Energy and Climate

Offshore wind power

19 public statements from 2026 candidates

§1The range of views

Why this matters: Offshore wind can add power for coastal states and create jobs, and projects also raise concerns about costs, fishing, wildlife and ocean views.

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.

Whether to build wind farms in federal ocean waters off the US coasts, where the federal government leases the sites and approves each project; in January 2025 the president withdrew all of those waters from new wind leasing.1,2

  1. Stop offshore wind projects, including some already approved
  2. Let projects go forward case by case under the usual federal reviews
  3. Lease more ocean sites and speed approvals to build more offshore wind

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 offshore wind projects, including some already approved (2)

  • R. Tyler Macallister MA-9
    His campaign website's Solutions page says there should be no industrial wind farms in the area's fishing grounds.3
  • Jeff Van Drew NJ-2
    The page lists defeating offshore wind projects once planned off South Jersey's coast among his accomplishments. It says he held congressional field hearings arguing the projects could greatly raise electric bills and damage the local economy, worked with local groups against them, and helped write an executive order halting remaining projects, and that he will keep opposing them.4

Let projects go forward case by case under the usual federal reviews (1)

  • Tia LeBrun LA-3
    Her campaign website's Policy Plans page lists offshore wind development where appropriate among the energy sources it supports.5

Lease more ocean sites and speed approvals to build more offshore wind (3)

  • Lauren Jewett LA-1
    Her campaign website says she supports investing in offshore wind and other diversified energy development in the Gulf.6
  • Adrian Boafo MD-5
    His campaign website says he would expand solar, offshore wind and clean energy manufacturing.7
  • Deborah K. Ross NC-2
    Her campaign climate page calls offshore wind one of the best tools against climate change and says the Inflation Reduction Act included her provision lifting a 10-year moratorium on offshore wind leasing off North Carolina and other Southeastern states.8

Statements that don't match one option (13)

  • Jared Huffman CA-2
    His campaign website lists leading the largest federal investment in offshore wind on the West Coast, in Humboldt County, to create clean energy jobs among the things he has fought for in Congress.9
  • Ro Khanna CA-17
    His campaign website says unleased federal areas should again be designated for offshore wind development.10
  • Salud Carbajal CA-24
    His campaign website says he is helping guide the first offshore wind project off the coast of Morro Bay and that more must be done to bring wind and biofuel projects to market.11
  • Bob Smith CA-24
    His campaign website says the federal offshore wind leases off Morro Bay should be cancelled, arguing that the area is the wrong place for the project and that the turbines would interfere with military, aviation and weather radar.12
  • Rosa L. DeLauro CT-3
    Her campaign website says she is working to attract investment in offshore wind energy.13
  • Kelly Thompson IN-3
    Her campaign website says her energy program would build wind turbines off the coasts.14
  • Bill Keating MA-9
    His campaign website's Accomplishments page lists his role as a lead advocate for Vineyard Wind, which it describes as the country's first large-scale commercial offshore wind farm, and for making New Bedford the project's main staging site.15
  • Dan Schwartz MD-1
    His campaign website says he would seek lower energy costs by backing local and regional projects, among them US Wind's project off Ocean City.16
  • Ryan Michael Kelly NJ-3
    His campaign website says he supports substantial investment in clean energy, with offshore wind among the sources.17
  • Rachel Peace NJ-4
    Her campaign website says she supports investing in offshore wind projects that take ecological and aesthetic concerns into account, and wants to explore new hydroelectric infrastructure.18
  • Joe Hathaway NJ-11
    His campaign platform says he will not back policies that build offshore wind turbines, mentioning the Jersey Shore.19
  • John Francis Reed RI Senate
    His campaign website says he worked with other members of Congress to get the administration's stop-work orders on Revolution Wind, off the coast of Rhode Island, reversed.20
  • Helena Buonanno Foulkes RI Governor
    Her energy plan says she would push back against the Trump administration's efforts to shut down wind energy in Rhode Island and that the state should invest more, not less, in wind and solar power.21