5 Election Winners to Watch on Climate as Environment Crusaders Head to Congress

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez campaigned for other climate supporters after defeating a long-time congressman in the Democratic primary. Dan Videtich for the Washington Post via Getty Images Capitol Hill is about to get an injection of environmental and climate activism. The freshman class of the 116th Congress—in addition to including an historic number of women and being one of the most ethnically and racially diverse—will have a striking number of members who have been environmental crusaders. With track records of taking on powerful fossil fuel interests or building clean energy businesses, many of them are talking about a "Green New Deal"—a massive federal government effort for clean energy and jobs. Although such federal legislation seems unlikely in the short term, given the Republicans’ hold on the Senate and President Donald Trump’s veto pen, this Congress will have members who have taken on big environmental and social justice challenges and prevailed. Our stories. Your inbox. Every weekend. "We are thrilled that so many new members of the 116th Congress have been longtime leaders in accelerating our transition to clean energy and combating climate change," said Tiernen Sittenfeld, senior vice president for government affairs at the League of Conservation Voters, which spent a […]

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