New polling shows that Democrats using their majorities in Congress in order to pass meaningful climate legislation could be a huge boon for their party in upcoming midterm elections.
Climate Power and Data for Progress conducted a poll of more than 1,100 likely voters. The results were overwhelming. nearly half of voters – about 46 percent – say that they would be “much more” or “somewhat more” likely to vote for Democratic candidates this fall if Congress passed a clean energy bill to address the climate crisis, including 75 percent of self-declared Democrats and 45 percent of independents. About 31 percent of voters said that such an action wouldn’t affect their choice.
The poll finds that passing climate legislation would also help Democrats court younger voters – a group from which President Joe Biden has been losing supportIn recent months. Among poll respondents under 45 years old, 58 percent say that they’d be more likely to vote for Democrats this fall if they acted on climate, while 27 percent say it wouldn’t affect their choice.
These findings suggest that Democrats need to act quickly to pass legislation to expand and fund clean energy production in the United States to preserve their position in the House of Representatives and the Senate. Most pollsters currently predictThe Democrats will lose the House to Republicans at most in November.
“[L]awmakers have a mandate from voters to invest in domestic clean energy production and voters agree these investments will increase America’s energy security,” Data for Progress’s Danielle Deiseroth writes of the findings. “Voters recognize that climate change is not something that will happen in the distant future, but rather is happening now and even in their own backyards.”
A majority of voters believe Congress should invest in clean electricity. A whopping 90 percent of poll respondents said that they’d support the issue in order to address energy shortages caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, including an overwhelming majority of people from across the political spectrum.
Climate experts agree that the best way to reduce carbon emissions is to shift to renewable energy sources like solar and wind. only real wayTo achieve energy independence while ensuring public health and energy price stability.
International climate experts also concluded that major countries like the United States must drastically alter their policies to avoid the worst effects of the climate crisis. reduce their production and use of fossil fuels. If the U.S., and other large emitters, fail to rise to this occasion, it will spell disaster for the environment and society as we know.
Though Democrats don’t have enough votes to overcome a filibuster in the Senate – and would likely not be able to court enough Republicans, if at all any, to vote for clean energy legislation – the party could still take action through the budget reconciliation process on the issue. Reconciliation, which the party was planning to use for the Build Back Better Act last year, allows the Senate to pass legislation that’s related to the federal budget through a simple majority vote.
Democrats are currently in negotiations to reach an agreement. a new reconciliation dealBut, almost all of the content of that bill will depend on whether or not they get the approval from Sen. Joe Manchin (D.West Virginia), a coal baron. who is opposed toProvisions that would phase out fossil fuels. This may be related to the fact that Manchin’s career and personal financesHis stake in the coal industry has benefited him greatly.
These poll results add to the evidence that Democrats need to take bold and decisive action in order to win over voters this fall.
Previous Data for Progress polling foundThe polls found that about 45 percent of respondents in key battleground states would support student loan cancellation and that it would also give a generic Democratic candidate 6 points in support from young voters. Morning Consult/ did another poll last month.Politico FoundThe Democrats have lost ground among the child tax credit recipients since December’s expiration, suggesting that Democrats could win back these voters if the program is reinstated.
