Harris campaign said she would not ban fracking, reversing past pledge

Vice President Kamala Harris will not seek a ban on natural gas drilling, or fracking, if elected, according to a statement from her campaign.

“She would not ban fracking,” the Harris campaign said in a statement to TribLive.

The statement comes as a reversal of Harris’ past comments on fracking. In 2019, while running for president in the Democratic primary, Harris said during a CNN town hall: “There’s no question I’m in favor of banning fracking.”

Former President Donald Trump and other Republican allies have attacked Harris over her past comments in an effort to exploit a politically fraught topic in Pennsylvania. The Keystone State is one of the largest natural gas producers in the country and a key swing state in the upcoming election.

In a Charlotte, N.C., rally last week, Trump said Harris wants to ban fracking and called her a “radical left lunatic who will destroy our country.”

The Harris campaign responded by touting the Biden-Harris administration’s effort in boosting domestic energy production and creating energy sector jobs. Domestic crude oil production hit all-time records in December, as did natural gas production, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Last year, Pennsylvania was near record highs in natural gas production. Each year of the Biden-Harris administration, Pennsylvania has produced over 7 million cubic feet of natural gas, a feat never accomplished under the Trump or Obama administrations.

“Trump’s false claims about fracking bans are an obvious attempt to distract from his own plans to enrich oil and gas executives at the expense of the middle class,” the campaign said.

It’s unlikely this is the last Pennsylvanians will hear about fracking from the two presidential candidates.

David Callahan, president of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, a natural gas trade group, said fracking and the natural gas industry play a powerful role in Pennsylvania’s elections, with bipartisan support from Republicans and Democrats.

“There should be no debate about the essential role of responsible natural gas development and use,” Callahan said.

Pennsylvania produces the second most natural gas of any state, just behind Texas. Pennsylvania produces about 20% of the nation’s natural gas, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Voters are split about fracking, with slightly more Pennsylvanians supporting natural gas drilling than opposing it, according to the last nonpartisan poll. A Mulhenberg University poll from 2022 said 48% of Pennsylvanians strongly or somewhat support fracking, while 44% strongly or somewhat oppose it.

In statewide races, both Democrats and Republicans typically espouse support for fracking. In local elections, including some in Allegheny County, Democrats who have run on anti-fracking messages have won seats on borough councils. The issue continues to be politically fraught.

Natural gas proponents and critics understand the influence fracking has on the state’s politics.

Jeff Nobers, president of pro-fracking group Pittsburgh Works Together, said it is not uncommon for politicians to backtrack on criticisms of fracking, given its place in the state.

He noted President Joe Biden came out forcefully during a Pittsburgh speech in 2020 saying he didn’t support a fracking ban. That followed his earlier comments during a primary debate where he said he didn’t support new fracking wells, and his campaign later clarified Biden meant no new fracking on federal lands.

U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Braddock, was a strong critic of fracking during his first Senate run in 2016 but has since emerged as a strong ally of the natural gas industry.

Policy reversals in favor of supporting fracking have not hurt politicians, as both Fetterman and Biden won their last elections and carried Pennsylvania.

Nobers said Harris should speak directly about her stances on fracking and the energy industry, not just comment through a campaign spokesperson. He said a forceful statement could help quiet critics and reassure Pennsylvanians who support the fracking industry.

“It would be important to her to make it very clear what her stance is. Not just on fracking but on energy,” Nobers said.

Fracking has long attracted critiques from environmentalists, who worry the practice pollutes groundwater and releases methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere.

But Harris’ new stance on fracking might not be hurting her too much with environmentally minded voters.

Mark Dixon, a Pittsburgh activist who supports a fracking ban, said he still plans on voting for Harris and believes her reversal speaks more to Pennsylvania’s political climate than to her environmental stances. And Dixon noted that Trump and other Republicans often have denied climate change, so supporting them is out of the question for him.

“I want to see a ban on fracking but would be satisfied with an urgent and well-planned phase-out,” he said. “In fact, once the fracking cat got out of the bag in Pennsylvania, I felt that a phase-out was probably the most likely pathway to ending it. Regardless of her specific position on fracking, I know that Harris stands for climate action and democracy.”