Authored by The Empowerment Alliance via RealClearPennsylvania,
We wrote a few weeks ago that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was ground zero for selecting the next president of the United States. Our rationale was that energy affordability is a key issue to millions of voters there.
Pennsylvania's energy voters turned out strong, helping Republican Donald Trump form a massive red wave on election night.
Trump received more Republican votes in the state than any candidate ever. He tallied 3.48 million votes and, as a result, the accompanying 19 electoral votes.
His pro-drilling and anti-regulatory message hit home in rural areas of the state, as well as with working class residents and minorities.
Speaking to voters at a rally in State College last month, Trump vowed to lift the U.S. pause on liquefied natural gas export terminals, embrace fracking and otherwise undo what he described as the "disastrous" energy policies enacted under the Biden administration.
Flips Senate seat
The turnout enabled a pro-American energy candidate to knock out an incumbent Senator, with Republican challenger Dave McCormick winning the high-profile race by a razor-thin margin over third-term Democrat Sen. Bob Casey, who led the race in most polls throughout the campaign.
McCormick received more than 3.3 million votes.
He embraced energy in his campaign, and it certainly resonated with voters from Washington County to Wayne County. McCormick spoke often about preserving the state's "energy legacy."
This carried through on several key House races.
Ryan Mackenzie, 7th district, and Rob Bresnahan Jr., 8th district, each flipped Democratic-held seats. Mackenzie employed "America First" messaging and both candidates received the highest grade possible on The Empowerment Alliance’s (TEA) energy scorecard.
Incumbent Republican Scott Perry, 10th district, held his seat by a slim margin.
By the numbers:
• Data compiled by TEA revealed Pennsylvania with 3.2 million American Energy Patriots, or about 39% of its 8.7 million registered voters.
• Those voters prioritize energy affordability in their voting decisions. They will support candidates who champion cost-effective energy policies.
• Trump received more than 3.4 million votes to edge Vice President Kamala Harris by two percentage points. It's clear that Affordable, Reliable and Clean energy was a key factor in Trump's victory in the Keystone State.
'Strategic ambiguity' failed
For those living and working in the Marcellus Shale regions this election was quite personal. And they voted as if their livelihoods were at stake.
Harris was destined to fail here. Her campaign devised a plan of what aides labeled "strategic ambiguity" on energy policy to avoid alienating environmental activists and moderate voters.
That just wasn't good enough. Pennsylvania voters are resilient, hard- working people — and are not uninformed. They saw through the smoke-and-mirrors facade and voted for candidates who are pro-energy and pro-economic growth.
Natural gas matters
In the end, Harris's team and the Democratic Party grossly underestimated Pennsylvania voters, and they discounted the important role that energy in general, and natural gas in particular, plays in your state. Here's a reminder:
• In 2021, the oil and natural gas industry contributed $75 billion to the state's economy.
• Pennsylvania is second only to Texas in estimated total proved natural gas reserves.
• In 2022, about 3.1 million residential and business customers used natural gas in Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvanians, you showed them by your votes what's important to you.
This was a significant win for Donald Trump and a huge victory for Pennsylvania's households, businesses, farmers and energy producers.