Photo: Robert Gumpert

There are at least ten congressional districts where ocean issues including offshore oil drilling, sea level rise and runoff pollution could have a major impact in November’s elections and where we hope to present ‘Sea Party 2018’ talks this fall to encourage people to ‘Vote the Ocean,’ or as part 49 of my book ’50 Ways to Save the Ocean’ states, ‘Vote for those who Protect the Coast.’   These salty ten include Virginia’s 2^nd, North Carolina’s 7^th and 9^th, South Carolina’s 1^st, Georgia’s 1^st, Florida’s 16^th and 26th and California’s 45^th, 48^th and 49^th.

In 2016 we launched the ‘Sea Party’ at a press conference in Washington D.C. near the U.S. Capitol below a 90-foot inflatable Blue Whale.  Speakers included then Rep. Sam Farr (D CA), climate activist Bill McKibben and others from Greenpeace, Surfrider, Blue Frontier and additional ocean conservation groups.  We also heard from Rep. Mark Sanford (R SC) who was one of a handful of conservative republicans opposing offshore drilling that at the time was being proposed by the Obama Administration.  After our press conference the Post and Courier, the largest newspaper in South Carolina, ran a headline reading:  “Mark Sanford – From Tea Party to Sea Party.”

Recently Sanford lost his primary race in South Carolina’s low country 1^st district to Katie Arrington who claimed he was not sufficiently pro-Trump.  Since becoming the Republican candidate she’s claimed she still supports offshore drilling just not off of South Carolina.  That has not convinced at least five Republican and Independent mayors in the district who have endorsed democratic candidate Joe Cunningham because of his stronger anti-drilling position.

On the Georgia coast that, combined with South Carolina’s, contains one third of the eastern seaboard’s salt marshes, republican incumbent Buddy Carter strongly supports offshore drilling.  His democratic opponent Lisa Ring states, “No drilling.  Period.”  With a strong coastal ethic, particularly in the city of Savannah, this is another election where voting blue might literally mean casting a vote for the ocean.

“My family tragically lost someone we love in the Deepwater Horizon disaster, and now the Trump Administration is expanding drilling and obliterating safety protections for workers,” Horton has stated.

The issue of offshore drilling has also surfaced in the House race in Virginia’s 2nd District.  Republican Rep. Scott Taylor is opposed to drilling off Virginia but didn’t take a public position until the Trump administration announced plans to open more than 90 percent of federal waters to oil leasing. His challenger, Navy veteran Elaine Luria, opposes drilling and links the area’s growing flooding and king tides to sea level rise – as does the Navy that has its major base in Norfolk.  The Virginia tidelands, along with South Carolina and south Florida are among the most vulnerable to rapid sea level rise.

In North Carolina where opposition to drilling is widespread along the coast and Outer Banks Democrat Kyle Horton’s quest to unseat Rep. David Rouzer (R) in the 7^th District is personal.

“My family tragically lost someone we love in the Deepwater Horizon disaster, and now the Trump Administration is expanding drilling and obliterating safety protections for workers,” Horton has stated.

Rouzer says he supports drilling “at least 30 miles off the coast.”

The state’s 9th District fight between Democrat Dan McCready and Republican Mark Harris pits a solar energy entrepreneur who sees conservation as a “moral imperative,” against a preacher and strong Trump supporter who beat out a mainstream republican incumbent in the primaries according to a story in The Atlantic.

Florida’s 16^th district north of Palm Beach on the east coast includes the Indian River a repeat victim of Harmful Algal blooms (“green gunk”) and rising seas neither of which have been addressed by Republicans at the State or federal level.  The 26^th district includes the Everglades and Florida Keys where both candidates oppose oil drilling and say they want to address sea level rise.  Republican candidate Carlos Curbelo is, like Mark Sanford, an outlier in his party on ocean issues but supportive of Trump on other issues including Taxes and health care.  In a toss up district that was also ravaged by Hurricane Irma this raises the question of which party is more likely to drive the House in the right direction on the ocean, environment and climate, in other words which party is more likely to defend the blue in our red, white and blue.

Photo: Robert Gumpert

California’s 45^th, 48^th and 49^th are all Southern California Orange and San Diego county districts that while traditionally conservative are going through rapid political and demographic change.  Also someone like the 48^th district’s incumbent republican Dana Rohrabacher, a right-wing surfer who is both pro-drilling and pro-Russia (even before Trump) raises the question what does conservative even mean anymore?

I’m hoping to give Sea Party talks in these ten districts and maybe also Florida’s 13^th that is seeing extensive and ongoing harm from big ag fed wildlife (and tourism) killing red tides in areas such as Sarasota that are also overbuilt and at risk from coastal flooding.

These issues, offshore drilling, climate change but particularly runoff pollution and algae blooms are also expected to play a major role in the Florida Senate race between incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson and Republican Governor Rick Scott who’s long been seen as being in the pocket of Big Sugar whose runoff phosphate and nitrogen feed the blooms.

Having helped organize the global ‘March for the Ocean’ in June I look forward to addressing our need to ‘Vote the Ocean’ this November in order to speak to issues such as offshore drilling and spilling, plastic pollution of our seas and how we can protect our coasts from the worst impacts of climate change and pollution.

At this point the Sea Party 2018 Speaking Tour is doing outreach while still seeking invitations and funding.  For more information contact info@bluefront.org or feel free to contact me directly at Helvarg@bluefront.org

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