On Tuesday, President Donald Trump’s campaign highlighted the front cover of The Carlsbad Current-Argus, with an article about Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris’ plan to ban fracking.
The Campaign fixated on a quote from the article reading “Sadly, a fracking ban is no longer an idea from fringe candidates, it’s now the centerpiece of a major candidate’s campaign and New Mexicans should be worried,” quoting Larry Behrens of Power the Future, an advocate for the energy industry in New Mexico.
“Every New Mexico official who has endorsed Joe Biden should now have to answer if they support the extreme position of banning fracking and destroying our economy,” continued Behrens.
“Her policies are leaving shattered lives, hopelessness and an ongoing belief among our young people that they have no future here,” the Current-Argus quoted Republican Party of New Mexico Chairman Steve Pearce as saying following Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s convention speech.
Lujan Grisham has been a staunch proponent of the Biden/Harris ticket, speaking at the Republican National Convention in front of an array of solar panels.
According to the article:
Biden’s selection of Harris reignited the ire of oil and gas industry advocates in New Mexico who slammed previous statements made by Harris during her campaign for Democrat nomination that she would support a full ban on hydraulic fracturing if elected to the highest office in the land.
“There’s no question I’m in favor of banning fracking,” she said during a 2019 town hall event on climate change hosted by CNN.
“This is something I’ve taken on in California. I have a history of working on this issue. We have to just acknowledge that the residual impact of fracking is enormous in terms of the impact on the health and safety of communities.”
The fracking argument is sure to be a topic of much discussion this election, with President Trump’s campaign staunchly pro-energy, whereas a Biden/Harris ticket means a total ban on hydraulic fracturing, a necessity in New Mexico, with our booming oil and gas industry.