As with Project 2025, Huffman didn’t stay among lone voices for long. On July 21, Biden announced his resignation amid growing calls from Democrats.

CalPoly Humboldt politics professor Stephanie Burkhalter told The Press Democrat that acting independently was not unbecoming of Huffman. When he first came to D.C., he was a founding member of the Congressional Freethinking Caucus, which was dedicated to preserving the secular nature of American government. This, he noted, is a unique stance among politicians who often attack the Bible or tout religious beliefs when appealing to voters. He said Huffman remains the only openly atheist member of Congress.

When it came time for lawmakers to call on Biden to resign, “a super insider in D.C. probably wouldn’t have said that,” Burkhalter said. Huffman said he “plays the game a little differently and maybe more authentically.”

What’s new is that recent events have raised Huffman’s profile; already on the rise in the more progressive wing of his party, but mostly as a climate crusader. Huffman’s appointment to the Project 2025 task force showed the rapport she had developed with Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and was featured on cable news programs and national political stories due to her initial skepticism about Biden continuing in the race.

“I don’t act like a political prophet who always tells the truth,” Huffman said. “But in this election cycle and in this moment, given all these existential threats to democracy and a political trajectory that looks really bad, I think I found it right and felt like I had no choice but to be more public and more visible than I normally am.”

The North Coast’s other political science scholar, Sonoma State University’s David McCuan, thinks Huffman is poised for an ascent in a Democrat-controlled Capitol or a key position in a resilient minority party if Republicans win.

“”With Biden, you have a man who is at the forefront of change, and you have a man who is not afraid to challenge Trump and MAGA and be front and center of that,” McCuan said.

Huffman doesn’t shy away from the fact that she, too, has a lot to contribute personally to this election. He has served on the House Natural Resources Committee since his election to Congress in 2012 and is seeking to chair that panel. If Democrats take back the House, the current ranking Democrat on the committee is Tucson, Ariz., who is struggling with a cancer diagnosis. Its representative Raúl Grijalva will take part. Although Grijalva is running for re-election, he has stated that his next term will be his last.

Huffman called Grijalva a “great friend” and described the committee as a “very volatile” situation. “Hopefully he can come back 100 percent and we’ll see where that takes us. But I’m definitely interested in it,” he said.

Although the committee is home to several high-profile Democrats, Huffman “has the background, training and experience to lead,” McCuan said.

Because of her high profile on climate and environmental issues and her early support of the Harris campaign, some observers also wondered whether Huffman might be a good fit for a cabinet position in the new Democratic position. Huffman said these questions were “purely hypothetical.” But he added: “I wouldn’t be interested in anything. “I think I can be a little selective at this point in my career.”

Huffman’s next two years look very different if Republicans win the House of Representatives, or if Trump wins the White House even if they don’t.

“If we have a Harris-Walz administration, then I would work closely with them on big, bold climate actions,” he said. In the House Republicans would be doing this from within the minority once again.

And “If we have a Trump administration, it’s all about defense. “They will try to defend democracy and move forward against all rotten policies,” he said.

It wasn’t that long ago that Huffman. it was confusing With the Trump Interior Department led by oil industry lobbyist David Bernhardt, who today serves as president of the America First Policy Institute and who some say is on the sidelines to roll back Trump’s pro-extraction, largely deregulatory approach to the environment. Huffman described Bernhardt as “one of the evil geniuses on his side.”

The Biden administration has seen record oil production on federal lands and More drilling permits approved from Trump administration. Still, Huffman notes, some climate victories have been achieved, such as the massive subsidies for carbon reductions included in the Inflation Reduction Act signed into law in 2022.

That’s not enough to prevent the threat posed by climate change, Huffman said. “I’m nowhere near feeling good about where we are. It’s bad,” he said.

While Huffman pondered the dangers of Trump’s new environmental appointees, a river otter swam lazily in the lake. And when a reporter hooked up with a fish, Huffman guided him on how to land a largemouth bass. Noting that the fish was larger than the one the congresswoman caught, the Democratic Press photographer joked that perhaps Huffman should have lifted it up for a photo.

Huffman refused. “That would be…a very Trumpian thing,” he said with a laugh.

Despite the high stakes looming next Tuesday, Huffman won’t be spending Election Day anxiously refreshing news sites or monitoring X, formerly known as Twitter. maintains a living existence. The congressman has a tradition he continues on election day.

He will go fishing somewhere in his area.

Reach Staff Writer Andrew Graham at 707-526-8667 or [email protected]. Follow him on X (Twitter) @AndrewGraham88