Campaigns on both ends have released multiple attack ads attempting to persuade voters by drilling them with political mishaps in each other’s past. For Udall, his focus has been on Gardner’s support of banning “some forms of birth control,” which Gardner says he has now backtracked his opinion on. Gardner has focused his attacks on Udall’s support for gun control and the endorsement of a carbon tax. Gardner even went as far as calling Udall in an ad “a nice guy,” which didn’t go over well.
All bickering aside, there are important issues at hand that Colorado voters feel deeply passionate about. One of those issues is renewable energy. Colorado is at the height of an energy boom. Oil and natural gas production coming out of shale plays like the Niobrara are currently projected to produce some of the highest numbers it has ever seen, and that’s only expected to continue. With that, Colorado also has a chance to become one of nation’s top suppliers of renewable energy to not only the United States, but to the entire world.
So what are the opinions and viewpoints of each Colorado U.S. Senate candidate on energy? Below I have listed each candidate with their respective viewpoints on renewable energy and the energy industry as a whole, key issues in this November’s elections.
U.S. Sen. Mark Udall (D-incumbent):
- Serves on the Energy and Natural Resource Committee
- Regarded as a national leader on renewable energy.
- Promoting the development of renewable energy and increasing energy efficiency is a top priority.
- Believes in taking full advantage of Colorado’s traditional energy resources, such as responsible natural gas development.
- Will continue to push the oil and gas industry to be more transparent and proactive in its safety measures.
- Believes in inclusion of a strong federal Renewable Electricity Standard, which requires a percentage of the electricity used to be produced from renewable energy sources (Colorado already implements the legislation).
U.S. Rep. Cory Gardner(R):
- Believes in the development of traditional energy resources, renewable resources and even nuclear power.
- As a member of Congress, he passed two pieces of legislation out of the House that will tap American energy resources and reduce our dependence on foreign oil. The Jobs and Energy Permitting Act would streamline the permitting process for drilling in the Alaskan Outer Continental Shelf, which is estimated to produce a million barrels of oil per day, comparable to what the U.S. currently gets from Saudi Arabia. Passed out of the House as well was the Strategic Energy Production Act, which would link a draw-down of America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve to increase access to domestic land for oil production.
- Voted YES on opening Outer Continental Shelf to oil drilling.