Green group endorses in key Senate races

A green group has endorsed five Democrats in key Senate races around the country. 

Friends of the Earth Action backed Maggie Hassan (D) in her challenge to Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R) in New Hampshire on Thursday.

It followed up that announcement with endorsements of Senate candidates Chris Van Hollen (Md.), Russ Feingold (Wis.), Catherine Cortez Masto (Nev.) and Tammy Duckworth (Ill.) on Friday. 

{mosads}Four of those races — excluding Maryland, where Van Hollen is strongly favored — are highly contested, with a tight open-seat battle in Nevada and Democrats challenging Republican incumbents in the other three. 

Democrats have the edge in Wisconsin and Illinois, according to the Cook Political Report; the Nevada and New Hampshire races are considered toss-ups. 

In the especially tight races, Friends of the Earth credited Cortez Masto, a former state attorney general, with her opposition to nuclear waste storage at Yucca Mountain and her work securing a legal settlement against an oil company for pollution in Lake Mead.  

The group applauded Hassan for supporting renewable energy and greenhouse gas targets as governor of New Hampshire.

Its endorsement in that race is interesting because both Hassan and Ayotte have looked to highlight their green bona fides, with Ayotte releasing an ad last year announcing her support for the Clean Power Plan, President Obama’s controversial climate rule for power plants. 

“In the Senate, I will work to build on the efforts we’re taking in New Hampshire to combat climate change and achieve a clean energy future where our citizens, our economy, and our environment can thrive,” Hassan said in a statement. 

Friends of the Earth Action endorsed Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary last year. The group hasn’t endorsed in the general election, though several other environmental organizations support Democrat Hillary Clinton.