Half of Americans who voted in the mid-term elections said concern about global warming made a difference in who they voted for on Election Day 2006, according to a recent Zogby International post-election survey.
85% of these voters who felt global warming was important cast their votes for Democratic Congressional candidates, including 48% of Independents and 7 percent of Republicans.
A a solid majority (58%) of voters agreed their elected officials “should make combating global warming a high priority.” 75% of Americans who voted in the mid-term elections say the “U.S. Congress should pass legislation promoting renewable and alternative energy sources as an effective way to reduce global warming pollution.”
“Global warming was overshadowed in this election by the dominant issue of Iraq,” said John Zogby. “But exit polling shows that global warming was a sleeper issue that may have snuck up on politicians in close races. Global warming was most influential among Latinos and youth two constituencies that helped propel Democratic gains. There are also signs that global warming may be eroding support for Republicans among religious voters. Looking ahead, politicians in both parties ignore this issue at their peril.”
Global warming concerns were strongest among Hispanic voters, with 62% saying global warming was important in their voting. Overall, the post-election survey showed that fewer Hispanic voters voted for Republicans in 2006 than voted for George Bush in 2004.
Concerns about global warming were also stronger among voters under 30, with 58% of youth saying a candidate’s position on global warming was important to their vote. A strong youth turnout in this election, with 61% of voters aged 18-29 voting Democratic, also contributed to Democratic gains. Turnouts of under-30 voters increased by 2 million voters compared to the 2002 mid-term elections.
50% of Catholics identified global warming as important in their 2006 vote. Overall, 49% of Catholics voted for Democrats, up from 45% support for Kerry in 2004. A smaller number of Protestants 41% – considered global warming significant, but even small losses of support among this Republican base may have contributed to Democratic gains given the number of races decided by small margins. According to the post-election survey, 44% of Protestants voted for Democrats, up from 38% for Kerry in 2004.
The global warming questions for Zogby’s independent post-election survey were commissioned by the National Wildlife Federation. The national Zogby Interactive poll surveyed 19,356 adults and contained a margin of error of +/- 0.7 percentage points.
Loading...