Horn disavows Biden oil industry talk
Bice slams incumbent on energy votes
U.S. Rep. Kendra Horn, already under fire in her reelection campaign for a series of energy votes she cast last year, distanced herself from Democratic presidential Joe Biden's pl edge on Thursday t o "transition away from the oil industry."
I n a t wee t f r o m h e r c a mpa i g n a c c o u n t o n Thur s d a y n i g h t , Hor n said, “Here's one of the places Biden and I disa g r e e . We must s t a n d u p f o r o u r o i l a n d g a s i n d u s t r y . We n e e d a n all-of-the-above energy a p p r o a c h t h a t ' s c o n - s umer f r i e ndly, val ues e n e r g y i n d e p e n d e n c e , and protects OK jobs. I'll keep fighting for that in Congress.
“At the same time, we can and must address climate change.”
State Sen. Stephanie Bice, Horn's Republican c h a l l e n g e r f o r t h e 5 t h Di s t r i c t c o n g r e s s i o n a l seat, pounced on Biden's line in the final presidential debate, saying Horn was backing the former vice president and had herself "repeatedly voted against the oil and gas industry."
“W e c a n ' t r e b u i l d Oklahoma's economy if Joe Biden and Kendra Horn are going to kill these jobs of our friends and neighbors,” Bice said.
Du r i n g a p o r t i o n o f Thursday night's debate focused on climate change, Biden said, “I would transition away from the oil industry, yes.”
He said, “The oil industry pollutes, significantly. It has to be replaced by r enewable energy over time.”
P r e s i d e n t D o n a l d Trump, who has accused Biden of favoring a ban on hydraulic fracturing ( f r a c k i ng) , r e s ponded, “B a s i c a l l y wh a t h e i s saying i s he i s going to destroy the oil industry. Will you remember that Te x a s ? P e n n s y l v a n i a ? Oklahoma? Ohio?”
Horn, D-Oklahoma City, has been heavily criticized by Bice and Republican groups for votes she made last year to bar some oil and gas exploration offshore and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). In broadcast ads and direct mail, Bice and outside groups have accused her of jeopardizing oil and gas jobs in Oklahoma.
Horn has responded that her votes did not threaten Oklahoma j obs because independent energy companies in the state don't drill offshore.
Biden has said he would not push for an outright ban on fracking, supported by many of his rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination, though he has pledged to limit new drilling on public l and, which includes sites off the coasts and in ANWR.
Horn has spoken out against a ban on fracking, which i s the extraction method used by major oil and gas companies in her district, including Devon E n e r g y , C o n t i n e n t a l Resources and Chesapeake Energy.
The 5th District includes most of Oklahoma County and Pottawatomie and Seminole counties. The race between Bice and Horn is considered one of the most competitive in the country, with polls showing the candidates in a dead heat with less than two weeks before the Nov. 3 election.