Vice President Kamala Harris addressed her shift in position on fracking during an interview with CNN's Dana Bash on Thursday night. Speaking alongside her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris explained the change in her stance, referencing the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
"As vice president, I did not ban fracking. As president, I will not ban fracking," Harris stated, reaffirming her current position. Bash pressed Harris on her 2019 comments at a town hall where she expressed clear support for banning fracking, asking why her view had shifted.
Harris responded, "My values have not changed. I believe it is very important that we take seriously the climate crisis. And to do that, we must build on what we've already accomplished." She highlighted the growth of renewable energy jobs in the U.S., much of which followed the passage of the IRA in 2022. Harris cast the tie-breaking vote for the legislation.
Drawing on this experience, she emphasized, "That tells me we can achieve this without banning fracking. What I’ve seen is that we can grow and foster a thriving clean energy economy without needing to ban fracking."
Fracking, a method of extracting natural gas by injecting pressurized fluids into bedrock, remains a significant industry in southwestern Pennsylvania, a critical swing state in the 2024 election. Harris's comments mark her most detailed explanation of her current stance, a departure from her earlier support for a ban during the 2020 primaries.
The Harris campaign clarified her position after she became the presumptive Democratic nominee, following President Biden's withdrawal from the race. Republican Senate candidate David McCormick has repeatedly linked Harris's prior stance to Democratic Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), though Casey continues to lead in polls against McCormick.
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