FYI: EVs can bridge America’s partisan divide. A bipartisan group aims to highlight the manufacturing boom and job creation tied to cleaner cars, thereby cutting through political noise and focusing on economic benefits for swing-state voters.
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### The Rise of EVs: Steering Clear of Partisan Politics
In recent years, the U.S. seems to have turned every topic into a political battleground—even technology. However, this divisive trend doesn’t make much sense when it comes to electric vehicles (EVs). These vehicles are simply another mode of transportation. While some may argue that their rise is fueled by stricter emissions and fuel economy standards, EVs have also generated approximately 200,000 new manufacturing jobs in the country, as reported by the Environmental Defense Fund.
### Bipartisan Efforts to Promote Electric Vehicles
A new advertisement from a bipartisan group, EV Politics Project, aims to dissuade swing-state voters from buying into anti-EV rhetoric. The organization is a 501c4 non-profit led by Mike Murphy, a Republican political consultant who has worked with prominent figures like Sen. John McCain and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger; David B. Hill, a researcher and ex-educator at Texas A&M University; and Joe Sacks, a former aide to Democratic Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo. This cross-party collaboration underlines the economic benefits of EVs, which transcend political divisions.
Mike Murphy, known to InsideEVs readers from his prior op-ed on how to attract more Republican voters to EVs, highlights that partisan politics are provoking unfounded reactions against cleaner cars—even in states witnessing job booms due to EVs.
### Advertising in Key Swing States
The new ad will soon air in Michigan, with hopes of expanding to Georgia. Michigan, home to the U.S. auto industry and several new battery plants, is a crucial swing state in the upcoming elections. The ad campaign aims to counter the anti-EV stance promoted by figures like President Donald Trump. If re-elected, Trump has vowed to rescind EV tax credits and incentives pivotal to EV manufacturing—a pillar of the Biden Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act. Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, has also been critical of a Michigan battery plant, tying it to fears about China.
Trump’s opposition, led by Vice President Kamala Harris, is expected to uphold the Biden Administration’s stringent fuel economy and emission rules that are instrumental in the growth of EVs, as well as the policies that support their manufacturing and purchase.
### The Economic Argument
Murphy and other critics argue that stalling EV advancements will only hand over technological supremacy to China, who already holds a significant lead in this sector. “The biggest secret in American politics is how many good new manufacturing and technology jobs the move to electric vehicles has created in Michigan, in Georgia, and across America,” Murphy stated. “It’s time to make that good news famous, and remind voters that when politicians mislead voters about EVs, they are hurting American jobs. Nobody wins then but China.”
### Future Prospects
If these ads air in Georgia, they’ll target a key swing state that could be decisive in the election. Georgia stands to gain tens of thousands of new EV jobs from companies like Hyundai Motor Group. Despite the economic benefits, many voters, as reported by Politico, appreciate the jobs but remain unmoved to support policies favoring EVs.
While a Trump re-election is unlikely to make EVs or North American-made cars disappear overnight, it might hinder the policies and tax incentives driving the U.S. battery industry, an area where the nation already lags behind China. This decision will fall to American voters come November.
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Written by William Kouch, Editor of Automotive.fyi
