Warner Kept Distance from Democratic Candidate Who Had Previously Urged Warner to Oppose Job-Killing Energy Regulations
LORTON – The special election victory of Republican Ben Chafin over his well-funded opponent Mike Hymes comes as Mark Warner kept his distance from Hymes, who ran TV ads touting his support for the coal industry. Warner, who recorded robo-calls earlier this year for Democrat Alan Howze in his losing bid for an open Arlington County Board seat and who recently held a campaign rally in Richmond in support of Hillary Clinton’s yet-to-be-announced campaign for President, was conspicuously quiet when it came to the special election in Virginia’s 38th Senate District. With Chafin’s win, Republicans have control of both chambers of the General Assembly.
Mike Hymes, Chafin’s Democratic opponent, had urged Senator Warner and Senator Webb in a 2009 letter to oppose Cap and Trade legislation, warning that, “Nearly 70,000 high-wage mining jobs could be lost by 2020,” and that “electricity prices could more than double, burdening area businesses and families with unreasonable costly energy bills.”
Jim Webb shared his concerns and publicly opposed cap and trade that year, saying, “I have a lot of reservations about Cap And Trade as a concept.”
However, two months after Mike Hymes called on Webb and Warner to oppose cap and trade, Mark Warner disregarded his warning, saying, “The most significant thing we can do is send the market signal that either directly through a carbon tax or indirectly through cap and trade, we are going to put a price on carbon.”
That same month Warner stood with John Kerry and Barbara Boxer to unveil Senate Cap and Trade legislation. (Scott Harper, “Warner Takes Climate-Bill Support On Road,” The Virginian-Pilot, 10/7/09)
Warner last year voted to make it easier to pass a carbon tax, even when 8 of his fellow Democrats voted against the party-line. (S. Con. Res. 8, CQ Vote #59: Motion rejected by a vote of 53-46: R 45-0; D 8-44; I 0-2, 3/22/13, Warner Voted Nay)
When new EPA carbon regulations came up in the July 26 debate between Ed Gillespie and Mark Warner, Politico reported that, “Warner avoided taking a position on the new EPA regulations: The senator twice dodged.”
Speaking about the Warner energy record, Ed Gillespie, who appeared twice with Chafin during the campaign, said, “Mike Hymes said Cap and Trade would be a ‘death knell for this area.’ Jim Webb opposed it while Mark Warner stood with Barbara Boxer and John Kerry to unveil it. Mark Warner supports energy regulations that squeeze working Virginians, resulting in higher utility bills and fewer jobs. My economic growth agenda would unleash American energy, easing the squeeze on hard-working Virginians, creating good-paying jobs and making energy more affordable.”
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