Republican Fervor Ebbs for Offshore Drilling [View all]

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Mr. Trump campaigned on a promise to boost domestic energy production, and in January 2018 his Interior Department proposed allowing oil rigs along nearly all of America’s coastline. That was a nonstarter in West Coast and Northern Atlantic states that lean Democratic. But advocates expected that heavy support for Republicans in the Southeast would translate into heavy support for the oil industry, which had made coastal waters there its priority, along with Alaska. Instead, Republican leaders up and down the Southeastern seaboard have pledged to put the beauty of the coastal waters above the U.S. thirst for oil, posing a formidable obstacle to any expansion of offshore drilling.

The administration’s drilling plan now is sidelined, with Interior Secretary David Bernhardt saying this spring that opposition from coastal states was an impediment, along with a court ruling that blocked expansion of drilling in the Arctic. The administration’s energy policies risk falling out of step with a rising number of rank-and-file Republican and independent voters concerned about environmental issues. Seven years ago, 86% of Republicans supported expanding offshore drilling, according to a survey by Pew Research Center. That fell to 68% in a new Pew poll published Monday.

Offshore drilling is one of the few areas where Republican politicians have shown a willingness to defy Mr. Trump. In September, 12 House Republicans voted for a permanent ban on drilling off the coast of the continental U.S., and 22 voted for a separate bill that would extend a moratorium for coastal Florida.

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None of the region’s Republican strongholds has been more resistant to offshore drilling than South Carolina. Its political leaders have come out in blunt opposition to it. More than half of South Carolina residents oppose offshore drilling, according to a February poll by Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C. Among Republicans, 55% support offshore drilling, according to the poll, but that is down steeply from 72% in 2010.

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Some who supported drilling off the Atlantic coast, such as South Carolina’s Gov. Nikki Haley, were succeeded by officials who didn’t, such as current Republican Gov. Henry McMaster. Rep. Joe Cunningham (D., S.C.) credits his opposition to offshore drilling, which won the support of local Republicans, for his 2018 victory in a Charleston-area congressional seat last represented by a Democrat when Jimmy Carter was president.

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https://www.wsj.com/articles/republican-fervor-ebbs-for-offshore-oil-drilling-11575040183 (paid subscription)