API Expands Advertising Efforts in Key Battleground States

WASHINGTON, October 6, 2020 – The American Petroleum Institute (API) today expanded its advertising efforts in key battleground states to provide balance to the energy debate in the final weeks of the 2020 campaign. The latest digital campaign series follows API’s ongoing advocacy efforts that began earlier this year and through the conventions. Two spots highlight everyday conversations about practical solutions to climate change, and another series provides sharp contrast to show what’s at stake if harmful policies like a federal leasing ban are enacted.

“From Pennsylvania and Ohio to Texas and Colorado, voters are often presented with a false choice between addressing climate change and safely producing energy here in the United States,” API President and CEO Mike Sommers said. “America has proven we can achieve both, leading the world in emissions reductions thanks to greater use of natural gas and advancing technology and innovation. As voters are having these conversations around America’s energy future, this campaign defines what’s at stake and underscores the need for a balanced approach. The wrong policy choices could cost hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs and millions in revenue for states, all at a time when Americans are working toward an economic recovery.”

Watch the new ads here:

• Conversations: Clean Energy Revolution
• Conversations: Energy Jobs
• Consequences: Federal Leasing Ban
• Consequences: Jobs

Recent polling conducted by Morning Consult shows two out of three voters in key battleground and other states would be more likely to vote for a candidate who supports access to natural gas and oil produced in the U.S., including 60 percent of voters in Pennsylvania and 68 percent of voters in Ohio. 73 percent of voters surveyed believe that natural gas and oil will be a significant part of America’s energy needs in 2040.

The new campaign will be targeted inside the beltway and in key battleground and other states. API also recently conducted an analysis on the economic impacts of a ban on leasing and development on federal lands and waters, which is a focus of one of the ads. The analysis found such a ban could cost nearly one million American jobs by 2022 and jeopardize $9 billion in government revenue that funds essential state services like education and conservation programs.

API represents all segments of America’s oil and natural gas industry. Our more than 600 members produce, process and distribute most of the nation’s energy. The industry supports more than ten million U.S. jobs and is backed by a growing grassroots movement of millions of Americans. API was formed in 1919 as a standards-setting organization. In our first 100 years, API has developed more than 700 standards to enhance operational and environmental safety, efficiency and sustainability.

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