With Harry Reid departing as the Senate's most powerful Democrat, environmental groups are applauding his green record, mourning the loss of a key ally, and watching warily for who will take his place.
While Reid may not highlight environmental priorities as much as some of the most progressive members of his party, he has unquestionably used his position of power to call for action on climate change, push clean energy, and criticize the Keystone pipeline.
Chuck Schumer, a top strategist for Senate Democrats and the front-runner to succeed Reid, has not made climate change a heavy focus of his work in the Senate even as the topic has moved to the top of the green movement's agenda.
The New York Democrat, who leads the Democratic Policy and Communications Center, has focused more heavily on economic policy, immigration, and other topics, and he doesn't sit on the Senate's Energy or Environment committees.
RL Miller, cofounder of the super-PAC Climate Hawks Vote, said Schumer has shown only "sporadic acts of leadership." Miller named several other Democrats whom some in the movement would prefer to see lead the caucus in a "perfect world." Those included: Hawaii's Brian Schatz and Rhode Island's Sheldon Whitehouse, both of whom have been out front in discussing climate change.