A political action committee backed by renewable energy boosters is claiming victory as part of its revenge tour against prominent foes of wind and solar.
The Invest in Tomorrow Coalition PAC said it spent $75,000 on advertisements opposing Rep. Ralph Norman in the Republican primary to be South Carolina’s next governor. This week he failed to advance to a runoff.
Norman was one of the primary champions of phasing out renewable energy tax credits last year in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The PAC’s ads against him targeted conservative voters on social media, calling Norman a “MAGA Traitor” and pointing out that President Donald Trump didn’t support him.
“Norman was one of the leaders of the attacks on clean energy,” said Tom Matzzie, executive chair of the Invest in Tomorrow Coalition and CEO of CleanChoice Energy.
It’s the second time a Republican opposed by the Invest in Tomorrow Coalition lost a race. Last month, Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) lost a runoff to be state attorney general following more than $1.7 million in spending against him. Roy was also a leading proponent in scrapping the credits.
Matzzie said he can’t be certain of the impact of the group’s ads, though recent polls had Norman close to getting second place and making a runoff. Invest in Tomorrow Coalition decided to get into the race when it saw he could advance.
“The point is not how many voters we moved — the point is that other politicians need to understand that we will invest in their race if they attack the clean energy industry,” Matzzie said. “We want others to put a number next to their attacks on industry and say, ‘If I attack this industry they will put in money against me.'”
Norman used to be co-chair of the Congressional Solar Caucus, and his district has a Silfab Solar manufacturing plant. The conservative has spoken against Biden era programs that “propped up costly, inconsistent sources like wind and solar.”
South Carolina Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and Attorney General Alan Wilson made the runoff, is slated for June 23. Norman’s campaign didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Invest in Tomorrow Coalition launched earlier this year and started spending against Roy ahead of the initial March primaries in Texas, in an effort by solar executives and other allies to assert more political power following losses in Congress and the Trump administration. Roy, who was polling 10 points ahead of Mayes Middleton in February, ended up losing to him by 11 points.
Roy has downplayed the pro-renewable energy group’s roll in his loss, attributing it instead to how much money Middleton spent. But he’s also criticized the PAC for targeting him.
“The fact is, they are ticked off that we won when we successfully fought to take away some of their crony subsidy profit center — a rare win for Americans in the crony hell hole that is Washington DC,” he said in a statement.
Invest in Tomorrow Coalition has gotten $15 million in donation pledges and is considering targeting Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) in his gubernatorial race, along with some other elections. The group spent $125,000 supporting Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa) in her primary.
