Energy and Climate

Oil and gas drilling on federal land and offshore

51 public statements from 2026 candidates · 7 related bills

§1The range of views

Why this matters: These decisions affect energy supplies, government revenue and jobs, as well as wildlife and coastlines.

Drafted by AI, then checked for neutral wording in a separate AI review. It describes the question and the main positions, not any candidate's view. Facts link to their sources.

How much federal land and offshore water the government leases to companies for oil and gas drilling, and on what terms; a 2025 law requires at least four lease sales a year on federal land in each of nine states and regular offshore lease sales in the Gulf and Alaska's Cook Inlet.1

  1. Stop or sharply limit new leases
  2. Continue leasing, but keep some coastlines and wildlife areas off-limits
  3. Lease more federal land and offshore areas for drilling

These options describe policies, not people. The order is not a ranking.

§2What candidates have said

Why this matters: Statements candidates made publicly, summarized in plain words with a link to where they said it. Candidates who haven't spoken publicly on this issue aren't listed.

Drafted by AI from the public sources cited. Each sentence links to its source.

Stop or sharply limit new leases (7)

  • Mai Vang CA-7
    Her campaign website says she would block efforts to open parks and open spaces to oil drilling and would stop new fossil fuel projects.2
  • Scott Wiener CA-11
    His campaign website says he would end new fossil fuel drilling and leasing on federal lands and phase out the subsidies that support oil and gas companies.3
  • Sam Liccardo CA-16
    His campaign website says he would push against any new offshore drilling and fracking, and for strict limits and enforced lease expirations on existing sites.4
  • Moshe Y. Landman MD-6
    His campaign website says the United States should end destructive energy extraction, including fracking, tar sands, offshore drilling and natural gas pipelines, and halt any investment in fossil fuel infrastructure.5
  • LaVeta Davenport MI-1
    The Green Party of Michigan 2026 platform text on her campaign website, which says she fully aligns with it, opposes coal, tar-sands oil and offshore drilling, calls for banning hydraulic fracturing, and calls for stopping the extraction of energy from tar sands, methane and shale.6
  • Ilhan Omar MN-5
    Her campaign website's environment page calls for a ban on new fossil fuel extraction and on building new fossil fuel infrastructure.7
  • Michael Dublin NC Senate
    His platform supports banning new oil and gas drilling and a planned transition to 100% renewable energy.8

Continue leasing, but keep some coastlines and wildlife areas off-limits (2)

  • Sarah McBride DE-AL
    Her campaign website says she cosponsored the Defend Our Coast Act to prohibit oil and gas leasing in the mid-Atlantic.9
  • Jim Schwartzel FL-19
    His campaign website says he will work for an extension of the ban on oil drilling off Florida's coast.10

Lease more federal land and offshore areas for drilling (6)

  • Nick Begich AK-AL
    His campaign website says Congress, through the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, reopened the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, the coastal plain, Cook Inlet and other areas to energy development, and it points to the first major lease sale in the petroleum reserve under the new law as a result of lowering federal barriers.11,12
  • Peter Sundin Soulé CA-16
    His campaign website says he supports drilling for oil on federal lands in an environmentally safe way to cut the cost of energy.13
  • Lauren Boebert CO-4
    Her campaign's Contract with Colorado calls for more drilling, and her campaign website lists House passage of her Colorado Energy Prosperity Act, which it says stops the Bureau of Land Management from closing 1.6 million acres of Colorado land to oil and gas production.14,15,16
  • Julia Letlow LA Senate
    Her campaign website says she would expand oil and natural gas production, including offshore energy development in the Gulf.17
  • Lily Tang Williams NH-2
    Her campaign website says she supports allowing increased oil leasing on public lands.18
  • Justin Murphy NJ Senate
    His campaign website says energy production on federal lands should be promoted rather than restricted, with federal leasing and permitting sped up, but that he would not support projects that cannot be developed in an environmentally responsible way.19,20

Statements that don't match one option (36)

  • Robert B. Aderholt AL-4
    His campaign website says the U.S. should expand energy exploration and open the Keystone Pipeline to produce more oil and gas and lower energy prices.21
  • Gary Palmer AL-6
    His campaign website says the country's energy resources should be developed rather than kept off-limits by excessive federal regulation, and says he supports expanding domestic energy production.22
  • Mike McGuire CA-1
    His campaign website says he has fought offshore oil drilling along California's coast.23
  • Ami Bera CA-3
    His campaign website opposes offshore oil drilling, including proposed drilling in federal waters off California, and favors getting more oil from existing fields through enhanced recovery while the country shifts to clean energy.24
  • Jimmy Panetta CA-19
    His campaign website says he has written and passed bills to block oil drilling off the coastline and on public lands, cut carbon emissions and invest in clean energy technology.25
  • Salud Carbajal CA-24
    His campaign website says he introduced and passed a bill to ban future offshore oil drilling off California's coast and that he will keep opposing new offshore drilling.26
  • Brad Sherman CA-32
    His campaign website says he helped introduce the West Coast Protection Act, which would bar federal oil and gas leases off the coasts of California, Oregon and Washington.27
  • Stephanie M. Vargas CA-33
    Her campaign website says she will vote to end bans on American energy and supports producing more oil and gas at home to lower fuel and heating costs.28
  • Nanette Diaz Barragan CA-44
    Her campaign website says that in Washington she has opposed any oil drilling off California's coastline.29
  • Dave Min CA-47
    His campaign website says that on the House Natural Resources Committee he has voted to protect coastlines, and that he is working with both parties to stop offshore drilling.30,31
  • Marni von Wilpert CA-48
    Her campaign website says she would protect California's beaches and waters from President Trump's plan to drill for oil off the coast.32
  • Mike Levin CA-49
    His campaign website says he introduced a bill to prohibit new oil and gas leasing off the Southern California coast and cosponsored bills to block new offshore drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and to stop drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.33,34
  • Adam Withrow CO Senate
    His campaign website says expansion of drilling should be limited to preserve fossil fuel supplies, and that fossil fuel exports should be severely limited.35
  • Amanda Marie Green FL-2
    Her campaign website says she opposes offshore drilling off Florida's coasts.36
  • John H. Rutherford FL-5
    His campaign website says he supported banning oil drilling off Florida's coast and worked to protect the state's beaches, ocean and waterways from offshore drilling.37
  • Bale Dalton FL-7
    His campaign website supports preventing drilling off Florida's coasts, saying this protects military and space test ranges, and supports an all-of-the-above energy policy.38
  • Darren Soto FL-9
    A 2018 Spanish-language page still on his campaign website opposes expanding offshore drilling along Florida's coasts and says he is working to ban fracking on all public lands.39
  • Leela Gray FL-13
    Her campaign website says offshore drilling should be permanently banned to protect homes, businesses and the coastal economy.40
  • Robert People FL-15
    His clean energy plan says he is against expanding deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and against allowing drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.41
  • Kelly Kirschner FL-16
    His campaign website says he would protect Tampa Bay, Sarasota Bay and the coastline by prohibiting offshore drilling.42,43
  • Debbie Wasserman Schultz FL-20
    Her campaign website's legislative record lists a 2019 provision she secured, which passed the House, banning drilling activities on the Pacific and Atlantic coasts and barring Interior Department funds for oil and gas leasing in outer continental shelf planning areas around Florida.44
  • Carlos A. Gimenez FL-28
    His official House website says he opposes offshore drilling, especially off the coast of Florida, and supports an all-of-the-above approach to domestic energy production; it lists among his cosponsored bills several that would bar oil and gas leasing in certain areas off Florida’s coast.45
  • David Jolly FL Governor
    His campaign website says the long-standing bipartisan agreement to keep offshore drilling away from Florida's shores is under attack from an administration determined to drill closer to shore, and that drilling in the Gulf should be ended rather than expanded.46,47
  • James "Jim" Kingston GA-1
    His campaign website says he supports more domestic drilling, done responsibly, as part of an all-of-the-above energy strategy.48
  • Brian Jack GA-3
    His campaign website says he supports unleashing American energy, including oil and natural gas.49
  • Austin Scott GA-8
    His official House website says he supports an energy policy that includes increased domestic oil exploration, refining capacity, and production of domestic oil, natural gas and clean coal.50
  • Will Johanson ID-2
    His campaign website's issues page says energy policy should protect the environment by drilling, fracking and mining essential minerals in the USA.51
  • Lisa Ballay LA-2
    Her campaign website says she supports responsible domestic energy production, including offshore, and does not accept that Louisiana has to choose between the energy industry and the coast.52
  • "Clay" Higgins LA-3
    His campaign website's 2016 Issues page says the federal government should let American oil and gas companies compete without onerous federal restrictions, and that he would review and adjust Obama administration mandates and executive orders on the industry, including limits on operating on federal land.53
  • Blake Miguez LA-6
    His campaign website says he will fight to get LNG export permits approved and to stop the slow-walking of Gulf leasing.54
  • Edward J. Markey MA Senate
    His campaign website says he is fighting offshore oil drilling and working to protect public lands and waters, including the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, from oil and gas development.55
  • Deborah K. Ross NC-2
    Her campaign climate page says she introduced the Defend Our Coast Act, a bill to bar offshore oil and gas drilling off the mid-Atlantic coast.56
  • Donald Norcross NJ-1
    His campaign website says the Jersey Shore needs protection from offshore drilling in the Atlantic.57
  • Frank Pallone Jr. NJ-6
    His campaign website's About page lists among his accomplishments working to keep offshore oil and gas drilling away from New Jersey's coast, and says he introduced the COAST Act, which it says would prohibit oil and gas drilling at sea in the Atlantic Ocean.58
  • Rob Menendez NJ-8
    Its climate change page says he cosponsored the COAST Anti-Drilling Act, along with the Clean Water Act, to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and set protective standards for wetlands, streams and other water bodies.59
  • Larry E Marker NM Senate
    His campaign website says more than half of New Mexico's oil and gas production happens on federal land and that federal lease pauses and permit delays put state revenue for schools at risk.60

§3Related bills

Why this matters: Bills from 2023–2026 that bear on this issue, with how Congress handled them.