The Sierra Club is involved in federal, state, and local elections throughout the country. Our endorsement is a recommendation to Sierra Club members, to voters and the general public, to political leaders, political pundits and the media that they should support and vote for that candidate.

A Sierra Club endorsement is based primarily on three major criteria: the candidate’s overall environmental record and platform; the candidate’s performance on environmental issues as an incumbent; the candidate’s prospect of winning the election or mounting a credible campaign. The Sierra Club strives to elect candidates who will support and promote environmental protection at every level of government.

Before we endorse, candidates are evaluated. In addition to questionnaire responses and interviews, the following are considered:

• Candidate’s established policy record
• Breadth of candidate’s environmental record
• Candidate’s record of leadership on environmental issues
• Candidate’s demonstrated recent commitment to environmental protection in personal life or organizational activities
• Club’s past relationship with the candidate at the group, chapter and national levels
• Is the environment a significant issue for the candidate? for the campaign?
• Endorsements the candidate has received from other organizations and community leaders
• Third-party feedback about the candidate from reliable environmental activists who have had personal experience with the candidate
• The campaign’s resources and ability to carry out a visible and credible campaign

The Sierra Club is a non-partisan organization; we do not favor any party. It is no secret that in recent years the average environmental score, as determined by the League of Conservation Voters, of Democrats has been higher than the average score of Republicans on most environmental ratings. Reflecting this difference, the Club has endorsed more Democrats than candidates from other parties. However, this general record does not distort our assessment of individual candidates who are committed to environmental protection.

The Sierra Club strives to send a consistent signal to legislators and other elected officials that if they work for our issues and priorities, we will support them. We encourage pro-environment candidates from all parties to run for office, and all candidates, regardless of party affiliation are given equal consideration.

VOTE primary day, Tuesday, June 11, 2013.

VOTE election day, Tuesday, November 5, 2013.

Attorney General Cuccinelli, Virginia’s biggest climate skeptic and biggest bully, has now lost twice in his frivious legal challenges to global warming. In the process, he has frittered away about $1 million dollars on these ideologically driven lawsuits at a time when the state is cutting funds for education, health care and environmental protections.

Together, we can STOP Cuccinelli and his rightwing ideologically driven agenda. Support our Sierra Club Political Action Committee today!

First it was Cuccinelli’s lawsuit against the University of Virginia alleging that prominent climate scientist Michael Mann had defrauded the state when he used state funds as a UVA faculty member to do climate research. That suit was thrown out with a strong rebuke from the Virginia Supreme Court.

As idiotic, ridulous and offensive as the UVA lawsuit was, our bigger victory came just last Tuesday when the DC Circuit Court threw out Cuccinelli’s lawsuit challenging the US Environmental Protection Administration’s finding that climate change did endanger public health. This “endangerment finding” is key because it allows the EPA to go on to adopt actual standards to reduce greenhouse gases like the pending carbon limit on new coal fired power plants.

While many take pleasure in these defeats of Mr. Cuccinelli, the reality is that he will be the likely Republican nominee for Governor. Sierra Club is gearing up for this fight! We will be cooperating up with other groups that have been the subject of extremist right wing attacks by Mr. Cuccinelli, the LBGT community and Planned Parenthood, for example, to make sure that Mr. Cuccinelli’s reign of right wing intimidation ends in 2013.

But to build that war chest we will need your financial support for our Sierra Club Political Action Committee. Please help us build our political war chest to make sure that every Virginian knows of Cuccinelli’s radical anti-environmental agenda. With your contribution of $25 or more, we’ll send you a bumper sticker that lets every one that Climate Change is real and Cuccinelli is hoax.