Primary Voters Vault Climate to Top Tier Issue

2/14/19

New polling released today shows that addressing the climate crisis is a top priority for Democratic primary voters. In a still wide-open contest for the early states, only universal healthcare coverage rivaled climate solutions at the top of voters’ priorities.

On a press call today, pollsters Jill Normington of Normington Petts and Geoff Garin of Hart Research, detailed the findings of a poll conducted of Democratic primary voters in California, Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina. The poll was conducted for League of Conservation Voters, CAP Action Fund and EDF Action.

The chief findings of the poll include:

  • Addressing the climate crisis is a top tier issue for Democratic primary voters, shared only with universal healthcare coverage.
  • The Democratic primary for president is wide open with 77% of voters having not yet narrowed their candidate choice.
  • Taking action on climate change is a key motivating issue for Democratic primary voters in early states.
  • Having a plan to address the climate crisis is seen as essential and is a driver of vote choice.
  • Both the Green New Deal and Moving to 100% Clean Energy by 2050 are extremely popular ideas among Democratic primary voters in early states.
  • Voters believe that candidates who support these solutions to climate change are serious, forward-thinking candidates.

“As this new polling demonstrates, it’s very much a wide-open Democratic primary that will be decided by an electorate that strongly wants to see bold action on climate at the absolute top of the agenda,” said Pete Maysmith, SVP for Campaigns at LCV. “That is why we are embarking on a campaign, including being on the ground in most, if not all of the early states, to ensure that the eventual nominee has ambitious plans to act on the climate crisis on day one as president –because it is clearly already a priority for the voters.”