The Keystone XL oil pipeline will be an issue in the 2016 presidential election even if the project’s builder has asked the Obama administration to halt its review, experts said Tuesday.
Glenn Bolger, partner and co-founder of Public Opinion Strategies, said the pipeline is an easily definable issue for the public. That alone will make it a talking point in the upcoming election, as voters will be able to see a black-and-white difference between the candidates.
“It will be an issue again simply because it is short-hand, easy to understand for voters — who’s for this and who’s against this,” he said.
TransCanada announced Monday it is asking the State Department to delay making a decision on its permit to build the 1,187-mile Keystone XL pipeline from the tar sands in Alberta, Canada, to the Gulf Coast refineries until the Nebraska Public Service Commission makes a decision on the proposed route. The process could take between seven and 12 months, likely leaving the decision on pipeline approval to President Obama’s successor.
Bolger was among a group of panelists speaking at the Energy and the Election: Voter Opinions on Energy panel put on by the American Petroleum Institute and Politico on Tuesday morning in Washington.
Jack Girard, president and CEO of the American Petroleum Institute, said environmentalists celebrating TransCanada’s request might be counting their chickens before they hatch.
“Anybody that declares this a victory at this point obviously has a very lopsided or specific agenda they’re trying to advance,” Girard said.
A poll by the American Petroleum Institute released earlier this year showed more than two-thirds of Americans support the Keystone XL pipeline. It is estimated the project would create 40,000 temporary jobs as the pipeline is built.
Keith Frederick, owner of Frederick Polls, agreed that Keystone XL could have a role to play in the upcoming election but it will have a tough time standing out among all the others.
With gas prices low, many Americans are not that concerned about energy policy, Frederick said. Something would need to change to bring Keystone XL to the forefront.
“If you’re going to try and make this an issue that will swing votes back and forth, it’s going to have to be something that will hit pocketbooks,” he said.
After seven years of talking and planning and controversy, Girard said he believes the public is simply waiting for an answer on the project. He said voters are tired of the indecision and want the Obama administration, which has been reviewing the pipeline application for more than seven years, to make a choice.
That’s certainly true of business groups. Rob Engstrom, senior vice president and national political director of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said members of his organization simply want a decision made, and soon.
“We can accept if the answer is no, but give us the answer so we can plan around it,” he said.
