Some Republicans See Missed Opportunity To Campaign On Climate Change In New Hampshire

Democrats describe themselves as the only party taking the threat of climate change seriously. And President Trump’s continued denial of climate science and rollbacks of environmental protections haven’t made it easy for Republicans to change that.

But some New Hampshire conservatives think their candidates could be doing more to run – and win – on climate change.

Senate candidate Corky Messner and first district Congressional nominee Matt Mowers have both been endorsed by Trump, and echoed some of his views on environmental issues during the campaign.

But this month, in a debate on NHPR, Messner said he’d support incentives for renewable energy:

“There are opportunities in alternative fuels that can help the environment – wind power, solar power,” Messner said. “And the market ought to be unleashed to solve those problems.”

It sounds like a classically Republican idea – pro-business, pro-competition – but it goes against President Trump’s approach to this issue. Some think this divide has made it hard for conservative candidates tied to Trump to stake out their own ground on climate policy.

Read the rest of this story at NHPR’s website.