Debate over fracking could affect election

As a longtime observer of oil markets — almost 35 years — I think Brian O’Neill’s column on fracking perfectly encapsulated the issues that are beyond politics, beyond geology and beyond engineering (Feb. 20, “Taking the Shaky Middle Ground on Fracking”). Instead, it’s a strong overview of how this issue confronts the proverbial man on the street.

A fracking ban as part of the Democratic platform will almost certainly ensure that Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., or Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., will lose the Keystone State. Additionally, New Mexico gets 30% of its budget from oil and gas. The oil and gas industry is a huge economic driver in Colorado. Those states were both blue last time. I could easily see a push for a fracking ban leading them to flip.

Wisconsin is oh-so-close. But you know something else about Wisconsin? It has a very strong fracking sand mining industry. It’s not as big as it used to be, because the mining industry found other lodes elsewhere and that has impacted Wisconsin. But that industry exists nonetheless. (Fracking sand from different parts of the country differs in quality, and Wisconsin’s sand is considered the superior grade.)

I can say this from a nonpolitical perspective: Donald Trump’s supporters in Pennsylvania are praying that a fracking ban becomes part of the platform of whoever leads the Democrats. It will make their job keeping the state red infinitely easier.

JOHN KINGSTON

Carle Place, N.Y.