August Pfluger, an Air Force veteran and member of the U.S. House representing a small district in West Texas, isn’t exactly a household name on the national political scene, with little press coverage in the last two months outside a recent Fox News appearance.
But Pfluger has been a loyal ally of the industry, leading the congressional opposition to the Biden administration’s pause on liquefied natural gas exports. When Pfluger entered Congress in 2021, his first piece of legislation proposed prohibiting the Biden administration from demanding a moratorium on issuing new oil and gas permits for drilling on federal lands.
That split is starkly reflected in the industry’s campaign contributions — oil and gas companies are contributing more than seven times as much money to Republican candidates and conservative groups as to Democrats and liberal groups, according to. In the 2024 election cycle, the sector has contributed more than $25 million to the GOP and conservative groups compared to $3.6 million to Democrats as of April 16.
In response to questions about why it favors GOP candidates, American Petroleum Institute spokesperson Scott J. Lauermann replied: In Pennsylvania, industry giving has been more bipartisan, with lawmakers from both parties attracting campaign contributions from oil and gas producers. The only campaign contributions made this cycle so far by First Energy, an electric utility that recently abandoned its 2030 target for cutting greenhouse gas emissions because it can’t replace two coal plants, went to Joanna McClinton, the Democratic speaker of the state House of Representatives.