Last night in Pennsylvania, 30 of the 47 candidates who signed the #NoFossilFuelMoney pledge — from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia to Lancaster — won their primaries and will head to the general elections this fall. But even better, in every single race where a #NoFossilFuelMoney candidate was running, a #NoFossilFuelMoney candidate won. This includes Candidate for Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman, 7 candidates for Congress, 3 candidates for State Senate, and 19 candidates for the State House of Representatives. It was an incredible night.
When we head to the polls November 6th, millions of Pennsylvania voters will have a choice between candidates who stand up to Big Oil and pledge to protect our futures, and candidates who still take money from the oil and gas CEOs who profit off of wrecking our home.
These extraordinary wins happened because ordinary people organized. Sunrisers joined great partners across the state to knock doors day in and day out and to educate voters about how climate action would show up on the ballot. Not only did dozens of candidates sign the #NoFossilFuelMoney pledge, we also registered hundreds of people to vote.
We have a plan that really works, and last night was the clearest testament to that. In just under three weeks, we’re launching Sunrise Semester, an electoral program twelve times the size of the pilot we ran in Pennsylvania this spring, and brings it to 5 states across the country.
With over 500 candidates and politicians already taking the pledge and the youth climate movement powering up for the fall, the momentum to kick out fossil fuel money from our democracy can only grow from here.
