understanding that many voters’ primary concern this election cycle is the economy and inflation, the initial launch included three ads (Vulnerable, Defining Goal, and Our Side) that demonstrated Vice President Kamala Harris’s vision to lower energy costs and create good paying jobs in clean energy manufacturing, and elevated how she has stood up to Big Oil. These ads focused on the importance of continuing to build the clean energy economy that the Biden-Harris administration has already made historic progress on in order to combat rising costs across the board.

In September, we launched additional digital ads with the climate coalition to engage young voters in battleground states. National polling demonstrated that the presidential race was not only neck and neck, but also that young voters could play a crucial role in deciding the outcome of the Presidential election. The first ad (Future Worth Fighting For) used footage and voiceover from Kamala Harris’s DNC speech just weeks prior to highlight in her own words her commitment to supporting access to clean air and water and standing up to Big Polluters. Meanwhile, the second ad (Let’s Be Real) encouraged young voters to “get real about the election” and contrasted Harris’s record of fighting the climate crisis and prosecuting Big Oil polluters with Trump’s continued misinformation and denial of the climate crisis– including calling climate change a “hoax” and wrongly stating that “wind turbine noise causes cancer.” 

To engage Black voters, and Black men specifically, LCV Victory Fund worked with the climate coalition to launch a new ad in October that focused on replacing toxic lead pipes, reducing energy and food costs and the threats posed by the climate crisis. In Things That Matter, a father speaks directly to the camera about how Harris has a plan to benefit middle class families. 

Together with the climate coalition, we also launched two Spanish language TV ads in Arizona, Nevada, Georgia, Nebraska’s Second Congressional District, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin to engage Latine voters. Both ads (Futuro más económico and Reducir nuestros gastos) discuss Kamala Harris’s vision to support working class families by highlighting her commitment to lowering costs including reducing utility bills and lowering the costs of prescription drugs and standing up to corporate special interests that price-gouge consumers. 

In the final two weeks of the election, LCV Victory Fund launched a final $1 million presidential ad campaign that spotlights the damage that will be caused by increasingly strong hurricanes, while contrasting Trump’s climate denialism versus Harris’ commitment to fight to protect our children’s future. This ad (Her Name) came following the tragic aftermath of Hurricanes Helene and Milton and amid polling from Data for Progress showing that voters trust Harris over Trump to handle extreme weather disasters. The ad was designed to engage young women voters in Georgia and North Carolina. 

To further engage young voters, and for the first time, LCV Victory Fund developed a content creator program to promote Harris’s record on climate and environmental justice issues. The program included working closely with at least 22 content creators across platforms including, TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube to meet young voters where they are and elevate the stakes of the presidential election. 

LCVVF and affiliated entities launched a large-scale field program in July 2024, focused on winning the White House and key U.S. Senate and House battlegrounds across eleven states: AZ, CA, MI, MT, NE, NV, NY, NC, OH, PA, and WI. Our well-trained canvassers were equipped to have both persuasion and turnout conversations with voters–including giving voters instructions on how to enroll in vote-by-mail (VBM) where applicable. When doing persuasion, our canvassers approached voters with open-ended questions about issues important to the voter and connected those issues back to our candidates and their values.

As more voters signed up for ballots over the summer and began returning their ballots in the fall, LCVVF’s data and analytics team continually updated our lists in order to focus resources on people who still needed to vote. The program evolved during the “get-out-the-vote” period to making plans with supporters on when and how they would vote by mail, during in-person early voting, or on Election Day.

Canvass programs are substantially more effective when additional modes of contact are used to reach voters. In the fall, our field program incorporated texting, phone calls, and mail to maximize the impact of our canvass.

Additionally in 2024, we integrated a paid relational organizing component in Arizona, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin to turnout voters for Harris and other top-of-ticket candidates. We recruited paid mobilizers around college campuses and in communities to engage with their personal networks–their friends, family and neighbors–about voting for Harris. This program was largely aimed to expand our reach beyond the canvass, targeting primarily younger voters and voters of color. In total, our field program knocked on over 3.4 million doors, made 2.2 million phone calls, sent 10,844,832 text messages, and had over 30,000 relational conversations to persuade and mobilize voters for our candidates.

The Senate– $24 million
Protecting climate champions to maintain control of a pro-environment Senate was one of our priorities during this year’s Election Cycle. We made significant investments in key races that could determine the balance of power in the chamber:

In Arizona, where voters experienced record high temperatures this summer and worsening droughts, LCV Victory Fund invested $2.8 million to defeat Kari Lake and elect Ruben Gallego. Spending included early Spanish language TV ads (Lo Que Importa and Nuestra Historia) in partnership with Somos PAC that introduced Gallego to voters. LCVVF also opened three field offices, knocked over 454,375 doors, and had over 59,000 conversations with voters in Arizona about Gallego’s record as a climate champion and his commitment to building a clean energy economy. 

In Michigan, we invested over $1.9 million to elect Elissa Slotkin and defeat Mike Rogers. The spending included opening three field offices, knocking on 212,000 doors and having nearly 60,000 conversations with voters about how Harris and Slotkin will work to lower costs and protect access to clean air and water. In addition to our field program, we also supported BlackPAC’s field program to engage Black voters in Detroit. LCVVF also ran paid relational, GOTV mail, phones and a GOTV SMS program layered on top of our field outreach. In the final two weeks of the cycle, we also launched a digital ad campaign (Is Fighting) that elevated Rogers’s record of voting against lowering costs.

In Montana, we contributed nearly $5.8 million to Montana Outdoor Values Action Fund (MOVAF), a project of our state affiliate Montana Conservation Voters, to defeat Tim Sheehy and reelect Jon Tester. Spending included statewide broadcast ads (Signs and No Access) that started running in May through the end of June, that focused on Sheehy’s anti-public lands record. MOVAF sent out an endorsement guide and targeted Montanans with hunting and fishing licenses with digital ads touting Tester’s record of championing public lands and even one featuring a grizzly bear. We also ran a six piece mail program in September that targeted seniors and rural voters and supported A Better Big Sky and Montana Rural Voters. Montana Outdoor Values Action Fund ran its field program in Billings and Bozeman, knocking on a total of 176,563 doors and having over 26,000 conversations with voters in support of Jon Tester. LCVVF also ran paid relational, GOTV mail, and phone programs on top of our field universe. In addition, we also contributed to Your Community PAC, which ran a field program to engage and turnout voters during GOTV.

In Nevada, we invested $1.3 million to defeat Dirty Dozen member Sam Brown and reelect Jacky Rosen. Spending included a Spanish language ad in partnership with EDF Action Votes, which called out Sam Brown’s scheme to use campaign donations marketed for other Republican candidates to cover his own campaign debt. We also opened three field offices, knocked on 360,692 doors and had 52,400 conversations. LCVVF also ran paid relational, GOTV mail, and a GOTV SMS program layered on top of our field universe.

In Ohio, LCV Victory Fund and New American Jobs Fund invested $4.8 million to reelect Sherrod Brown and defeat Dirty Dozen member Bernie Moreno. The spending included a LCV Victory Fund digital ad campaign that focused on mobilizing youth and low propensity voters in the final three weeks of the election cycle. We also partnered with the United Steelworkers union through our joint super PAC, New American Jobs Fund, to open three field offices, knock on 382,313 and have 57,000 conversations. The partnership also included a GOTV mail and GOTV SMS program layered on top of our field universe.

In Pennsylvania, we invested more than $4.3 million to reelect Bob Casey and defeat Dirty Dozen member Dave McCormick. The spending included a digital ad campaign that focused on McCormick’s record of outsourcing Pennsylvania jobs, especially to China, at the expense of working people across the commonwealth. We also opened four field offices, knocked on 637,322 doors, and had almost 90,000 conversations with voters. 

In Wisconsin, we invested $1.9 million to reelect Tammy Baldwin and defeat Eric Hovde. Spending included a digital ad campaign that launched in the final eight days of the election that highlighted Hovde’s dangerous plans for social security and Medicare. We also partnered with EMILYs List’s Women Vote on a mail program that focused on engaging women voters statewide around reproductive rights and supporting the Harris-Walz ticket and Senator Baldwin. LCVVF also partnered with WCV IEC to open three field offices, knock on 377,363 doors, and have over 45,000 conversations with voters about the stakes of the election.

The House –  $20 Million
Working to take back the House from MAGA Republicans and elect climate champions in crucial House races was a top priority this cycle. For the first time, this year we expanded our tried and tested field programs to include house races across the country. This field organizing programming began in July of this year with efforts in just two House races and later expanded in September to include an additional 11 House races. The decision to expand our field organizing efforts into the general election came after a successful field program in NY-03 during the special election earlier this year, where we spent over $700,000 on field operations alone to elect Tom Suozzi to Congress. 

In addition to our field operation, we also ran paid media programs in key districts across the country to educate and mobilize voters. In the final three weeks of the election, we launched a mobilization campaign in partnership with Priorities USA that grew to over $2.5 million to turn out low propensity voters in 17 congressional districts: CA-27, CA-41, CA-45, CA-47, CA-49, CO-08, CT-05, IA-01, IA-03, NJ-07, NY-04, NY-17, NY-19, NY-22, OR-05, VA-02, and VA-07. 

Some highlights of our 2024 House Program included: 

• AZ-06: LCV Victory Fund ran a broadcast ad to elect Kirsten Engel. The ad called out Engel’s opponent for supporting a mining project in the Santa Ritas that locals have been opposing and how the project could impact access to clean water. 
• CA-45: LCV Victory Fund ran English and Spanish language ads to elect Derek Tran. The ads elevated Tran’s opponent for taking Big Oil donations, personal earning from oil royalties, and selling public land at below market value to a donor. We also ran a 7-piece mail program during the final month of the cycle.
• CA-47: In partnership with EDF Action Votes and NRDC Action Votes, LCV Victory Fund ran a digital ad program to elect Dave Min. The spot highlighted Min’s work to invest in apprenticeship programs, raise wages and lower energy costs for Californians
• NM-02: LCV Victory Fund ran digital ads in English and Spanish to reelect Gabe Vasquez. The ads call out Vasquez’s opponent for supporting the sale of public lands and for voting against protections from methane gas leaks.
• NY-04: LCV Victory Fund invested in digital ads to support Laura Gillen for Congress, highlighting her work to cut taxes for Nassau County and how she’ll prioritize lowering utility bills in Congress. These digital ads also highlighted how Gillen’s opponent has voted against key programs for New Yorkers – even opposing lower energy bills.
• OH-09: LCV Victory Fund ran a broadcast ad to reelect Marcy Kaptur. The ad, which ran in late September, focused on Kaptur’s opponent’s ties to the FirstEnergy bailout. 

The 30 races we invested in this cycle were: AZ-01, AZ-06, CA-27, CA-41, CA-45, CA-47, CA-49, CO-08, CT-05, IA-01, IA-03, MI-07, MI-08, MI-10, MT-01, NE-02, NM-02, NJ-07, NY-03, NY-04, NY-17, NY-19, NY-22, OH-09, OH-13, OR-05, PA-07, VA-02, VA-07, WI-03. 

The States– $30.6 million
At the state and local level, there are critical races that will shape the course of our environment and democracy for years to come. After Democrats in Congress passed the strongest climate and clean energy legislation in American history, implementing the Inflation Reduction Act now largely falls on state and local leaders to effectively make these programs and investments work and accessible to families. That’s why our state affiliates invested over $30.6 million in 2024 to help educate and turnout voters this cycle.

For a full breakdown of these races, please see our memo highlighting the most important state and local races to protect our environment and democracy. 

Statewide Races
Our state affiliates’ top priority statewide races this cycle to protect or pick-up were:

• North Carolina Governor’s race – Conservation Votes PAC (CVP) invested over $2 million to elect Attorney General Josh Stein as the next Governor over Mark Robinson, the most extreme gubernatorial candidate in the country. In partnership with LCV Victory Fund, CVP is executing a robust field program in Mecklenburg County. They also ran a paid media program in partnership with North Carolina Association of Educators (NCAE) and Progress NC Action calling out extreme candidates including both Robinson and candidate for Superintendent Michele Morrow.
• Montana Supreme Court – Two state Supreme Court seats, including the Chief Justice position, are up this year putting the pro-conservation majority of the Supreme Court at risk. Montana Conservation Voters Action Fund invested over $500,000 to protect Montanans’ constitutional right “to a clean and healthful environment.” 
• Washington Public Lands Commissioner – Washington Conservation Action Votes invested more than $500,000 both to ensure that Upthegrove emerged from the state’s top two nonpartisan August primary and that he is supported going into the November general election to give the state a Commissioner who will be dedicated to protecting public lands and waters.

While this includes some of our biggest campaigns in the states, it is not comprehensive to every single race or every dollar being spent by LCV affiliates across the country. 

State Legislatures
Our state affiliates’ top priority state legislative races this cycle to expand, protect pick-up or defend were:

• Arizona – The Conservation Voter Movement, led by Chispa AZ PAC,  invested $3.6 million to flip the Arizona legislature to a pro-environment majority and gain a trifecta. This spending included a field program in four legislative districts and a paid media program in one of the most competitive Legislative Districts, LD17.
• Michigan – Conservation Voters of Michigan PAC invested over $3 million to maintain a pro-environment, pro-democracy majority in the state house. They have knocked on over 147,000 doors and run mail, digital and TV ads across 7 districts to expand their majority and defend the House members who helped pass historic climate legislation last year.
• Minnesota – Climate Vote Minnesota invested nearly $750,000 to maintain a pro-environment trifecta after the legislature, along with Governor Tim Walz, passed transformative climate policies over the past two years in control. This spending took the form of key digital and mail investments across State House battleground districts.
• North Carolina – Conservation Votes PAC invested more than $1.3 million to break the anti-conservation supermajority in the state House. This included a large mail program and a canvass program nested within their gubernatorial program. 
• Pennsylvania – Conservation Voters of PA Victory Fund invested more than $1.9 million to defend and grow a pro-environment and pro-democracy majority in the State House, while gaining ground in the State Senate. This includes more than $1 million in door-to-door canvassing investment to turn out voters in down ballot races that are likely to be won or lost by  very slim margins.
• Wisconsin – Wisconsin Conservation Voters Independent Expenditure Committee invested more than $1.5 million to flip numerous seats across in both the State Senate and Assembly in the wake of new maps that returned fair elections to the state for the first time in over a decade. Of this, more than $750,000 was dedicated to canvassing to turn out voters key to victory in these races.

Public Utility Commissions
Public Utility Commissions regulate utilities and have an outsize effect on the clean energy transition and utility bills. Below are places where our state affiliates are working to elect members to the commission who will fight to invest in clean energy that lowers costs for consumers while creating good local jobs:

• Arizona Corporation Commission – Chispa AZ PAC invested $1.2M to support pro-clean energy candidates Ylenia Aguilar, Joshua Polacheck and Jonathon Hill. They talked to voters at their doors about the importance of the Commission and invested in digital, radio and mail programs.  
• Montana Public Service Commission – Montana Conservation Voters Action Fund invested over $400,000 in field and digital programs to defeat Jennifer Fielder in PSC District 4. Fielder has an extreme, anti-public lands record and has voted to raise costs on Montana ratepayers. 

GiveGreen Candidate Fundraising – Over $57 Million
Over fifty seven million dollars has been raised for federal and state candidates through GiveGreen, a project of LCV Victory Fund and NRDC Action Votes, in this election cycle — surpassing our 2020 general election record breaking total by over 10 million – further cementing GiveGreen as the biggest single-issue fundraising platform of any progressive group. This historic effort is being fueled by grassroots donors from across the country who are energized to support climate champions up and down the ballot

Mobilizing Members
A detailed summary of LCV’s member mobilization work, as well as LCV Action Fund’s endorsements can be found here.

Washington’s No on 2117 Ballot Initiative
As the first ballot initiative to ever appear on the Dirty Dozen in the States list, this measure is among the biggest threats to clean energy progress on the ballot nationwide this year. If passed, it would repeal Governor Jay Inslee’s landmark Washington Climate Commitment Act, which institutes a cap and invest program. Because of the threat this initiative poses, Washington Conservation Action Votes has helped lead the statewide fight to defeat this ballot measure.

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Paid for by LCV Victory Fund, www.lcvvictoryfund.org, and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.