Oil advocates 'skeptical' of Harris pivot on fracking, but say her shift shows stance is a 'winning issue'

Oil and gas industry leaders are skeptical of Vice President Kamala Harris' stance on critical state issues and are calling for clarity on her positions before Election Day.

Harris said there is "no question" she would be in favor of banning fracking, during her 2020 presidential campaign, but after becoming the 2024 Democratic nominee, the vice president said that she will not ban hydraulic fracturing if elected.

"As a native Pennsylvanian, who understands the importance of oil and gas to local communities and consumers nationwide, I have to be skeptical of the vice president's pivot on fracking. And we still haven’t seen an energy policy plan," Jeff Eshelman, Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) President & CEO, told Fox News Digital.

HARRIS DODGING FLIP-FLOP ATTACKS AS FACELESS SURROGATES FLIP KEY POSITIONS: ‘PLAYING POLITICS’

Vice President Kamala Harris during the second presidential debate at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pa., on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024.  (Doug Mills/The New York Times/Bloomberg)

Eshelman added that her shift signals that fracking is a winning issue.

HARRIS CLAIMS SHE ‘MADE CLEAR’ HER POSITION ON FRACKING IN 2020 - TRANSCRIPT SHOWS ANOTHER STORY

"If the VP is now endorsing a pro-fracking plan, we are the experts and would encourage a meeting with oil and gas producers. However, Harris' endorsement of hydraulic fracturing shows how important energy issues are to voters who understand increased oil and natural gas development is key to bringing down gas prices and decreasing reliance on foreign oil," Eshelman said. "Her shift makes it clear that unleashing abundant and affordable American energy resources through safe and responsible fracking technology is a winning issue."

The issue remains of top concern to swing state voters in Pennsylvania, as well as on a national level, after a New York Times/Siena College poll released in September found that 43% of voters somewhat or strongly oppose a ban on fracking.

A fracking drill rig in a remote location in the mountains with wispy clouds in the sky at dusk.

The American Petroleum Institute (API) echoed the questions surrounding her position. 

"I think the Vice President should be held to account for what exactly she means. And she has been successful to this point in not having to say a lot. And I would posit the reason why she is all of a sudden talking about fracking is because the path to the presidency runs through Pennsylvania, and they know full well how important the oil and gas sector is to the nearly half a billion people in the state of Pennsylvania that are employed in and around the industry," said Amanda Eversole, Executive Vice President of API.

API also suggested that swing state voters could be a driving force behind her decision to change face on the issue.

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event at the Linda Ronstadt Music Hall on Thursday, in Tucson, Arizona.  (Ross D. Franklin)

"President Trump – we know where he stands on energy. But voters deserve to know what the vice president's philosophy is, and just articulating support of hydraulic fracturing is not enough. There are a lot of questions that voters deserve to have answers to."

A spokesperson for the Harris campaign told Fox News Digital that the vice president has been clear on where she stands on the issue.

"Vice President Harris was proud to cast the tie-breaking vote on the largest ever investment to address the climate crisis and under the Biden-Harris administration, America is more energy secure than ever before with the highest domestic energy production on record. The Biden-Harris administration ignited an American manufacturing boom and created 300,000 energy jobs, while Trump lost nearly a million, and his Project 2025 would undo the enormous progress we’ve made the past four years. 

"Vice President Harris is focused on a future where all Americans have clean air, clean water and affordable, reliable energy, while Trump's lies are an obvious attempt to distract from his own plans to enrich oil and gas executives at the expense of the middle class," the campaign told Fox.

Aubrie Spady is a Writer for Fox News Digital.