WASHINGTON – The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) Victory Fund and the Latino Victory Project today announced the launch of a turnout operation to defeat Republican congressional candidate Paul Chabot (CA-31) and elect Democrat Pete Aguilar on November 4th. The program kicks off this week and will target likely Aguilar supporters across the district who voted in the 2012 Presidential election but did not vote in the 2010 midterm election.
“California is suffering from harmful impacts of climate change like never before, including more intense droughts, heat waves and wildfires. Californians cannot afford to send climate science denier Paul Chabot to Washington to block measures to slow the climate crisis,” said Daniel J. Weiss, LCV Senior Vice President for Campaigns. “We are honored to partner with the Latino Victory Project to help send environmental champion Pete Aguilar in Congress.”
“Paul Chabot is out of step with Latino voters, who overwhelmingly care deeply about their communities and the environment in which they live,” said Cristóbal Alex, President of the Latino Victory Project. “The vast majority of Latinos believe that our leaders must address climate change and our dependence on fossil fuels, and Pete Aguilar understands that Congress must take action to mitigate the dangers of climate change. We are proud to stand with Pete Aguilar and the League of Conservation Voters.”
The turnout canvass will reach over 20,000 households in the district west of the Santa Ana River, focusing on Rancho Cucamonga, Upland, Rialto, Muscoy, and San Bernardino. It will communicate with likely Aguilar supporters with a vote propensity of 30-100, partisanship score of 60-100 and ideology score of 35-100, who voted in the 2012 Presidential election but not in the 2010 midterm election.
LCV also named Chabot to its trademark Dirty Dozen program this cycle, which targets candidates — regardless of party affiliation — who consistently side against the environment and are running in races in which LCV has a serious chance to affect the outcome. Last election cycle, LCV defeated 11 of the 12 Dirty Dozen candidates.
Chabot is a climate science denier who sought to suspend California’s landmark 2006 law that placed limits on carbon pollution responsible for climate change. In a debate earlier this year, he said, “So I’m not a scientist, but I do watch Science Channel like I’m sure many of you do. I’m not a believer of climate change.” Additionally, according to the Redlands Daily Facts, in a recent debate, “Aguilar accused Chabot of not believing in climate change, putting him out of step with the environmental community, scientific community and Department of Defense. Chabot rebutted by saying maybe Aguilar agrees with Al Gore that by now the ice caps would be gone.”
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has found that climate scientists are now 95% to 100% certain that humans are the “dominant cause” of climate change, and NASA and the U.S. military both recognize that climate change is a reality and due to human activities.
Chabot also blamed the California water crisis on “environmental regulations,” attacked investments in clean energy, and signed a pledge that protects billions of dollars in taxpayer-funded subsidies to the oil industry.
Earlier this year, the California League of Conservation Voters (CLCV) and LCV Action Fund, which works to elect candidates who will implement sound environmental policies, endorsed Aguilar, highlighting his commitment to combating climate change and moving California and our nation towards the clean energy economy of the future.
Paid for by LCV Victory Fund, www.lcvvictoryfund.org, and the Latino Victory Project, www.latinovictory.us, and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.
