Harris' 'mixed messages' on natural gas production could cost her pivotal Pennsylvania

Energy industry leaders are pushing for Vice President Kamala Harris to clarify her stance on fossil fuel production in the final days of the presidential race, citing fears that she would restrict production and add on to four years of confusing policy under President Biden.

These concerns reached a fever pitch last week after senior campaign climate adviser Camila Thorndike said in an interview that Harris has no plans to promote fracking in office. The remarks, since walked back, sparked backlash and criticism from Republicans and industry groups, who re-upped their calls for clarity from the vice president. 

Many viewed the now-retracted comment as a sign she would crack down on fracking. This could cost Harris big time in Pennsylvania – the second-largest U.S. natural gas producer behind Texas, and a key swing state with 19 electoral votes out for offer in the presidential race.

Harris did little to assuage voters in her town hall event Wednesday night. She denied that she had previously endorsed a fracking ban while seeking the presidency in 2019 – when she said there was "no question" she is in favor of banning fracking – and instead pointed to her recent endorsement of the practice. 

She has also repeatedly noted her tie-breaking vote for the Inflation Reduction Act, or the Democratic-led legislation that opened new lease sales for fracking.

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However, even in the Keystone State, gas groups remain skeptical as industry leaders note that with just days left before the election, Harris has done little to spell out how she would lead on oil and gas issues, especially when it comes to issues of fracking – a necessary technology to extract natural gas in Pennsylvania. 

Instead, one statewide industry group said, her remarks have only inspired "more fracking confusion." 

Harris "was against it before she was for it. Or is it the other way around now?" a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Energy Infrastructure Alliance quipped of Harris's fracking flip-flops in a blog post Wednesday.

Harris "continues to give mixed messages about her position on fracking – an issue central to voters in battleground states like Pennsylvania," a spokesperson for Grow America’s Infrastructure Now Coalition told Fox News in a statement. 

While Harris has said she would "not ban fracking," the group said, "there is a distinct difference between not banning fracking, and promoting energy production."

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"As the Harris campaign travels through Pennsylvania … it remains to be seen whether she will clarify her position," they added.

Winning Pennsylvania may require an embrace of fossil fuel production. The state is the second-largest natural gas producer in the U.S. and boasts a gas industry that supports more than 120,000 state jobs and adds roughly $41 billion annually to the state's economy.

"It's obvious that the pathway to the presidency goes through Pennsylvania," Amanda Eversole, the chief operating officer of the American Petroleum Institute, told Fox News earlier this month. 

Bigger picture

Harris, to date, has ignored calls to clarify her exact policy positions on energy production, which was a heated topic during the Biden administration. 

Her recent stump speeches in Pennsylvania have leaned heavily on the historic levels of U.S. oil and gas production reached under President Biden – despite the fact that this production was in large part a response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"I am proud that as vice president over the last four years, we have invested a trillion dollars in a clean energy economy while we have also increased domestic gas production to historic levels," Harris said in recent campaign remarks.

The U.S. Oil and Gas Association described Harris's view on social media as the latest "change in her prior, prior, position." 

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Republicans also used it to seize on their wins in Pennsylvania, where Democrats have struggled to gain momentum in recent weeks-- including both Harris and down-ballot candidates, such as Sen. Bob Casey.

When asked for a comment Wednesday, a spokesperson for former President Donald Trump's campaign seized on Thorndike's recent remarks, telling Fox News in a statement that they only "cement the reality" that "the only candidate in this race who will unleash Pennsylvania energy to cut utility bills and fuel American growth is [Trump]."

Former U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry also criticized the interview and the confusion swirling around Harris's policy positions so close to Election Day.

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"With the election less than 2 weeks out, the recent comments from Harris’ climate director are concerning," Perry told Fox News in a statement.

"Calling the oil and gas industry ‘ecoterrorists’ is insulting to the millions of energy workers across the country, and the Vice President should disavow these extreme comments," he said. "Voters from PA, OH, and WI should believe Vice President Harris the first time she vowed to ban fracking."

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