Washington, DC — Today, the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) congratulates Senator-elect Jon Ossoff on his historic victory in Georgia, flipping the chamber to a new pro-environment Democratic majority. Ossoff will represent Georgians as the first Jewish senator from the state. LCV congratulated Reverend Warnock on his historic victory to become Georgia’s first Black senator earlier this week. The white supremacist, anti-Semitic violence at the Capitol this week further underscored the importance of these historic wins and the urgency of transferring power of the Senate to Democratic control. 

“We had been anxiously looking forward to the official call of Jon Ossoff’s victory after Reverend Raphael Warnock’s win Wednesday morning. Unfortunately, the white supremacist-led violence that unfolded at the U.S. Capitol marred that celebration. But that does not change the fact that the historic and hard-fought wins in Georgia, driven by organizers and voters of color, represent the change that voters desperately want to see, and it cannot come soon enough,” said LCV President Gene Karpinski. “While we are devastated by Wednesday’s actions, we are also heartened by the millions of Georgia voters who overcame tremendous barriers to cast their ballots, and the campaign organizers, particularly leaders of color, who never stopped fighting for a better, fairer democracy.”

“Jon Ossoff will fight to take bold climate action that will protect all Georgians, particularly communities of color who have been disproportionately impacted by pollution, strengthen our democracy, and restore the vital environmental protections for our communities that have been gutted by the Trump administration,” Karpinski continued. “We are thrilled to work with Senators-elect Jon Ossoff and Reverend Raphael Warnock and with Majority Leader-designate Chuck Schumer and the entire new pro-environment majority in the Senate to reverse the damage done by the Trump administration and get to work right away on transformational climate action and democracy reform that creates a cleaner, more equitable and just future.”

“Jon Ossoff will be a vitally important part of the role that the U.S. Senate can and must play in fighting the climate crisis that impacts the lives of Georgians every day,” said Georgia Conservation Voters Executive Director Brionté McCorkle. “He and Reverend Raphael Warnock will put people over polluters and prioritize climate justice, clean energy, and clean water, and we’re so excited for them to get to work.”

Ahead of the election in November, LCV’s GreenRoots member mobilization program turned out LCV members to volunteer with the Biden, Warnock, Ossoff, McBath, and Bourdeaux campaigns as part of a nationwide field program to help elect environmental champions that engaged over 2,800 LCV members. In anticipation of the runoff election, GreenRoots organizers recruited LCV members to continue volunteering with the Ossoff and Warnock campaigns and writing letters to Georgia voters through the group’s continued partnership with VoteForward. LCV members contacted nearly 25,000 Georgians through phone banks and canvasses and wrote letters to 4,600 voters.

Environmental donors contributed over $1.85 million to Georgia candidates via GiveGreen. GiveGreen — a partnership between LCV Victory Fund, NextGen America and the NRDC Action Fund PAC that helps grassroots donors directly contribute to pro-environment candidates — raised a record $44.6 million for the 2020 cycle. LCV Victory Fund invested more than  $1.1 million to help elect Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock in the runoff election. The investment included a six-figure digital ad campaign calling attention to Perdue and Loeffler’s ties to special interests including Georgia Power, and the stark contrast with Ossoff and Warnock’s support for clean air, clean water, and climate action. LCV Victory Fund also provided direct support for Family Friendly Action PAC and BlackPAC’s door-to-door canvassing efforts to Get Out The Vote in Georgia.

LCV Action Fund endorsed Ossoff and Warnock because of their commitments to climate action, environmental justice, and building a clean energy economy. 

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