Voters in the US seem divided about the importance of climate change as midterm Election day is nearing. With Elections happening on November 8th, roughly half of registered voters say climate change is either “very important” or “one of the most important issues” in their vote for Congress.
Even though views on climate change tend to vary depending on political viewpoints, around 79% of registered Democrats find it to be an urgent problem or at least very important in their vote. That compares with 46% of independents and 27% of Republicans.
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What has changed from previous polls is that younger Americans worry more about Earth’s rapid warming, which is more likely to affect them in the future. Some of the consequences of fast climate change are raging wildfires, rising sea levels, stronger storms and droughts, and unpredictable weather patterns.
Polls also find that 69% of African Americans and 58% of Hispanic Americans are saying climate change is important in their vote which is more than white Americans (46%). The finding could be explained with research showing that communities of color are disproportionately exposed to dirty air, tainted water, and other environmental hazards.
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Climate change also comes close to the highest category of importance. 14% of registered voters say it is “one of the most important issues” in their vote, but that number is still below the economy (27%) and abortion (22%). It has a similar rating to immigration (14%) and crime (13%).
Democrats also lead in trust among voters to handle the issue of climate change as Republicans are still denying it and ignoring it as a threat.
