Kamala Harris faces a problem in Washington County, Pennsylvania, where gas drilling rigs and well pads dot the rolling green farmland. Ask Mickey Molinaro, an asphalt worker with a bushy beard and easy-going smile. Harris, in her last White House run, called for a ban on fracking, before reversing her stance this year.
Fracking helped Molinaro survive the Great Recession. The oil and gas extraction process triggered an economic boom in southwestern Pennsylvania, bringing him steady work paving access roads for energy companies. A former Donald Trump voter, Molinaro, 50, says he's undecided about the upcoming election, put off by the ex-president's personality.
But Harris' energy policies push him away. "Energy is a big deal here," Molinaro said, leaning against his truck, tar coating his jeans. "Harris supports the Green New Deal and that kind of stuff .
She runs on a platform that's anti-fossil fuel." To win in this highly competitive battleground state, Harris will have to overcome that baggage. No matter that her campaign insists she doesn't want to ban fracking.
Harris has not yet spelled out how she would treat the oil and gas industry should she win the presidency, and in the absence of a new approach the old one could cost her votes. Picking the state's popular Democratic governor, Josh Shapiro, as her running mate could have helped. He staked out a middle ground on fracking, requiring companies to disclose the chemicals they use in the process but rejecting calls to .