Oil companies increase contributions to Democrats, as pressure on climate change ramps up

Oil companies are increasingly steering their powerful campaign fundraising operations toward Democratic candidates, at a time President Joe Biden is attempting to move the country away from fossil fuels. Over the past three-and-a-half years 29 percent of the oil sector’s more than $100 million in direct political contributions has gone to Democrats, up from 21 percent during the 2018 election cycle and 15 percent in 2016, according to campaign data compiled by the nonprofit Open Secrets. The vast majority of oil industry giving still goes to Republicans. But increasing amounts of support are going to centrist Democrats that have expressed a more moderate approach to climate change at a time members of their party are pushing to rapidly move the U.S. to clean energy.

Heading into the midterm elections later this year, the biggest beneficiary of that trend has been Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, whose $700,000 in donations from oil and gas interests was larger than any other federal politician, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. Other Democrats among the 20 largest recipients of direct oil contributions are Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Texas House members Henry Cuellar, who represents South Texas, and Lizzie Fletcher of Houston, who ranked twelfth, sixth and thirteenth respectively. Manchin has been at the center of climate talks within his party, until this week holding up legislation that would provide hundreds of billions of dollars in tax breaks for clean energy over inflation concerns. In the deal he cut with Democratic leaders, there was not only less money for clean energy in the bill, but the Department of Interior would be required to hold regular lease sales for oil and gas drilling on federal lands and waters — something Biden had sought to put a hold on when coming into office.