Along with affiliated entities increases total investment to $115 million

Washington, D.C. — LCV Victory Fund today announced that it is expanding its work in U.S. Senate races to include South Carolina and Alaska. The move comes as LCV Victory Fund and affiliated entities, including LCV’s network of state affiliates, announced that they will invest over $115 million this election cycle (up from $100 million). The unprecedented figure, and the continued expansion into new races is testament to both the enthusiasm of the group’s supporters and the importance of climate and environmental justice issues to voters nationwide. 

As part of the historic electoral investment, LCV Victory Fund will launch a $1.5 million radio and direct mail campaign in South Carolina to defeat Lindsey Graham, whom the group also named the final member of this year’s “Dirty Dozen.”

MAIL: “Gone Bad”

“Senator Lindsey Graham is one of the Senate’s leading apologists for and enablers of Donald Trump — there is no one more deserving of a spot alongside Trump on this year’s Dirty Dozen,” said Pete Maysmith, SVP for Campaigns at LCV Victory Fund. “Jaime Harrison understands that South Carolina’s coastal communities are poised to face severe impacts from climate change-fueled extreme weather events, which is why he’s committed to taking action to confront the climate crisis and fighting for environmental justice.”

Graham has earned an abysmal LCV lifetime score of just 13%, votes with Trump nearly 90% of the time, and has taken more than $500,000 in campaign contributions from oil and gas interests. 

LCV Victory Fund also announced a new $800,000 TV ad campaign in Alaska in support of challenger Dr. Al Gross in his bid to defeat pro-polluter Senator Dan Sullivan. The campaign will continue the work of talking to voters about Sullivan and Gross’s contrasting records on Pebble Mine. 

WATCH: “Wasteland”

Dr. Al Gross is an outspoken opponent of the proposed Pebble Mine that would threaten Bristol Bay. He’ll stand up to the corporate polluters threatening Alaskans’ way of life — fighting for just and equitable environmental policies. Incumbent Alaska Senator Dan Sullivan was commissioner of Alaska’s Department of Natural Resources when the office issued numerous permits for Pebble Mine. Sullivan has taken more than $460,000 in campaign contributions from the mining industry in his Senate campaigns — including $10,000 from Pebble executives.

In addition to the new Senate program in South Carolina and Alaska, LCV Victory Fund is also ramping up efforts to defeat Iowa Senator Joni Ernst, Maine Senator Susan Collins, Montana Senator Steve Daines, and North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis and to protect Michigan’s pro-environment Senator Gary Peters. The organization announced a new $1.2 million Iowa direct mail program against Ernst on Tuesday and recently started running GOTV digital ads in support of key pro-environment Senate candidates, including in Montana.

New paid media campaigns launching this week in Maine, North Carolina and Michigan include:

• A $170,000 digital advertising campaign in opposition to Maine Senator Susan Collins’ campaign launching later this week.
• A $500,000 direct mail campaign in North Carolina to turn out Black voters in support of Cal Cunningham is wrapping up this week. View the mail pieces here: 1, 2, 3, 4. LCV Victory Fund will also launch a new $500,000 digital ad campaign in opposition to Sen. Tillis’ campaign on Monday.
• A $500,000 radio ad campaign in partnership with NRDC Action Votes to defeat John James and re-elect Senator Gary Peters. The ad calls attention to James’ cozy relationship with the Koch Brothers network and the hundreds of thousands of dollars it has spent to help elect James. Listen to “Chopper” here.

“Unprecedented times call for unprecedented measures,” said Maysmith. “The crises our country is facing are massive and LCV Victory Fund is not leaving anything to chance in these final weeks.”

A full picture of LCV Victory Fund’s work to defeat Trump, protect the pro-environment House and flip the Senate to a pro-environment majority can be found at www.lcvvictoryfund.org.

Full scripts of the new ads in Alaska and Michigan are below. 

AK Sen – “Wasteland”
It would be devastating
We’re talking about toxins in the water
Killing the salmon
And our way of life
Pebble Mine could have been stopped years ago
But Dan Sullivan let plans move forward
That have helped Pebble Mine
He even took $10,000 in campaign cash from mine executives
That mine could wipe out 14,000 Alaskan fishing jobs
Dan Sullivan kept quiet to keep his job
While our way of life was on the line
Dan did what his donors wanted and not what’s best for Alaska

MI Sen – “Chopper”
Welcome back to the newsroom
Let’s go to our eye in the sky and see what’s happening right now in Michigan, Don?
Melanie, we’re high above the John James campaign headquarters
And we’re looking down at what appears to be a giant mountain of dirty cash
I mean, this stuff is filthy
No surprise there Don
The oil and gas industry and the Koch Brothers network have spent hundreds of thousands
To elect John James
And let’s remind listeners
It was the Koch Brothers company that piled up those giant mountains of chemical waste
That threatened our Great Lakes
That’s right Don
And apparently James said he would have voted against funding to protect the Great Lakes
He even said he wanted to get rid of EPA regulations that protect our water
Standby Melanie, we’re going to fly in for a closer look at all of John James’ dirty cash
And voters should take a closer look at John James
Clearly, he’s not for us  

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Paid for by LCV Victory Fund, www.lcvvictoryfund.org, and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.