Outdoor Industry Association Political Action Committee (OIAPAC) announced the first slate of Congressional candidates it is endorsing in the 2016 elections.
“These candidates understand the importance of the outdoor recreation economy locally and across the nation and support the outdoor industry’s policy agenda in Washington, D.C.,” OIA’s Senior Director of Government Affairs and OIAPAC Treasurer Alex Boian wrote in an email Thursday.
OIAPAC works to elect more “outdoorists” to the United States Congress. All candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate are considered, regardless of political party, and are reviewed based on their support for policies that promote the outdoor recreation economy.
Specifically, candidates must demonstrate support for funding and access to public lands and waters, support for a balanced international trade agenda that reduces product costs for the industry while promoting U.S. manufacturing where possible, and support for action to address the alarming impacts of climate change.
OIAPAC-endorsed candidates for the U.S. Senate include:
- Kelly Ayotte, R-New Hampshire
- Michael Bennet, D-Colorado
- Richard Burr, R-North Carolina
- Ron Wyden, D-Oregon
OIAPAC-endorsed candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives include:
- Don Beyer, D-Virginia, 8th
- Earl Blumenauer, D-Oregon, 3rd
- Suzanne Bonamici, D-Oregon, 1st
- Jared Polis, D-Colorado, 2nd
- Dave Reichert, R-Washington, 8th
- Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, 2nd
- Ryan Zinke, R-Montana, At-Large
- Doug Owens, D-Utah, 4th. Owens is the lone challenger on the slate.
To learn more about the OIAPAC slate, including some of the issues it uses to evaluate candidates and how individual candidates have demonstrated their support for OIA’s outdoorist agenda, click here.
