Democratic Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman said multiple times during an appearance Friday on ABC's The View that he supports fracking.
Fetterman, who is running against Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz in the neck-and-neck Senate race, has made past statements inconsistent with his current stance on fracking—drilling for oil and natural gas—of which environmentalists and many Pennsylvanians disapprove.
He was not in the studio and appeared on the program via video feed.
"Any of the issues that I ever had with fracking is really around environmental regulations and once those were passed and they were addressed...you know, I support fracking," Fetterman said in response to a question by Alyssa Farah Griffin. "I absolutely support energy independence and making sure that we can never be held by a country like Russia and making sure that we produce as much American energy as possible, and I fully support fracking."
"I fully support fracking," Pa. Senate candidate John Fetterman tells #TheView when asked why his position has changed.
— The View (@TheView) November 4, 2022
"Any of the issues that I ever had with fracking is really around environmental regulations and once those were ... addressed, you know, I support fracking." pic.twitter.com/hpWokJkrNk
In a follow-up question by Joy Behar about whether he also supports green energy, Fetterman replied, "Without a doubt."
"It's important to kind of walk that line between making sure we produce as much energy from traditional sources here, but make sure that we make the transition to more and more green energy," he said.
A section of Fetterman's campaign website called "Promoting American Energy + Building a Clean Energy Future" includes the Democrat blaming "the greed of oil companies" like Shell, Chevron, BP and ExxonMobil that "are raking in record-breaking profits" while families statewide get financially squeezed.
He also advocates for continuing to use, produce and invest in American oil and energy.
"I believe that climate change is an existential threat, and we need to transition to clean energy as quickly as possible," the website says. "But we must do it in a way that preserves the union way of life for the thousands of workers currently employed or supported by the natural gas industry in Pennsylvania and the communities where they live.
"It's a total false choice that we have to choose between creating jobs and working towards a cleaner environment—we can and must do both."
The website contains no mentions of fracking.
In 2016, when he was mayor of Braddock, Fetterman was among officials to call for a moratorium on fracking until regulations were tightened. They ultimately were signed into law by Governor Tom Wolfe and took effect that October.
During his October 25 debate with Oz, Fetterman was asked to clarify his view of fracking due to past statements, such as during a 2018 interview when he said he didn't support fracking at all.
"I do support fracking. And I don't, I don't," Fetterman said during the debate. "I support fracking, and I stand and I do support fracking."
Oz's campaign website notes how Pennsylvania is a "leader in the production of natural gas and coal," blaming the Biden administration for launching "an attack on the energy industry stifling domestic energy production and weakening the U.S. position in energy production."
His website also contains no mention of fracking.
A soundbite of Oz discussing fracking was played on NPR on October 28.
"Fracking has been demonstrated—it's a very old technology—to be safe," Oz said. "It is a lifeline for this commonwealth to be able to build wealth."
A poll published in July of 2021 by the Ohio River Valley Institute found that Pennsylvanians "view the clean energy industry and environmental advocates in much more favorable terms than they do fossil fuel-aligned interests."
Along with about 55 percent of surveyed voters saying they support the immediate or eventual end of fracking, voters by a 29-point margin—including a majority of Republicans and independents—said that fracking companies should not receive financial incentives such as tax breaks or government subsidies.
The 2022 Pennsylvania Climate and Energy Survey, conducted by the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion, found that 44 percent and 47 percent of respondents, respectively, have heard of fracking either "a lot" or "a little."
When asked whether drilling for natural gas in Pennsylvania would provide more benefits or more problems in the state's future, 44 percent of respondents said "more benefits" and 40 percent said "more problems."
Newsweek reached out to the Fetterman campaign for comment.
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