Green group targets California GOP House candidates in new ads

A major environmental group is targeting three Republican House candidates from southern California in a new six-figure advertising campaign that focuses on the state’s unusually active wildfire season.

The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) Victory Fund rolled out the web-based campaign Wednesday morning with ads criticizing Reps. Steve Knight and Dana Rohrabacher and candidate Diane Harkey for their environmental positions.

{mosads}Each Republican is running in this year’s midterm elections in southern California districts that Democrats believe could flip. Harkey is running for the seat being vacated by retiring Rep. Darrell Issa (R).

In one of the most deadly years for wildfires in California’s recorded history, the LCV Victory Fund campaign links the politics to the fires, saying each candidate “sides with polluters” against climate change policies, to the detriment of public health.

“Even as the state takes bold action to fight climate change, Californians still need Congress to stop blocking climate action and supporting pro-polluter policies that make global warming worse,” said Pete Maysmith, senior vice president for campaigns at the group, which is LCV’s super PAC arm.

“Knight, Rohrabacher and Harkey are putting public health and safety in danger, and voters need to know about their records of blocking efforts to fight carbon pollution and protect clean air,” he said. “They are dangerously out-of-step with California voters.”

The ads are part of an unprecedented $60 million effort that the LCV Victory Fund announced this month, part of a push to fill Congress with lawmakers who could fight President Trump’s rollbacks of environmental policies.