Fuel industry group is launching a new $6.6 million ad buy criticizing President Joe Biden and Democratic Senate candidates in key swing states over the administration’s new emissions standards, which are expected to lead to sharp cuts in gas-powered vehicles.
The American Fuels and Petrochemicals (AFPM) ads begin Monday and will air in various television and digital markets in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Ohio, Montana, Wisconsin, Texas, Georgia and Arizona, the group told NBC News.
While the race between Biden and former President Donald Trump is expected to be a historic one, the only groups other than pro-Trump outfits that have spent significant money on ads attacking Biden in recent months are related to the oil industry.
The narrator in a new AFPM ad, which warns that the Biden administration’s new rules will “ban most new gas-powered cars,” criticizes Democratic senators for not blocking the rule and directs viewers to urge them to change their minds.
“We senators still have time to make a U-turn,” the ad says, describing a car driving down a freeway with no warning signs before it heads off a cliff. “Tell them to lift Biden’s car ban before it’s too late to turn back.”
This is a high-stakes issue for AFPM Board of Directors Marathon, Chevron, Citgo, ExxonMobil, Valero, etc. There are representatives of major petrochemical companies.
But Chet Thompson, the group’s president, told NBC News that there is “disbelief” among consumers that such a dramatic shift in the auto industry could be on the horizon. And he believes the broader advertising campaign, which the group has spent more than $17 million on since last fall, will be effective because of how personal the issue is to consumers.
“I can’t think of many policies that would have a bigger impact on real people’s lives,” Thompson said.
“It’s an issue that almost anyone can relate to, it’s very personal,” he said. “People choose the cars that fit their needs and lifestyles, and now the federal government of all agencies is going to limit that choice and limit people’s freedoms.”
The Biden administration has prioritized several policies aimed at reducing vehicle emissions. provided billions of dollars in grants developing the electric vehicle industry and tax incentives lighten the cost burden about consumers looking to switch to electric cars.
It’s part of a larger carrot-and-stick approach: The Environmental Protection Agency finalized new tailpipe emissions limits in March said it would be “Prevent more than 7 billion tons of carbon emissions” and “Accelerate the transition to clean vehicle technologies.” (Agencies also implement other related regulations.)
How does EPA expect automakers to meet these targets? He predicts that there will be electric vehicles By 2032, the “new light car” will account for 30%-56% of sales. Electric cars accounted for less than 8% of the national car market in 2023. According to Cox AutomotiveIncrease from 2022.
“Stronger pollution standards for cars reinforce America’s leadership in building a clean transportation future and creating good-paying American jobs, while advancing President Biden’s historic climate agenda,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said when announcing the rule in March. “The standards will reduce more than 7 billion tons of climate pollution, improve air quality in overburdened communities, and give drivers a choice of cleaner vehicles while saving money.”
Thompson repeatedly emphasized during the interview that his group is not against electric cars (its members are also involved in their production). But he argued that the emission standards were too strict and that along with a potential slowdown in the market Manufacturers for electric vehicles will do Gas-powered cars should be preferred even more so to sell enough electric cars that meet emissions standards.
“If an EV works for someone and it meets their family needs and budget, that’s great. Our members make it all possible,” said Thompson. “For us, it’s about EVs not being one-size-fits-all and consumers in this country having the ability to choose a vehicle that meets their needs.”
There is controversy surrounding electric vehicles becomes a political charge. Biden and many Democrats have argued that the standards are an important indicator in the fight against climate change.
But Republicans have angrily dismissed the strategy as not only devastating to consumers, but an affront to those whose jobs are tied to the gas-powered auto industry. For example, Trump recently warned that Biden’s auto policies would lead to “misery.”a pool of blood” in economics.
Voting on the issue was mixed. A 2023 Pew Research Center poll found that 59% of Americans oppose phasing out new gasoline-powered cars by 2035, while 40% favor the concept. (Although the Biden administration did not go as far, Some states like California var.) On the battlefield of Michigan, the cradle of the auto industry, the electorate is likely divided in a poll in late February on whether they supported the transition to electric vehicles.
And a spring NBC News focus group With Michigan residents in their union homes, only two of 15 participants said they supported the new federal emissions standards, though none said the debate would affect their vote.
Public opinion polls show a deep partisan divide on the issue, with Republicans more likely to oppose such policies and Democrats more likely to support them. However, the AFPM shared a survey that showed clearer opposition when the policies were described as “bans”.
Besides Biden, all of the lawmakers named in AFMP’s new ads are Democrats. Some are incumbents facing tough re-election challenges (such as Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, and Sen. Jackie Rosen of Nevada); others are members of the House of Representatives seeking promotion to the Senate (such as Rep. Ruben Gallego of Arizona, Rep. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, and Rep. Colin Allred of Texas); and others are not facing voters this fall (such as Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, Michigan Sens. Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow, and Georgia Sens. John Ossoff and Raphael Warnock).
While Thompson has previously urged opponents of the rule to contact Republicans, none of those ads mention the GOP lawmaker.
Thompson said the lawmakers highlighted in the ads are the ones the group wants to get on the record before these efforts. cancel these rules Congressional Oversight Act, through a law Allows Congress to override certain agency rules.
Congress has held votes aimed at rolling back some of the administration’s regulations, but as they stand won some bilateral support Efforts (including Democrats in tough re-election fights like Brown of Ohio and Sen. John Tester of Montana) fell short of a veto-proof majority.
But with the November election looming, he warned that proponents of emissions regulations “could provoke voter anger.”
“If you take the right position on this issue, you are with your people,” he said. “It’s a sleep problem that will drive people as they learn more about it.”