League of Conservation Voters (LCV)

The LCV also advocates tougher environmental standards and educates voters on its issues. It was founded in 1969 by environmentalist David Brower and is headquartered in Washington, D.C. LCV also has over 30 state affiliates that work on environmental issues on the state and local level. ⁴ In November 2020, LCV was a signatory on a letter to the U.S. Senate opposing nuclear energy legislation, claiming that nuclear energy “amplifies and expands the dangers of climate change.” ⁵

In 2025, investigative journalist Asra Nomani shared a list of organizations and nonprofits that donated to and helped organize the Tesla protests following the second election of President Donald Trump and the work of the second Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Nomani reported that LCV participated in the protests and was a member of the Not Above the Law Coalition. ⁶

LCV has also received funding and support from the controversial dark money network managed by Arabella Advisors and its network or grantmaking affiliates. ⁷

Issues

Opposition to Nuclear Energy

The League of Conservation Voters was one of more than 100 co-signatories on a November 2020 letter to the U.S. Senate that expressed opposition to S. 4897, the “American Nuclear Infrastructure Act of 2020.” The letter stated that nuclear power “amplifies and expands the dangers of climate change” and denounced it as an example of “false solutions to the climate crisis that perpetuate our reliance on dirty energy industries.” The letter was signed by Matthew Davis, who was identified as the legislative director for the LCV. ⁸

Expanded Offshore Drilling in the Arctic

In 2015, Royal Dutch Shell abruptly ceased all drilling operations in the Arctic off of Alaska’s coasts largely due to low oil prices and concerns over a potential Hillary Clinton presidency.⁹ In November 2016, then-President Barack Obama closed the Arctic to new oil and gas drilling for five years.¹⁰¹¹

Oil and Natural Gas Exports

After a 40-year ban, the U.S. began to export oil in 2016, which some energy experts believe shifted power away from OPEC and Russia.¹²¹³ When the U.S. House of Representatives voted to lift the ban, the LCV released a statement denouncing the “radical leadership” and accusing Congress of being “more concerned with lining the pockets of Big Oil than standing up for American families.” The LCV went on to call the legislation a “giveaway to polluters” and called for a transition to clean energy.¹⁴

Following the announcement of then-North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum’s (R) nomination as Secretary of the Department of the Interior in the second Trump administration, the LCV released a statement criticizing the nomination while claiming, “If Burgum cares about our public lands, he will disavow the MAGA Project 2025 agenda and Trump’s extreme campaign to eliminate protections in order to ‘drill, drill, drill’.” ^{15 16}

Climate Change

The LCV strongly supported the Obama administration’s “Clean Power Plan,” which set national limits of carbon dioxide emissions. The group opposed efforts in Congress to block implementation of the plan.¹⁷

The LCV has also been supportive of a carbon tax and opposed efforts to cut funding for climate change research. ¹⁸

Dakota Access Pipeline

In 2016, the Standing Rock Sioux Nation and other protesters came out in opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline, an oil pipeline project in North Dakota. The arguments against the pipeline were often rooted in half-truths and falsehoods concerning both water quality and Native American rights.¹⁹²⁰ The LCV declared its support for the tribe, stating, “No community should have to jeopardize their access to clean water, sacrifice their beliefs or their places of cultural and spiritual importance.”²¹

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)

The LCV calls the current voluntary labeling system of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) “inadequate” for telling consumers what is in their food, and has called for laws requiring food manufacturers to label products containing them.^{22 23} The demand for mandatory labeling comes despite the fact that no evidence has been produced showing that genetically engineered (GE) food was less safe than non-GE food.²⁴ Slate wrote in 2015 that the case against GMOs was full of “errors, fallacies, misconceptions, misrepresentations, and lies.”²⁵

Weather-Dependent Programs

LCV has supported issuing Victory Bonds for Clean Energy, which would have required the Secretary of the Treasury to issue $50 billion in bonds that would have been used to finance research into wind, solar, and fuel cell technologies.²⁶ The LCV has also supported other programs to give additional funding to clean energy research. The LCV has opposed cuts to Department of Energy weather-dependent energy programs. ²⁷

In March 2018, LCV state policy director Bill Holland announced that LCV would begin a $2 million campaign that emphasizes pushing its anti-natural gas agenda at the state and local levels. The campaign targeted individuals running for state and local offices, including incumbent officials up for re-election.²⁸

Federal Land Ownership

The LCV has supported measures to restrict logging in national forests. It has also opposed efforts by lawmakers to rein in the power of the executive branch to designate “national monuments.” The federal government owns nearly half of the land in the West.²⁹ There have been documented problems with the management of federal lands, especially national forests. The 2015 forest fires that burned over 1.4 million acres in the Northwest were a sign to some experts that better management of public lands was needed.³⁰

Supreme Court Nominees

Following Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination by President Donald Trump to the U.S. Supreme Court in July 2018, the LCV announced opposition to Kavanaugh’s confirmation. “We will fight this every step of the way,” LCV posted to Twitter. ³¹

Race

LCV maintains as a top priority ensuring racial equity and so-called social justice remain central to its work. LCV seeks “accountability, anti-racism, community, innovation, learning, and sustainability” as part of its left-of-center mission. It opposes climate-related laws that are “built” on injustice which it claims are “bound to perpetuate inequities of the status quo. ³²

2023 President Biden Speech

In June 2023, then-President Joe Biden delivered a speech at the LCV Annual Capital Dinner during which he thanked the LCV Action Fund and other left-wing climate-activist groups for providing financial support to his campaign. President Biden promised that his administration would keep moving toward achieving “100 percent clean electricity by 2035,” as well as “moving to all-electric vehicles in the future, made in America.” President Biden also declared the United States would build “500,000 EV charging stations from coast to coast” and conserve “30 percent of our lands and waters by 2030.” ³³

National Environmental Scorecard

LCV maintains a National Environmental Scorecard that ranks political candidates based on their support for green energy and environmentalist climate activism. In 2024, the United States House of Representatives scored a 48 percent overall while the United States Senate scored a 49 percent, meaning less than half of all federal legislators adhere to LCV’s standards for climate and environmental activism. ³⁴ Several Democratic lawmakers scored highly, according to LCV, including U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), who scored 100 percent, and U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), who scored 97 percent. ³⁵

President Trump’s First 100 Days Poll (2025)

In April 2025, Hart Research, on behalf of Climate Power and LCV, published a poll assessing the second Trump administration after its first 100 days. The poll concluded that voters see chaos and rising costs as definitive characteristics of the administration. LCV president Pete Maysmith issued a statement, claiming “[voters] have soured on Trump’s reckless energy policies because they are feeling the painful impacts every day. After 100 days, it’s clear voters understand Trump is only looking out for himself, Big Oil executives, and other corporate polluters instead of helping people looking for lower energy bills, and cleaner air and water.” ³⁶

#NoKings Protests

In June 2025, LCV participated in organizing or supporting protests branded under the “#NoKings” banner, a national day of demonstrations positioned as a defense of democratic norms against President Donald Trump. These events were part of a larger mobilization involving over 70 Democratic Party affiliates and allied organizations across at least 19 U.S. states and multiple international locations, according to publicly available event listings on Mobilize.us, a Democratic Party-aligned organizing platform. ^{37 38}

State Affiliates

The League of Conservation Voters has several state chapters and affiliates that pursue environmentalist climate policies in their respective states. LCV’s most active state affiliates include the North Carolina League of Conservation Voters (NCLCV), the California League of Conservation Voters Education Fund, the Virginia League of Conservation Voters (VA LCV), the New York League of Conservation Voters, the Michigan League of Conservation Voters, and the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters Education Fund. ³⁹

In March 2025, the New York League of Conservation Voters announced its 2025-26 Long Island Policy Agenda to improve water quality, reduce carbon footprints, and move toward a greener, more environmentally activist Long Island, including through increasing reliance on offshore wind power,  increasing the deployment of battery storage, constructing new buildings powered by weather-dependent energy, and converting old buildings to weather-dependent energy use. ⁴⁰

In early January 2025, the Virginia League of Conservation Voters applauded the Biden administration for protecting the East Coast from offshore drilling. This followed the Biden administration‘s announcement to permanently protect the East Coast’s Outer Continental Shelf from oil and gas exploration, including areas off Virginia’s coast. ⁴¹

Election Activity

2024 Election Cycle

During the 2024 election cycle, the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) spent $760,000 on lobbying. Its PACs, employees and their family members made $28,557,454 in contributions to political action committees. That cycle, the most notable candidates and political action committees to which LCV affiliates donated were the League of Conservation Voters Victory Fund, LCV’s super PAC affiliate ($48,715,000); Montana Outdoor Values PAC ($5,135,000); New American Jobs Fund ($3,050,000); GiveGreen United Action ($2,051,706); and Retire Career Politicians ($1,000,000) .⁴²

During the 2024 election cycle, the LCV Victory Fund spent a total of $46,682,823 in support of or opposition to political candidates and their campaigns, including $33,429,603 in support of Democrats and $13,203,144 in opposition to Republicans. LCV Victory Fund spent $11,467,314 in support of then-Vice President Kamala Harris; $1,224,281 against President Donald Trump; $2,809,928 in support of Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ); $2,382,731 in support of then-Senator Bob Casey (D-PA); $2,001,973 against Senator Dave McCormick (R-PA); and $1,671,746 in support of Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-MI). ⁴³

In March 2024, LCV announced that with all its affiliates, it would spend a total of $120 million on the 2024 election cycle. ^{44 45}

In June 2024, when then-President Joe Biden was still the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, the League of Conservation Voters launched a $2,600,000 digital ad buy that promoted Biden’s anti-Arctic-drilling efforts to younger voting demographics. ⁴⁶

2020 Election Cycle

During the 2020 election cycle, the League of Conservation Voters spent $220,000 on lobbying and $15,176,945 was donated to political action committees through affiliates and individual employees and their family members. That cycle, the most notable candidates and political action committees to which LCV affiliates donated were the League of Conservation Voters Victory Fund, LCV’s super PAC affiliate ($15,536,850); the New American Jobs Fund ($2,435,000); Black PAC ($1,750,065); and Family Friendly Action PAC ($691,000). ⁴⁷

During the 2020 election cycle, the LCV Victory Fund spent a total of $42,266,596 contributing to political campaigns and lobbying, including $13,176,771 in support of Democrats and $28,982,276 in opposition to Republicans. LCV Victory Fund spent $10,037,558 against then-President Donald Trump, $7,171,092 in support of Joe Biden, $4,250,380 against Senator Steve Daines (R-MT), $3,767,103 against Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA), $1,877,444 in support of senatorial candidate Theresa Greenfield (D-IA), and $1,522,325 against Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC). ⁴⁸

2018 Midterm Election

The LCV endorsed Erik Jones in his failed bid for the Democratic nomination to challenge then-U.S. Representative Rodney Davis (R-IL) in Illinois’ 13th Congressional District. ⁴⁹

The organization also announced its support for then-Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) in his reelection campaign for U.S. Senate in Florida in 2018. LCV launched attacks on Nelson’s opponent, then-Florida Governor Rick Scott (R).⁵⁰

In 2018, the LCV spent $1 million in placing digital advertisements to heavily pressure certain Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives to vote for the reauthorization of a public parks bill.⁵¹

The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) Action Fund endorsed Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) for reelection in the 2018 midterm election. ⁵² The LCV Action Fund also gave Whitehouse’s 2018 reelection committee $139,372. ⁵³ Whitehouse has been criticized for opposing “dark money” (funding for organizations that don’t disclose their donors) while accepting donations from the LCV, which itself has been criticized as a “‘dark money’ heavyweight” by groups on the Left and Right, including the left-leaning Center for Public Integrity. ¹

2016 General Election

According to OpenSecrets, the LCV spent $15,666,771 in the 2016 elections. Of that amount, $8,299,525 was spent against Republicans and $7,367,246 was spent to help Democrats.⁵⁴

The two largest single contributions were from Dustin Moskovitz, a co-founder of Facebook and Asana, and his wife Cari Tuna. Each gave the LCV $2.5 million that cycle. ⁵⁵

LCV also received $3 million from Boston investor Robert Grantham in three separate donations, $3 million from the Environment America Action Fund, $500,000 from Bain Capital’s Joshua Bekenstein, and $400,000 from Senate Majority PAC, which has ties to numerous Democratic Senators and operatives. ⁵⁶

The bulk of LCV’s election spending was in support of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. The group spent $6,281,871 on her behalf and spent $2,149,901 opposing Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.⁵⁷

The largest single U.S. Senate race the LCV was involved in was in the U.S. Senate race to replace retiring Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid (D-NV). The organization spent $2,149,901 against Republican candidate and then-U.S. Rep. Joe Heck (R-NV) and $863,696 in favor of Democrat Catherine Cortez-Masto.⁵⁷

Other races the LCV spent heavily in were $1,428,036 trying to defeat then-U.S. Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA), $1,091,348 trying to defeat then-U.S. Senator Richard Burr (R-NC), and $1,057,176 trying to defeat U.S. Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI). They also spent $121,554 in support of former Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI), who challenged Johnson. ⁵⁸

2014 Midterm Election

In the 2014 midterms, the LCV spent $8,987,431 with $3,926,195 spent against Republicans and $2,647,648 spent on behalf of Democrats. The largest expenditures were in the North Carolina U.S. Senate race, in which LCV spent $2,620,499 on behalf of incumbent Sen. Kay Hagan (D-NC) and $2,434,865 opposing Republican Thom Tillis. ⁵⁹

Robert Grantham was the largest single donor to LCV in 2014, donating $1,650,000. Joshua Bekenstein donated a grand total of $1,000,000 in two separate donations. George Soros and the AFSCME union donated $500,000 each. Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I) donated $200,000. Senate Majority PAC donated $350,000. Next Gen Climate Action, which was founded by Tom Steyer, donated $775,000.⁵⁹

2012 General Election

During the 2012 election, the LCV’s biggest expenditure of just over $1 million opposed Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. The second and only other expenditure over $500,000 was $755,407 targeting Arizona Republican U.S. Senate candidate Jeff Flake. The LCV only spent $2,605,809 in the entire election cycle⁶⁰

The largest source of revenue for the LCV in 2012 was money moved around from the other organizations in its umbrella. The largest single outside donor that year was Scott Nathan who gave $150,000.⁶¹

Federal Judicial Confirmations

On January 31, 2019, the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) stated its opposition to the confirmation of Judge Neomi Rao, President Donald Trump’s nominee for a seat on the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. In a letter released by the group, it accused Rao of demeaning the integrity of the court. A report that the LCV created questioned Rao’s objectivity because “conservative judges view [the environment and public health] under the narrow lens of corporate profits, and are unable or uninterested in fairly considering the impacts…and other non-monetary costs or benefits.” The organization also viewed Rao’s experience at the Heritage Foundation and the Federalist Society as evidence of extremism. ⁶²

Relationship With Other Organizations

The LCV frequently coordinates with other progressive and environmental organizations. On November 2, 2016; the LCV released a joint press release with Emily’s List and the Latino Victory Fund in support of Democrat Nanette Barragan in her U.S. House race in the 44th California Congressional District. ⁶³

On October 21, 2016, the LCV and the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund issued a joint endorsement of Democrat Matt Heinz in Arizona’s Second Congressional District. The LCV called Heinz a “strong environmental ally” and promised that he would build on his “strong record” in Congress. ⁶⁴

The United Steelworkers union and LCV created a joint super PAC called the New American Jobs Fund that campaigned in Senate races all over the country. The PAC announced plans to spend up to $4 million in Nevada, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania on behalf of a “pro-conservation and pro-jobs” Senate majority. ⁶⁵

Controversies

Alleged Foreign Funding

In March 2022 (during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine) the Republican staff of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce sent an open letter to Gene Karpinski, president of League of Conservation Voters, noting that “publicly available information suggests that Russian President Vladimir Putin funds certain environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs) around the world to create fear among other nations’ use of hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) to ensure dependence on Russian gas.” ⁶⁶

The letter added: “Provided the public reporting of Putin’s dark money influence . . . we write today to explore your connection with Sea Change [Foundation],” a major pass-through funder of environmental activist nonprofits accused of funneling Russian money in 2014. LCV is a top Sea Change Foundation grant recipient. ⁶⁶

The committee then asked Karpinski to provide information regarding how much money his organization had received from Sea Change Foundation, what programs the grants supported, if LCV had received Russian money, if Russian or foreign funding had been used in LCV’s lobbying campaigns, and if Sea Change funding had been used in LCV’s anti-fracking advocacy. ⁶⁶

In a response letter, Karpinski claimed that LCV has no “connections — financial or otherwise — to Russia or China.” ⁶⁷

Catalist

Also see Catalist (For-Profit)

The LCV, along with many left-of-center organizations, has used a company called Catalist to provide its voter lists and data. Some campaign finance lawyers argue that providing the lists below market value, as Catalist reportedly has done, is a form of an in-kind contribution that is not reported. Catalist only does business with Democrats and left-of-center organizations. ⁶⁸

Promoting Left-Wing Causes Over Environmentalism

Ken Tomlinson, the former editor-in-chief of Reader’s Digest, accused the LCV of being more interested in promoting left-wing causes than in environmental conservation. He took issue with the group’s support for then-U.S. Rep. Tom Perriello (D-VA). Tomlinson argued that Perriello’s Congressional district was facing more pressing environmental challenges on the state and local level and the resources devoted to saving Perriello would be better spent on state and local action⁶⁹

Andrew Sabin

In May 2018, LCV honored Andrew Sabin, a billionaire who had contributed to President Donald Trump’s Super PAC, Trump Victory. LCV awarding Sabin as its “Environmental Leader Honoree” was criticized by some groups on the Left, including ThinkProgress. ⁷⁰

Coordination with Biden Administration Officials

In March 2021, LCV, along with environmental project Climate Power, helped conduct an internal training session on climate communication strategies for Biden administration appointees. The date was revealed by right-leaning government watchdog group Americans for Public Trust (APT), which it had obtained from Biden Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm’s internal agency calendar and shared with Fox News Digital. Granholm had attended and gave opening remarks, while the session itself described having attendees which included, “political appointees from all climate-related agencies,” and that groups like ClimatePower and LCV would, “conduct a training on how to message climate work in an impactful and persuasive way.” ⁷¹

According to a statement released by a Department of Energy spokesperson in February 2023, “Secretary Granholm has been spreading the word — across America and the globe — on President Biden’s actions to slash costs for American families, bring back American jobs and manufacturing, and strengthen American security through clean energy.” APT executive director Caitlin Sutherland commented by stating, “Why are dark money groups, bankrolled by a foreign billionaire, training Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm on communication strategies…Secretary Granholm continues to do the bidding of green energy extremists…This constant coordination is just another example of the tremendous influence dark money has on the Biden administration.” ⁷¹

Not Above the Law Coalition and Anti-Tesla Protests

Following the second election of President Donald Trump in 2024, anti-Tesla protests erupted across major cities in the United States as people protested Elon Musk’s role with the second Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). In March 2025, investigative journalist Asra Nomani shared a list of organizations and nonprofits that had donated to and helped organize the Tesla protests. Among the groups was Not Above the Law Coalition, an alliance of various left-of-center groups that oppose Trump’s presidency and Musk’s role in it. According to Nomani’s investigation, the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) has been a member of the Not Above the Law Coalition since June 2023. ⁶

In a 2024 newsletter, LCV shared a quote from Representative Glenn Ivey (D-MD) at a press conference hosted by the Not Above the Law Coalition marking what it called the third anniversary of “the insurrection attempt on January 6, 2021.” ⁷²

Leadership

Pete Maysmith is the president of the League of Conservation Voters, a position he has held since April 2025. Before assuming his current role as LCV’s president, Maysmith served for almost eight years as the LCV’s senior vice president for campaigns. ⁷³ Maysmith became executive director of Conservation Colorado in 2009 where he helped grow the organization while pushing for clean energy policies, protections for public lands, and the state’s first-ever water management plan. Maysmith’s career includes lobbying, organizing, raising millions of dollars, and running campaigns. He has helped lead the LCV’s electoral work as a member of the political and campaign committee of the board of directors since 2014, a position he resigned when he became the LCV’s senior vice president for campaigns. ⁷⁴ Maysmith holds a bachelor’s degree in public policy studies from Duke University and a law degree from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. ⁷⁵

Gene Karpinski was the president of LCV until April 2025, a position he held for 18 years. Before becoming president of LCV, he sat on the organization’s board of directors and political committee. Previously, he worked for 21 years as the executive director of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG), the national lobbying office for state PIRGs across the country, where he led many national environmental issue campaigns. He has served on a number of national boards and steering committees, including America Votes, the Blue Green Alliance, the Strategic Victory Fund, the Equitable and Just National Climate Platform, the Beldon Fund, and the National Association for Public Interest Law. Karpinski is a graduate of Brown University and Georgetown University Law Center. ⁷⁶

During the Obama administration, Gene’s leadership helped win historic progress for climate and the environment. Following the 2016 election of Donald Trump, Karpinski oversaw the development of a nationwide campaign to move the U.S. to a 100% weather-dependent energy policy through state-level action. ⁷⁶

The chair of the board until 2025 was Carol Browner, the former administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency in the Clinton administration and Director of the White House Office of Energy and Climate Policy in the Obama administration. Browner is also a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress. ^{77 78}

Sara Schreiber is senior vice president of LCV. Prior to LCV, Schreiber worked as chief of staff for the 2024 Harris-Waltz campaign and executive director of America Votes. ⁷⁹

Finances

Revenue and Expenditures

In 2023, the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) reported $67,539,884 in total revenue, $65,819,334 in total expenses, and $22,629,748 in total assets. ⁸⁰

Before 2018, LCV’s total revenue per year oscillated mostly between $20 million and $30 million. However, following the election of President Donald Trump in 2016, LCV’s total revenue jumped up to $38,779,210. From 2017 to 2018, LCV’s total revenue doubled, rising from $32,654,016 in 2017 to $65,184,681 in 2018. In 2020, it increased again to $78,082,041 and again in 2021 when it nearly doubled (48 percent increase) to $114,796,662 in total revenue, marking LCV’s highest ever revenue in a single year. ^{81 7} A letter from then-LCV president Gene Karpinski in 2016 attributed the funding increase as a reaction to the election of President Trump, whom Karpinski characterized as opposing climate change policy.  ⁸²

Arabella Network Funding

Arabella Advisors, also known as the Arabella network, is a left-of-center philanthropic consulting company that provides strategy, advocacy, impact investing, and management services to high-dollar foundations, nonprofits, corporations, and individuals. ⁸³ The company was founded in 2005 by Eric Kessler, a Clinton administration alumnus and long-time staffer at the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) and the National Democratic Institute. ^{84 85} LCV’s revenue increase from 2020 to 2021 was largely fueled by an $18,900,000 grant the group secured from the Sixteen Thirty Fund, the lobbying and electoral advocacy arm of the Arabella network. ⁷

It has been described as the “mothership” of a “massive progressive dark-money group” by The Atlantic and as “a Washington consulting firm […] that has funneled hundreds of millions of dollars through a daisy chain of groups supporting Democrats and progressive causes” and “a leading vehicle for [dark money] on the left” by the New York Times. ^{86 87} Some of this billion dollars network’s most notable non profit organizations and grantmaking funds include, the Arabella-managed nonprofits Sixteen Thirty Fund, New Venture Fund (NVF), Hopewell Fund, Windward Fund, and North Fund. ⁸⁸