US-2024 Election Debate and EV'S

                                                 

Electric Vehicles Take Center Stage in the US-2024 Election Debate

“Key Senate Democrats Seek Distance from Biden's EV Policies as Trump Vehemently Opposes Them”

Introduction

It was just two years ago when Senate Democrats stood united to pass comprehensive legislation designed to fight climate change by, in part, accelerating a transition to electric vehicles with tax credits and other incentives.

Shifting Political Stances Amid Election Pressures

But now, with a forbidding reelection climate in November, some red-state Senate Democrats fighting for their political lives are putting an arms' length between themselves and aspects of President Biden's EV policies as Republicans go on offense against Biden's environmental agenda.

Trump's Campaign Against EVs

For his part, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, Donald Trump, has been taking aim at EVs as a central tenet of the campaign season, turning them, as many other things have been, to culture war fodder in an election year. Meanwhile, a fossil fuel industry group is spending millions on ads in swing states, yoking Democratic senators to Biden's EV push.                                                                             

 Biden's EV policies under fire

Trump has promised to roll back Biden's work on electric vehicles and has said "you're not going to be able to sell those cars" if he's elected president.

                                                                              

Emission Standards and the Auto Industry's Response

Biden is mandating a lot more EV sales for the car companies while also clamping down on the carbon emissions from gasoline-powered vehicles that add about one-fifth of America's contribution to global warming under tough new emissions standards. The carmakers won't have to sell many more EVs until after 2030—a nod to car manufacturers who were worried the previously proposed deadline by Biden was too short a period.

The electric vehicle, or EV, issue combines some potent political ingredients: China, class warfare, and what the GOP will probably describe as a spending spree by Congress. Supporters of the policy defend the EV transition as a needed evolution to help slow the worst impacts of climate change, and they point to tens of millions of dollars of investment in EV-related factories here in the United States for what will likely mean high-paying manufacturing jobs.

Trump's strategy to attack EVs

It is a more than simple set of attack lines for Trump, though, who termed the Biden regulations as "ridiculous" in his recent meeting with oil industry executives to whom he brazenly appealed to raise $1 billion for his campaign kitty.

Trump's Rhetoric Related to EVs

During a rally in Las Vegas earlier this month, Trump spent several minutes ranting against electric-powered boats—saying he was confused by what he should do if his boat was sinking in shark-infested waters. "Do I get electrocuted if the boat is sinking, water comes over the battery, and the boat is sinking? Do I stay on top of the boat and get electrocuted, or do I jump over by the shark and not get electrocuted?

“He asked.

                                                                         

Internal GOP Discussions on EV Policies

Last week, Trump told Senate Republicans behind closed doors he would "get rid of" Biden's "disastrous" EV policy if he's elected president, according to Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.).

Democratic Divisions over Biden's EV Policies

Some Democrats in the most competitive races have set themselves apart from parts of Biden's policies. The issue has become so politicized that data shows more Democrats than Republicans are buying EVs.

Legislative Actions Against Biden's EV Policies

This past May, Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, introduced a bipartisan Congressional Review Act resolution to overturn the Biden administration's decision to allow components of EV batteries to be manufactured in China, which really put an exclamation point on his weeks of criticism of the Biden administration's stance toward EVs.

Economic and Security Concerns

"The U.S. must ban Chinese electric vehicles now and stop a flood of Chinese government-subsidized cars that threaten Ohio auto jobs and our national and economic security," Brown wrote in an April letter to Biden.

                                                                             

New Tariffs on Chinese EVs

The Biden administration announced steep new tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles earlier in May.

Votes against Biden's Emission Standards

Both Brown and Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., voted unsuccessfully to roll back Biden's emissions standards and also joined Republicans to scrap a Biden rule that would exempt EV charging stations from "Buy America" rules. Biden later vetoed the Chargers measure.

Political Implications in Key States

"There's a lot of concern about electric vehicles out of the state of Ohio that's probably bad for Sherrod Brown overall, but the silver lining is that it provides him an opportunity to draw some contrasts to Joe Biden," said Christopher Devine, a political science professor at the University of Dayton. Political and Economic Update Across Ohio.

In Ohio, a state of auto manufacturing where cars are core to politics, Brown's GOP rival, Bernie Moreno—a car dealer—has criticized the "manic" move to EVs, saying it could destroy the auto industry. Brown allies went after Moreno for previously selling Chinese-made Buicks in his car dealership.

Industry, Union Back Biden's EV Push Ohio is home to auto manufacturing plants, including those owned by General Motors, which have agreed to the Biden push to EVs. Most of the auto industry has come on board with the policy after the Environmental Protection Agency slowed the pace of electrification in its latest regulation by adjusting its initial emissions standards.

The powerful United Auto Workers union came out for Biden, too, after the president quieted concerns he had about the president's commitment to promoting union jobs in electric vehicle-related factories.

                                                 

Tester's View on EV Tech

The tester said he believes there needs to be more research and development of EV car batteries before more consumers will want to purchase the vehicles. "I am an internal combustion guy," Tester said. "Truth is, if you're going to be competitive, we've got to get batteries to a point where they're more affordable, longer lasting, and work in colder weather conditions."Tester's Personal EV Experience. Tester reveals in his memoir, published in 2020 how he had purchased a used Prius to drive around while in D.C.

Campaign Ads and Misinformation

Both men are facing ads funded by a fuel industry group in their states claiming that Biden will soon ban most gas-powered cars—a reference to the president's stringent new emissions standards that experts say is misleading.

Misleading Political Ads One new ad, which launches this week and is part of a larger $6.6 million buy, photo shops Tester's image into the back seat of a car with Biden. "President Biden is banning most new gas cars," says a narrator in the background. "Putting our freedom to choose what to drive in the rear-view mirror.

And Senator Jon Tester couldn't stop him." The ad urges viewers to call Tester and ask that he "continue working to stop the ban." Brown is part of an ad series including Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev. — which essentially mirrors the same issue and will air in both of their states where they are running for difficult re-election bids — along with six other states.

American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers President and CEO Chet Thompson said in a statement that he's "agnostic" on who ultimately wins the Senate races in the swing states where his group is running ads, but that he believes the Biden administration's EV policies are "wildly unpopular" with voters. Fact-checking The "Ban" Narrative

He defended the use of "ban" in his ads, which experts say misstates the impact of the new emissions standards. Those standards, set to take effect in five or so years, will have auto manufacturers dramatically increasing their production of EVs and decreasing production of gas-powered vehicles to meet those standards. That will be a gradual transition. EPA's EV Sales Projections

The EPA estimates EVs will comprise "30 percent to 56 percent of new light-duty vehicle sales" and "20 percent to 32 percent of new medium-duty vehicle sales" in 2030. That's less than Biden's initial desire, which was, to see EVs comprise half of all new car sales in 2030. And neither involves a ban.

                                                                               

Democratic Defense of Biden's Policies

"It's just Republican propaganda and fear-mongering," said Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), the chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

                                                                        

Challenges of Selling EVs in the Red States

A lot of the EV tax credits that were included in the Inflation Reduction Act have gone to purchasers in California and along the coasts, furthering the difficulty of selling the move in red states. Republicans and even a few Democrats have also claimed that the Biden administration was too permissive of China-made battery parts that make up the vehicles. Republicans plan to argue that lawmakers authorized billions in spending in the legislation without meaningfully lowering inflation.

Liberal Groups Push for EV Benefits

Some liberal groups argue that Democrats need to do a better job of touting the benefits of the investment in EVs—including factories being built in red states—and explaining to voters what's in it for them economically.

"The mistake for Democrats would be trying to run away from this and not owning the real achievements of the Inflation Reduction Act," said Stevie O'Hanlon, a spokesperson for liberal climate change group the Sunrise Movement. Democratic candidates should go on "offense" even in red states, said O'Hanlon, and explain the investments and jobs that the legislation is leading to there.

                                                                               

History of Green Campaigning

O'Hanlon said Republicans campaigned on the Green New Deal proposal in 2019 by arguing that liberals wanted to take away people's hamburgers, but it didn't result in election-year gains. "This is the classic playbook from Big Oil," she said.

Slotkin's Proactive Approach "I know Donald Trump has made electric vehicles his new 'woke' culture war," Rep. Elissa Slotkin said in a statement following her vote. She is running for that state's open Senate seat and has taken heat for opposing a measure to halt efforts in states to limit gas-powered cars in the House in 2023. "Those vehicles are going to be made.”

And I'm always going to choose Team America over.                                                

              Here is the updated graph showing electric vehicle (EV) sales from 2019 to 2024, including projections for 2024

• US EV Sales: The number of electric vehicles sold in the US is projected to increase from 4.2 million in 2023 to 5.0 million in 2024.
• Global EV Sales: Worldwide, EV sales are projected to grow from 14.6 million in 2023 to 17.0 million in 2024.

The graph illustrates the continuing upward trend in EV adoption, reflecting the growing emphasis on electric vehicles both in the United States and globally.

 Conclusion

                                                   

Of the many issues at play, electric vehicles have become part of the debate, underpinning very political and ideological chasms between both parties. With President Biden's policies over EVs under attack, Senate Democrats in swing states are left maneuvering ways to calibrate environmental goals with constituency political realities. Meanwhile, Donald Trump was able to effectively weaponry the EV issue by tapping into cultural and economic anxieties that mobilized his base.

The adoption of EVs is currently undergoing a transformation—driven by the need for long-term mileage of legislation and corroborative investment. While the Biden policies are constructed to mobilize action in fighting climate change and empower American manufacturing, they face fierce opposition from Republicans and even some Democratic quarters based on concerns over economic and national-security implications. Against this backdrop of contention, the future of EV policies balances on a razor's edge, holding within them the potential to dictate both environmental outcomes and the political fortunes of those arguing for or against them.