VP Harris faces backlash in crucial swing state after her 'disastrous' anti-fracking position resurfaces

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris is facing renewed criticism for her past support of banning fracking, which she boldly proclaimed while running for president in 2019, particularly from critics pointing out the popularity of fracking in Rust Belt states like Pennsylvania.

"There’s no question I’m in favor of banning fracking," Harris said during a 2019 town hall on CNN as a presidential candidate. 

"And starting with what we can do on day one around public lands, right? And then there has to be legislation, but, yes, that’s’ something I’ve taken on in California. I have a history of working on this issue and to your point we have to just acknowledge that the residual impact of fracking is enormous in terms of the health and safety of communities."

In a statement to Fox News Digital, National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Mike Marinella, said, "Kamala Harris is the most far left progressive presidential nominee in history, and extreme Democrats in the Rust Belt now own every single policy she supports."

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"A fracking ban would be disastrous for workers and families, and extreme Democrats’ mission to force Biden to step aside and replace him with San Francisco radical Kamala Harris shows exactly how out of touch they are with their voters." 

"Banning fracking would cause home electricity costs to skyrocket and devastate Western PA’s natural gas economy," Republican state Rep. Rob Mercuri, who is running for Congress in Pennsylvania's 17th District, told Fox News Digital. 

"Clean natural gas production is America’s best opportunity for reliable and affordable energy needs well into the future. Expanding America‘s energy economy will provide thousands of good union and non union jobs for hard-working Pennsylvanians. As your congressman, I will always support the production of clean natural gas."

Harris also faced intense criticism from conservatives on social media after Biden announced he was dropping out of the presidential race and endorsing his vice president.

"Kamala Harris is even more extreme than Joe Biden – She wants to ban fracking and kill countless jobs in states like PA for American workers," Donald Trump Jr. posted on X. 

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"This is who Bob Casey just endorsed for the presidency," GOP Pennsylvania Senate candidate Dave McCormick posted on X in response to Sen. Bob Casey’s endorsement of Harris.

"Dear Pennsylvania… take it from this Californian, don’t let Kamala Harris anywhere near your energy sources," former acting Director of the United States National Intelligence Ric Grenell posted on X. 

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"She’s a radical environmentalist even for California. Even Obama eventually read the science and agreed to fracking. As Attorney General, Kamala worked overtime to make sure liquid natural gas (LNG) terminals were not built throughout the entire state of California."

"Fracking supports tens of thousands of jobs in swing states like Pennsylvania," Power The Future founder and Executive Director Daniel Turner posted on X. "There's no question that energy is on the ballot in November."

Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris campaign but did not receive a response.

The fracking process, which involves injecting water into shale rock at high pressure to extract natural gas, has revolutionized the oil and gas industry by allowing producers to reach large quantities within shale rock that were previously unattainable and cost-prohibitive to drill.

As a result, oil and gas production in the U.S. has nearly tripled over the past decade. More than 95% of new wells use hydraulic fracking, accounting for about two-thirds of natural gas production and half of oil output in 2018, according to the American Petroleum Institute.

Proponents argue that fracking is critical for the U.S. becoming energy independent and is also the reason for a sharp drop in carbon dioxide emissions over the past decade.

Opponents, however, say fracking pollutes drinking water and air and releases greenhouse gases into the ozone, contributing to global warming.

Overall, the fossil fuel industry in Pennsylvania supports about 50,547 jobs, a 2021 report published by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection showed. 

Pennsylvania, believed to be one of the states the 2024 election will hinge on, is the second-largest producer of natural gas in the U.S. behind only Texas, according to the Energy Information Administration. Driven largely by its natural gas production and power plant generation, Pennsylvania is the largest electricity exporter in the country.

Fox News Digital's Jonathan Garber and Thomas Catenacci contributed to this report