State races and ballot initiatives to watch on climate

By Adam Aton | 11/05/2024 06:16 AM EST

These down-ballot races will carry implications for climate policy far beyond state lines.

Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz displays a bill he signed into law on Feb. 7, 2023.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz displays a clean electricity standard he signed into law in 2023. The state's Democrats are working to hold on to the majority in the state Legislature that passed that and other climate policies. Steve Karnowski/AP

Some of this election’s most important battlegrounds for climate policy have nothing to do with the Electoral College.

Governors’ mansions, legislatures and even climate policy itself are on the ballot across the country.

In Washington state, voters will render an up-or-down verdict on one of the country’s most aggressive systems for cutting emissions. In North Carolina, the next governor could gain some legislative support to boost electric vehicles — or the governor’s office could flip and go to a Republican who denies the reality of climate change. And in Minnesota, where Gov. Tim Walz enacted major climate laws before becoming the vice presidential nominee, Democrats are looking to defend their narrow control over the Legislature.

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These down-ballot races will carry implications far beyond state lines. After years of preparing and finally passing climate policy, Democrats are about to discover how popular those actions truly are — and whether it’s safe for lawmakers elsewhere to copy them.

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