U.S. citizens should remember not to fall for the stereotypes of the political parties. In many ways, we lost one strong supporter in the Senate, gained a strong set of new Republican and Democratic Governors who are clean energy advocates, and are pretty much even keel in the House of Representatives.

Will the Republican leadership in Washington, DC grandstand on Keystone Pipeline? Yes. But can they succeed in undercutting the grass roots Republican clean energy support out beyond the Washington, DC beltway? No.

The two most-watched Senate races in the clean energy world were Mark Udall (D-CO) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH). Udall, who co-chaired the U.S. Senate Renewable Energy Energy Efficiency Caucus lost. Shaheen, who championed the bipartisan Shaheen-Portman energy efficiency bill, won. She sits on the Senate Appropriations Energy Water subcommittee and is a valuable ally.

A good win for clean energy is Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) who sits both on the Energy Water Appropriations Subcommittee and well as the Foreign Relations Subcommittee, which includes international environment. He is a stalwart supporter of clean energy and not a shy one either.

In the Governors races, we have strong support for the portfolio of clean energy technologies. I am relying on Craig Cox’s great research here. Cox is one of the authorities on regional renewable energy politics for decades.

Jerry Brown (D-CA) and Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) were re-elected and are very pro-renewable energy and energy efficiency governors. The list is way too long here to list all they have done — but they both have set solid records of expansion of clean energy in two of the most populous states in the nation. Iowa’s re-elected Governor, Terry Branstad (R) has solid clean energy credentials. According to his website, “Governor Branstad signed solar and wind energy tax credits into law in 2012 and 2014, respectively, and Iowa currently generates 27.4 percent of its electricity from wind–the highest in the nation.”

Colorado’s Governor John Hickenlooper (D) was also re-elected and his website states that he “supported renewable energy jobs” and offers the following:

John supports Colorado’s large and growing renewable energy industry. Colorado has the sixth-largest solar industry in the country supporting 3,600 jobs, and the state’s wind industry is tenth-largest in the United States. John signed legislation to cut red tape for solar technology and small hydroelectric generation, and he expanded the state’s renewable energy investment tax credits. In addition, he led efforts at the Western Governors’ Association to call on Congress to extend the federal wind program.

In Hawaii, David Ige (D) was elected, and he publicly states that “we must provide more options for customers to manage their electricity bills and to reduce cost by ensuring that all electricity customers have the opportunity to benefit from clean energy policies. I believe we can be a model of clean energy for the nation — and even the world — but we need the right kind of leadership.”

Incumbent Mark Dayton (D-MN) was also re-elected and he has a long history of support for energy efficiency and renewable energy from his first days as Governor, and incumbent Connecticut Governor Dan Malloy (D) is also an ardent and proven clean energy supporter with initiatives for renewables, energy efficiency and microgrids.

A rising star for Republicans on clean energy is Idaho Governor-elect C.L. “Butch” Otter, who is quoted on his website as saying: “There are few things more important to our long-term economic well-being than becoming more energy independent. A more secure and prosperous future requires protecting and empowering the generation and transmission of low-cost, reliable energy for sustainable growth and development — and more career opportunities for the people we serve.”

Further, the website explains that:

Governor Otter showed his keen understanding of the role of renewable and alternative energy resources — as well as the critical importance of improving Idaho’s energy transmission capabilities — when he created the Office of Energy Resources in 2007. It took the lead during the Great Recession in upgrading Idaho’s public schools to make them more energy efficient, and along with the Idaho Strategic Energy Alliance it has led the Governor’s charge for more industrial energy efficiency and development.

New Mexico incumbent Governor Susana Martinez (R) was re-elected, and she boasted that she “signed legislation to extend Sustainable Building Tax Credit for five years to provide incentives for consumers and builders to use energy efficient homes and buildings.”

Newly-elected Kansas Governor Sam Brownback (R), publicly supported the state’s renewable energy portfolio standard (RPS) and stuck by it during his public debates.

Oregon incumbent Governor John Kitzhaber (D) was re-elected, and he took clean energy credit by signing Senate Bill 692, which aligned Oregon’s energy efficiency standards for appliances with California and British Columbia; House Bill 2801, which expands market opportunities for energy efficiency and conservation by allowing utilities to invest public purpose charge funds in whole-building energy efficiency retrofits; and Senate Bill 242, which reduces the amount of coal in the state’s future energy resource mix to encourage investment in lower-carbon alternatives.