123 Legislative Candidates Sign Pledge Opposing California Car Mandates

A MinnPost article published yesterday shows 123 legislative candidates, including Republicans and Democrats, oppose Governor Walz’s attempt to impose California car mandates on Minnesotans.

The pledge shows there is strong, bipartisan opposition to the regulations from legislative candidates and citizens alike. More than 5,000 Minnesotans have already signed American Experiment’s petition telling Governor Walz not to adopt the regulations. You can add your name to this growing list by going to www.NoCaCars.com. We want 10,000 people to tell the Governor they disagree with his attempt to impose these rules on Minnesota families, so please share the link with your friends and family.

According to the article, most of the signatories are Republicans, but 10 DFLers have also signed the pledge. Furthermore, it appears there is more resistance to adopting the mandates among the DFL ranks than the petition accounts for. The article reads:

“The vast majority of those 123 candidates are Republicans, and the issue has largely split along party lines. Ten DFLers have also signed the pledge, however, including three state senators — Dan Sparks, Ann Rest and John Hoffman — and one candidate likely to be elected to the Senate this fall: Mary Kunesh Podein, who’s running to represent Minneapolis’ northern suburbs in Senate District 41.

There may be more DFL lawmakers who oppose the car rules, and at least two DFL senators who have not signed the pledge, Kent Eken and Tom Bakk, have expressed skepticism or opposition to the rules. Three Democrats in the House who did not sign the pledge voted this year to restrict the MPCA’s ability to regulate motor vehicle emissions.”

It’s no surprise that the two sitting DFL senators who are skeptical of, or outright oppose, the California car mandates are from Greater Minnesota. Senator Eken’s district includes Moorhead, and Senator Bakk represents much of Minnesota’s Arrowhead region. This suggests that the strong opposition to California car mandates is more about geography than political party, with residents of rural areas being more likely to oppose these onerous rules.

Center of the American Experiment debunked many of the arguments used by proponents of the rules in our 27 page comments to MPCA, which you can read by clicking here. We have also debunked the claim that there is a huge demand for electric vehicles that are not currently offered in the state.

Our organization will continue to lead on this issue, so stay tuned to our website for updates.