Political impact of Hurricane Sandy
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In late October 2012, the
post-tropical cyclone A post-tropical cyclone is a former tropical cyclone that no longer possesses enough tropical qualities to be considered a tropical cyclone. The word may refer to a former tropical cyclone undergoing extratropical transition or a tropical cyclone ...
once known as
Hurricane Sandy Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as ''Superstorm Sandy'') was an extremely destructive and strong Atlantic hurricane, as well as the largest Atlantic hurricane on record as measured by diameter, with tropical-storm-force winds spann ...
made
landfall Landfall is the event of a storm moving over land after being over water. More broadly, and in relation to human travel, it refers to 'the first land that is reached or seen at the end of a journey across the sea or through the air, or the fact ...
in
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
. By the time it made landfall, it had merged with other storm systems. Though no longer a hurricane, the combined storm caused over $50 billion in damages and cost over 100 lives in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. The storm and its aftermath had several direct and indirect effects on the American political environment leading up to the 2012 United States General Election, in which
Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...
challenged incumbent
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
for the Presidency, but lost in his bid to unseat the incumbent.


Climate change

Many scientists say warming oceans and greater atmospheric moisture are adding to the intensity of storms while
rising sea levels Rising may refer to: * Rising, a stage in baking - see Proofing (baking technique) *Elevation * Short for Uprising, a rebellion Film and TV * "Rising" (''Stargate Atlantis''), the series premiere of the science fiction television program ''Starga ...
are making coastal impacts worse. Dr. Klaus Jacob of
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
, who contributed to the Responding to Climate Change in New York "ClimAID" report, explained the increasing risks. "''Let’s assume you need 8 feet of surge at current sea level. If you have an additional four feet by the end of the century, then you need only another four feet of surge to get to the entrance of the tunnels. So if you only need a storm that produces a four foot sea level surge, then flooding will occur much more often. Instead of a 100 year storm you can make it only a 5 or 10 year storm to achieve the same thing.''" In response to scientific concerns, Rep.
Henry Waxman Henry Arnold Waxman (born September 12, 1939) is an American politician who served as a U.S. representative from California from 1975 to 2015. He is a member of the Democratic Party. His district included much of the western part of the city of L ...
(D-Calif.), the top Democrat of the
House Energy and Commerce Committee The Committee on Energy and Commerce is one of the oldest standing committees of the United States House of Representatives. Established in 1795, it has operated continuously—with various name changes and jurisdictional changes—for more than ...
, requested a hearing in the
lame duck session A lame-duck session of Congress in the United States occurs whenever one Congress meets after its successor is elected, but before the successor's term begins. The expression is now used not only for a special session called after a sine die adjou ...
on links between
climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
and Hurricane Sandy, writing along with Rep.
Bobby Rush Bobby Lee Rush (born November 23, 1946) is an American politician, activist and pastor who served as the U.S. representative for for three decades. A civil rights activist during the 1960s, Rush co-founded the Illinois chapter of the Black Pan ...
(D-Ill.): "Hurricane Sandy is exactly the type of
extreme weather Extreme weather or extreme climate events includes unexpected, unusual, severe, or unseasonal weather; weather at the extremes of the historical distribution—the range that has been seen in the past. Often, extreme events are based on a locat ...
event that climate scientists have said will become more frequent and more severe if we fail to reduce our carbon pollution. That is why we are writing to request that you hold a hearing on the storm and its relation to climate change in the lame-duck session."


2012 United States presidential election

The storm hit the United States one week before the 2012 United States General Election and affected the various campaigns. As reported by the ''
Christian Science Monitor Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
'', "The day after hurricane Sandy hit the eastern United States, to devastating effect, a political debate is raging over whether Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney suggested last year the elimination of the
Federal Emergency Management Agency The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Exec ...
, or FEMA." For example, in a lead
opinion An opinion is a judgment, viewpoint, or statement that is not conclusive, rather than facts, which are true statements. Definition A given opinion may deal with subjective matters in which there is no conclusive finding, or it may deal with f ...
on Monday, October 29, editors at ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' summarized their view of Romney's primary position: "Mr. Romney not only believes that states acting independently can handle the response to a vast East Coast storm better than Washington, but that profit-making companies can do an even better job. He said it was 'immoral' for the federal government to do all these things if it means increasing the debt." Two days later, on Wednesday, October 31, Governor Romney's campaign released a statement on his behalf which said: "I believe that FEMA plays a key role in working with states and localities to prepare for and respond to natural disasters... As president, I will ensure FEMA has the funding it needs to fulfill its mission, while directing maximum resources to the
first responder A first responder is a person with specialized training who is among the first to arrive and provide assistance or incident resolution at the scene of an emergency, such as an accident, disaster, medical emergency, structure fire, crime, or terr ...
s who work tirelessly to help those in need, because states and localities are in the best position to get aid to the individuals and communities affected by natural disasters", but he did not explain what other federal programs would have to be cut from his proposed budget in order to pay for it. During this period Mitt Romney recast an October 30 campaign stop as a relief effort.


Role of FEMA

When Hurricane Sandy made landfall on October 29, 2012, ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' posted an opinion piece titled, "A Big Storm Requires Big Government". The piece argued that FEMA was needed in natural disasters and alleged that statements by Mitt Romney might be taken as supporting cuts to the agency. Romney refused to comment on ''The New York Times opinion of his positions. Some commentators had previously suggested that Romney's refusal to rule out cuts to FEMA (should
Paul Ryan Paul Davis Ryan (born January 29, 1970) is an American former politician who served as the List of Speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 54th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019. A member o ...
's budget plans be implemented) was evidence Romney plans to cut FEMA's budget by 20 to 40 percent. President Barack Obama has proposed a 3 percent cut.


Reactions to disaster response

New Jersey Governor
Chris Christie Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, lobbyist, and former federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. Christie, who was born in Ne ...
offered praise for the President and his reaction to the hurricane. The two of them also toured the areas of New Jersey that were hard-hit by the hurricane. Michael Brown, the FEMA director under President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
who resigned in the wake of criticism of the response to
Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
's destruction, criticized the Obama administration for doing too much publicity before the storm, contrasting it to their lack of response to the
attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi The 2012 Benghazi attack was a coordinated attack against two United States government facilities in Benghazi, Libya, by members of the Islamic militant group Ansar al-Sharia. On September 11, 2012, at 9:40 pm local time, members of Ansar al ...
several weeks earlier.
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
mayor
Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman, politician, philanthropist, and author. He is the majority owner, co-founder and CEO of Bloomberg L.P. He was Mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013, and was a ca ...
endorsed the President, citing Obama's reactions to the storm and his belief that action needs to be taken on climate change as reasons why. Republican political strategist
Karl Rove Karl Christian Rove (born December 25, 1950) is an American Republican political consultant, policy advisor, and lobbyist. He was Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff during the George W. Bush administration until his resignation on August 3 ...
indicated that the storm helped Obama politically before the upcoming presidential elections, by drawing the discussion away from economic issues, which Rove feels are Romney's strong point. He also said that it gave Obama a chance to be "the Comforter-in-Chief". MSNBC commentator
Chris Matthews Christopher John Matthews (born December 17, 1945) is an American political commentator, retired talk show host, and author. Matthews hosted his weeknight hour-long talk show, ''Hardball with Chris Matthews'', on America's Talking and later on M ...
got himself into trouble in the early hours of November 7, 2012 while offering his thoughts on the outcome of the presidential election after a long night of analyzing the election returns when he suggested that Hurricane Sandy was a good thing for the American political system. "I'm so glad we had that storm last week," he said, "because I think the storm was one of those things. No, politically I should say. Not in terms of hurting people. The storm brought in possibilities for good politics." Matthews later apologized.


Effect on campaigns

Following the storm, President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney stopped campaigning. Romney recast one of his planned rallies as a relief effort, raising money and supplies for victims of the hurricane. Meanwhile, Obama visited the headquarters of FEMA and the
American Red Cross The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desi ...
. It was feared Sandy would threaten campaigns in several states, especially by suppressing voter turnout for
early voting Early voting, also called advance polling or pre-poll voting, is a convenience voting process by which voters in a public election can vote before a scheduled election day. Early voting can take place remotely, such as via postal voting, or in ...
. ''
The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...
'' explained: "In this case, the weather is supposed to clear up well ahead of election day, but the impact could be felt in the turnout of early voters." However,
ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...
suggested that this may be countered by a tendency to clear roads and restore power more quickly in urban areas.


See also

*
Hurricane Sandy relief bill The Hurricane Sandy relief bill () is a law enacted by the 113th United States Congress, in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. The Act amended the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 to increase from $20.725 billion to $30.425 billion the total ...
*
October surprise In U.S. political jargon, an October surprise is a news event that may influence the outcome of an upcoming November election (particularly one for the U.S. presidency), whether deliberately planned or spontaneously occurring. Because the date f ...


References

{{Hurricane Sandy series Political impact
Hurricane Sandy Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as ''Superstorm Sandy'') was an extremely destructive and strong Atlantic hurricane, as well as the largest Atlantic hurricane on record as measured by diameter, with tropical-storm-force winds spann ...
Hurricane Sandy political impact Hurricane Sandy political impact
Hurricane Sandy Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as ''Superstorm Sandy'') was an extremely destructive and strong Atlantic hurricane, as well as the largest Atlantic hurricane on record as measured by diameter, with tropical-storm-force winds spann ...
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