This coverage is made possible through a partnership between IPR and Grist, a nonprofit environmental media organization.
With November's ballot set, voters in Michigan's 1st Congressional District will choose between Democrat Callie Barr and incumbent Rep. Jack Bergman (R-Watersmeet).
And that decision will be informed, in part, by how the candidates approach climate and energy issues.
Barr won the August 6 primary race against Dr. Bob Lorinser. As of Wednesday, she had over 58% of the vote. Her campaign said she is the first woman in the district's history to be on the ballot for this seat in a general election.
Bergman is seeking his fifth term in the U.S. House of Representatives. He easily defeated primary challenger Josh Saul on Tuesday night. The race was among the first to be called in Michigan. He beat Lorinser in the last general election.
Geographically, the 1st District is Michigan’s largest, encompassing the Upper Peninsula and much of the northern Lower Peninsula, as well as seven of the 12 federally recognized tribal nations in the state. Environmental issues are a central part of life here, from agriculture to tourism to resource extraction to the controversial Line 5 pipeline.
As local, tribal, state and federal governments have ramped up the transition away from fossil fuels in recent years, there’s been a mix of excitement and worry about whether renewable energy infrastructure will be able to meet the needs of a rural place.
Barr, an attorney from Traverse City who taught high school and has advocated for military families, said during a Democratic candidate forum in Cheboygan in June that she supports clean energy.
“That means working with labor and environmental leaders so that we are ensuring energy reliability and dependence while we're also moving forward towards cleaner energy that will help us here with climate and the climate change that we're in right now,” she said. She also said that transition should incorporate the needs of rural communities.
Bergman criticized the Biden administration for promoting clean energy at the expense of fossil fuels.
“We have a responsibility to do two things: provide energy to the world, to our citizens, but we also have the responsibility to advance it as cleanly as possible,” he said. “Again, it's not a one-size-fits-all approach.”
The 1st District has also been embroiled in a debate over what should happen to Line 5, the 645-mile pipeline owned by Canadian company Enbridge that carries oil and natural gas liquids from Wisconsin to Ontario. Enbridge wants to relocate the existing pipelines into a tunnel it would construct under the Straits of Mackinac.
Barr has said the courts should decide what happens to the pipeline.
"We're at a period of energy transition," she said. "And I know that folks that I've talked to in the Upper Peninsula and some of our rural areas rely on propane. They're scared, right? I mean, you don't mess around when it gets to be 30 below."
Bergman also acknowledged the future of the pipeline lies with the courts. But he supports the tunnel project.
“I believe that should be the first tunnel built under the Straits of Mackinac,” Bergman said. He added that a second tunnel should be built as well, in case people can’t cross the Mackinac Bridge: “There should be a second tunnel under the bridge for the long term safety and security of the citizens of Michigan.”
The League of Conservation Voters, an environmental advocacy group that tracks how members of Congress vote, gave Bergman a 9% score on his voting record on environment and climate issues.
Still, Scott LaDeur, a professor of political science at North Central Michigan College, pointed out that Bergman has backed efforts like the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, a multi-state push to protect and restore the region’s water, habitat and native species.
“He supported that quite robustly, because that tends to be clear local issues, whereas nationally, you know, maybe a bit more skeptical,” LaDeur said. “So I tend to think that's where (Republicans') tuning fork is: The more local something is, the more likely it is they can support it.”
Bergman said his priorities this election are the economy, immigration at the southern border, and education.
In Barr’s primary bid, she focused on veterans issues as well as healthcare access and rural economic issues. She’s pointed to labor union endorsements as proof of broader support for her campaign.
“Callie Barr is pretty organized. She presents a clear contrast to Bergman, not only in policy positions, but in just who she is,” LaDeur said.
Still, he said, it is Bergman's race to lose: “Clearly the 1st District is a Republican area, so I think it'll be interesting to watch how she tries to manufacture a coalition out of this district.”
The last time voters chose a Democrat for this seat was when they reelected longtime former Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Menominee) in 2008. Stupak endorsed Barr this year.
