Rep. John Curtis’ quest for Utah’s open Senate seat is notable for one of the groups lining up on his side — a major national climate organization.

Curtis, who founded the House’s Conservative Climate Caucus, has won the endorsement of EDF Action, the advocacy partner of the Environmental Defense Fund, one of the most influential green groups in the country. It comes even as other green activists are lining up — as environmental groups more commonly do — on the Democratic side of the race.

His 17-point win over a Donald Trump-backed rival in June’s GOP primary put the four-term House member on a glide path to fill the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Mitt Romney. And it exposed a split in the traditionally Democratic-leaning environmental community over how to respond to GOP lawmakers who back action to fight climate change, despite the party’s overwhelming priority on promoting fossil fuels.

Curtis, a heavy favorite to win the general election in November, could be in a position to provide a crucial GOP vote against a gutting of President Joe Biden’s energy and climate policies during a second Trump administration. He voted against Biden’s massive climate law but has said he supports pieces of it and rejected calls for a wholesale repeal.

Unlike many other politically active environmental groups, EDF Action has frequently backed moderate Republicans or partnered with companies that other green activists shun. But Curtis was the first Republican it has backed in this year’s primaries, said group President David Kieve, the Biden White House’s former national director of climate and conservation engagement, adding that it has spent $100,000 for a radio campaign supporting him.

EDF has a history of “looking for opportunities to support good Republicans that align with us on a lot of our issues,” Kieve said, calling Curtis’ engagement on climate issues “authentic” and “results oriented.”

And he argued it was practical for EDF to get involved to assure the defeat of more hard-right-leaning candidates — especially since Utah’s Senate seat will almost certainly remain in Republican hands. The state has not sent a Democrat to the chamber since 1970.

In an interview, Curtis said he was “grateful for” the support from EDF Action, even though he did not seek out the group’s backing and is not “100 percent” aligned with its positions.

“I joke with some people, I am your least worst alternative,” Curtis said. “And so, if I am EDF’s least worst alternative, people should acknowledge it is what it is.”

Another leading green group — the League of Conservation Voters Action Fund — has endorsed Curtis’ general election opponent, Democratic nominee Caroline Gleich, an environmental activist and professional ski mountaineer. The group will devote resources toward defeating Curtis despite the fact he is heavily favored to beat Gleich, who has never served in elected office.

Craig Auster, the LCV Action Fund’s vice president of political affairs, said it’s a mistake to distinguish Curtis from other Republicans given his votes against Democratic-led climate initiatives — most prominently the Inflation Reduction Act.

Curtis has received a 6 percent lifetime score from the environmental group, although that rose to a high of 16 percent in 2022.

“What he is saying doesn’t match his voting record. Voting against the IRA — the biggest climate action ever taken — is not pro-climate,” Auster said.

Kieve acknowledged Curtis’ thin support for environmental measures in Congress but said Republican alternatives in Utah were far worse.

“I don’t want to go line by line on his voting record,” Kieve said. “But the Senate would be much better served with John Curtis there than his extreme MAGA opponent.”

Despite the involvement of national green groups, Curtis’ stance on climate issues was not a major factor in the primary, which was dominated by economic issues and immigration.

Utah Republicans frequently reject hard-right candidates in favor of moderates like Curtis and Romney.

Their views on climate change contrast sharply with the state’s other senator, Mike Lee, one of the Senate’s staunchest critics of climate science, who appears poised to lead the party in the powerful Energy and Natural Resources Committee — possibly as chair if Republicans win control of the Senate.

Curtis has previously defended his decision to stick with Republicans in voting against the IRA by criticizing Democrats for using the partisan reconciliation process that allowed them to pass it with a simple majority in the Senate.

He notes he has supported individual pieces of the sprawling climate bill, such as tax incentives for carbon capture, nuclear and hydrogen projects. And Curtis has pushed back against calls from Trump and other Republicans to repeal the law, acknowledging that GOP states and districts are reaping the benefits of it in the form of tens of billions of dollars in planned investments by companies into renewable energy, battery and electric vehicle projects.

Curtis, in the interview, also dismissed the importance of LCV opposing him, suggesting the group’s decision is representative of its partisan leanings.

“I have become so comfortable with my message that if there are some groups who don’t like it … great,” Curis said. “What I find is the more thoughtful people don’t land there. And the more thoughtful you are, the more influence you are going to have in bringing this [climate change] to be a non-partisan issue and making progress.”

On the trail, Curtis defended his engagement on climate issues by arguing Republicans would have no platform to compete with Democratic policies he says would lead to the demise of fossil fuels — which are still dominant in his district and state despite greater awareness among voters about warming impacts.

“It didn’t become the central point of the campaign,” Curtis said.

That means some observers — including other Republicans in Congress active on climate issues — were cautious about drawing conclusions from Curtis’ primary win.

“I don’t know whether I can read that much into it,” said Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.), a vice chair of the Conservative Climate Caucus.

Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.), who recently announced he won’t run for reelection after being ranking member of Democrats’ Select Committee on the Climate Crisis in 2019, noted that Curtis already has a firmly established reputation in Utah that helped him.

“John is a really thoughtful guy, somebody who really digs into issues, tries to figure out what’s the right thing to do — in some cases putting political implications aside,” Graves said. “There are obviously much more broad issues that affect that state [other than climate change].”

Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), a colleague of Curtis’ on the House Natural Resources Committee, said he was “pleased” to see Curtis defeat further-right candidates in the primary.

“Curtis is by the standards of the modern Republican Party as good as you get,” Huffman said.

But he’s skeptical other Republicans will draw conclusions from Curtis being successful while leaning into climate action.

“I don’t think anyone can read some great thawing of climate denial into this. It’s still thick in the Republican party ecosystem,” Huffman said.

President Joe Biden’s first televised interview since last week’s debate meltdown did little to stop the bleeding.

Members of Congress and top Democratic operatives told POLITICO shortly after Biden’s sit down with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos aired that the president was more energetic and forceful than he was on stage during last week’s showdown with Donald Trump — but it likely won’t be enough to tame the panic.

And many were shocked by the president’s blatant denial about his standing in the race, and his repeated dismissal of his party’s widespread concerns. It’s an approach some Democrats described as “dangerous.”

“He was more animated and made a strong case for what he has done. But the question the debate raised is about his fitness for the next four years, not his performance in the past four years,” said David Axelrod, the longtime Democratic operative who helped lead Barack Obama’s presidential campaigns. “And he simply doesn’t acknowledge that concern. He also is in denial about where he is in this race.”

A House Democrat, granted anonymity to speak candidly, said: “Denial of the problem is not a solution or a path forward to convincing our constituents that he has the capacity or the vision for four more years.”

And another Democratic operative who has advised the White House called the interview a “stay of execution” but added that the president’s “acceptance of losing to Trump as long as he tried his best will make his hand significantly worse with every Democratic office holder who does not want to lose their seat.”

The freakout inside the Democratic Party has continued to metastasize in recent days. Few Democratic strategists believe the president’s interview on Friday will stem the onrush of Democratic incumbents and candidates who will call for Biden’s ouster. Already, four members have said they believe Biden should step down as the nominee, and another two have said they don’t believe Biden can beat Trump. And when Congress reconvenes next week, many in the party are bracing for more defectors.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is set to meet Sunday afternoon virtually with Democratic ranking members of committees to discuss mounting concerns over Biden, according to two people familiar with the situation who were granted anonymity to speak freely about the meeting. And Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) has approached Senate Democrats to organize a discussion on Biden’s path forward. Both chambers of Congress will be back in Washington from their Fourth of July recess for votes Monday evening, when Democratic leaders will inevitably have to address the topic in person with rank-and-file members.

“Democrats have spent the last few days trying to give him space and grace,” said a former Biden administration official. “Because he’s digging in, we’re seeing an effort to take it up a notch or two. And that should be more worrying to the Biden operation than anything.”

The ABC interview was framed by some Biden allies as a pivotal opportunity for the president to convince his party that he’s up to the task. It came as polls show him in his worst electoral position of the 2024 election, as more voters than ever have an unfavorable opinion of Biden, believe he’s too old to run again and want someone else to lead the Democratic ticket.

A defiant Biden held a campaign event in Wisconsin on Friday before recording the interview. He repeatedly said on Friday — at his event, on social media, during the interview and in fundraising emails — that he wasn’t dropping out of the race, and he used the ABC interview to dismiss his devastatingly low polling numbers and growing pleas for him to step aside.

“If the Lord Almighty came down and said, ‘Joe, get out of the race,’ I’d get out of the race,” Biden said. “The Lord Almighty’s not coming down.”

Biden’s repeated dismissals and refusal to seriously address concerns about his age and mental acuity struck many Democrats watching the interview closely. A Democratic official who worked on Biden’s 2020 campaign said it appears Biden’s team “isn’t being straight with him, and that’s dangerous.”

And Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) said she particularly found Biden’s answer about taking a cognitive test unnerving.

“I found the answer about taking a cognitive test every day to be unsettling and not particularly convincing, so I will be watching closely every day to see how he is doing, especially in spontaneous situations,” she said.

On the hill, Democrats have discussed gathering signatures for letters that would call on Biden to step aside. Those efforts are likely to pick up steam once they gather again in Washington. A growing number of Democratic members and operatives have said privately — and a few publicly — that they believe Biden will be a serious drain on their efforts to wrest back control of the House.

“I think the self-interest of the guys on the ballot will be what sinks him. Once people realize he’s going to take everyone down with him,” said an aide to a Democratic governor, granted anonymity to frankly discuss the situation.

The Biden campaign described Biden’s performance Friday — a rally in Wisconsin followed by his interview with Stephanopoulos — as “forceful” in talking points, noting that he answered every question, gave remarks to a over 1,000 supporters and answered questions from the traveling press pool, according to talking points obtained by POLITICO.

“Overall, the takeaway was clear: President Biden is clear-eyed and he’s fully in this race to win,” according to talking points circulated by the Biden campaign.

A handful of Biden allies came out forcefully in defense of the president. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) repeated Friday that Biden is the party nominee and that Dems need to “get a spine or grow a set.” Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) said Biden is “who our country needs,” while Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) shared the interview and said he can’t wait to help Biden “continue to take the fight to Trump and win in November.”

But their positive reviews did little to convince Democrats overall that Biden is well-situated to beat Trump.

Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) became the latest member of Congress to call for Biden to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race earlier Friday, joining his House Democratic colleagues Lloyd Doggett (Texas), Raúl Grijalva (Ariz.) and Seth Moutlon (Mass.).

“Your legacy is set. We owe you the greatest debt of gratitude,” Quigley said on MSNBC Friday evening. “The only thing you can do now to cement that for all time and prevent utter catastrophe is to step down and let someone else do this.”

Elena Schneider, Daniella Diaz, Brakkton Booker, Ally Mutnick, Eli Stokols, Adam Cancryn and Shia Kapos contributed to this report.

President Joe Biden unexpectedly joined a Zoom call with campaign and Democratic National Committee staff on Wednesday, mounting a new push to preserve the viability of his embattled candidacy, according to two people on the call.

Amid reports that Biden is privately acknowledging to allies that his candidacy is hanging in the balance, the president stated that he’s in the race for the long haul, though he conceded that the days since last week’s debate with former President Donald Trump have been damaging, according to two people on the call who were granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter.

“Let me say this as clearly as I possibly can — as simply and straightforward as I can: I am running … no one’s pushing me out. I’m not leaving. I’m in this race to the end and we’re going to win,” Biden said on the call.

Biden’s forcefulness and resolve, especially compared to how he came across during last week’s debate, was as reassuring to several attendees, who discussed the call afterward via text message, as what he said.

Vice President Kamala Harris, whose profile has risen in recent days as Democrats focus on her with new seriousness as a possible replacement atop the ticket, was seated beside Biden on the video call.

“We will not back down,” Harris said. “We will follow our president’s lead. We will fight, and we will win.”

The president thanked everyone working on his campaign and reminded them of what’s at stake. “There is no one I’d rather be in this battle with than all of you,” Biden said. “So let’s link arms. Let’s get this done. You, me, the vice president. Together.”

The Biden campaign has been trying to reassure staffers, donors and allies in recent days that the president’s campaign is not doomed after his disastrous debate performance. The president joined that Wednesday call amid reports of plummeting staff morale in the White House as well as his Wilmington campaign headquarters. He phoned top Democrats in Congress earlier Wednesday, and he was also scheduled to meet in the evening with Democratic governors — some of whom have traveled from across the country to attend the gathering in person rather than virtually.

Although most Democrats are still standing behind him, there have been some cracks in Biden’s support. Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) called on Biden to drop out of the race on Tuesday, and Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), a key ally of the president, said in an interview with MSNBC that he would back Harris if Biden steps aside.

On Wednesday afternoon, chief of staff Jeff Zients also held a call with White House staffers and urged them to tune out the “chatter” and “noise,” according to a recording shared with POLITICO. Zients argued that “there have been countless times that the president has been counted out,” but that he has “always seen it through.”

Some staffers had grumbled in recent days about the president’s senior team having not convened such a call earlier. Zients, in addressing the staff, said he’s eager to hear from anyone in the building when they have concerns or feedback.

Minutes after Biden and Zients wrapped their calls, The New York Times and Siena College published their much anticipated post-debate survey, which found that Trump now leads Biden 49 percent to 43 percent among likely voters nationally — a 3-point shift from before the debate.