2024 Electoral Engagement Forum

Overview

The 2024 election promises to be among the most consequential and high-stakes contests in our nation’s history. With so much attention focused on the presidential race and the fight to control the U.S. Congress, we must not overlook the fact that states remain the primary battleground between progress and the status quo when it comes to accelerating clean energy and electric transportation deployment.

Failure to defend the progress we have made at the state level in this election cycle would be catastrophic. Historical funding made available through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) would be left unspent. Siting clean energy and transmission projects would become even more difficult. Policies that devalue and weaken the role of distributed energy resources would be looked on more favorably. We would see aggressive rollbacks of clean energy goals and policies that we and our partners have fought for nationwide.

To more clearly outline the stakes of this election—and opportunities to play a role in ensuring election outcomes—Counterspark and Advanced Energy United will convene leaders from clean energy industry, advocacy, and philanthropy for a daylong meeting at our offices in Washington DC.

We will also be hosting small, intimate dinners about our electoral work in four states this year on the evening of February 28. They’re a chance to join a more detailed dialogue and discussion on the political dynamics of Counterspark’s targeted states in 2024.

2024 Electoral Engagement Forum

Thursday, February 29, 2024
8:00AM—4:00PM Eastern
1801 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Ste. 410
Washington, DC 20006

Panels and Agenda Items

8:00 AM – 9:00 AM	Registration and Networking Continental Breakfast
9:00 AM – 9:15 AM	Welcome and Table Setting for the Day Heather O’Neill, CEO, Advanced Energy United
9:15 AM – 10:05 AM	The Stakes of the 2024 Election Cycle These days, every election is referred to as the most meaningful of our lifetimes. 2024 is no different. Much of that attention is focused on federal elections with the presidency and control of Congress at stake. Just as notable for the clean energy industry and clean energy transition are state-level elections for legislature and a handful of crucial Public Utility Commission races. This panel will focus on the impact these state level elections will have for clean energy in 2025 and beyond. Trey Nix, Declaration Media Leslie Martes, Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee Steve Moilanen, Advanced Energy United Amisha Rai, Advanced Energy United (Moderator)
10:05 AM – 10:30 AM	Networking Break
10:30 AM – 11:15 AM	Soup to Nuts: How You Can Invest for Impact You can have a direct impact on the outcome of an election, whether making targeted investments of $5,000 or $500,000. This panel will dive into a variety of ways you can make your political investments go the furthest in 2024. Justin Carpenter, MI Energy Innovation Business Council Kevin Geiger, Future Forward Sam Landenwitsch, 360 Campaign Consulting Amanda Foster, Counterspark (Moderator)
11:15 AM – 12:15 PM	Harnessing Data to Navigate Voter Attitudes Towards Clean Energy How do you know if investments in voter communication are working? It’s easy to say, “We have no way of knowing until Election Day,” but that’s not quite true. Through public opinion research and polling, we can track voter attitudes over time to understand which messages will resonate the most – and with whom. This panel will dive into how the clean energy movement can utilize findings to craft winning stories and campaigns. Jess Reis, Bully Pulpit Tori Kargman, House Majority PAC (Moderator)
12:15 PM – 12:45 PM	Lunch
12:45 PM – 1:30 PM	Keynote Chat: Building Power for Long-term Gains Electoral and political engagement is a critical tool in building political power for the clean energy industry. Using your investments to strengthen the groups that follow the election with on-the-ground advocacy can help to ensure our industry has a stronger voice in statehouses and in Washington, DC. Emily Cain, Cain Insights, LLC< Amanda Foster, Counterspark
1:30 PM – 2:00 PM	Networking Break
2:00 PM – 2:45 PM	Making a Big Impact Without Breaking the Bank This panel will explore previous experiences in electoral engagement where five-figure investments have made an impact and helped advance pro-clean energy candidates to victory. Panelists will share replicable success stories for you to consider as you think about engaging in 2024. Steve Caminati, Pattern Energy Harry Godfrey, Advanced Energy United Tori Kargman, House Majority PAC Jeremy McDiarmid, Advanced Energy United (Moderator)
3:00 PM – 3:45 PM	Maximizing the Value of Consultants Hear from a panel of consultants from leading political firms as they discuss the ins and outs of managing and leveraging a team of vendors. Panelists have extensive experience navigating the media space and telling the story of clean energy. You won’t want to miss this conversation, where they will share strategic findings and best practices perfected over decades of work that can be implemented for elections, advocacy, and community engagement. Madeline Conway, Impact Trey Nix, Declaration Media Brian Zuzenak, Pivot Group Sarah Horvitz, Bully Pulpit Interactive Tori Kargman, House Majority PAC (Moderator)
3:45 PM – 4:00 PM	Closing and Final Remarks J.R. Tolbert, Counterspark