Overlooked in Climate Politics: January 2024
Welcome to Overlooked in Climate Politics, the Environmental Voter Project’s monthly newsletter that gives you a quick rundown of 3 under-reported stories in climate politics. Please forward it to your friends (they can subscribe here)! In this edition, we spotlight a study on the impact of climate voters in 2020, the US Senate race in Utah, and how an Alabama utility is almost completely controlling local media coverage.
Study: Climate Voters Won the Election for Biden in 2020.
A new study from the Center for Environmental Futures at the University of Colorado Boulder analyzed large numbers of multi-issue polls and then used regression models to measure how the 2020 election would have turned out differently were it not for voters’ concerns about climate change. The study found that (a) controlling for other variables, climate-conscious voters “strongly prefer Democrats,” and (b) “climate change opinion probably gave the Democrats enough of an advantage to change the outcome of the 2020 presidential election in their favor, holding all else equal.”
Will Utah’s US Senate Race be about Climate Change?
Two serious, self-professed climate candidates running in Utah to replace Mitt Romney in the US Senate. In the Republican primary, Congressman John Curtis is stressing the importance of addressing the climate crisis, and although many activists counter that he opposed the Inflation Reduction Act and over-emphasizes the role of carbon capture, Curtis is certainly branding himself in a greener way than Republicans normally do. On the Democratic side, ski mountaineer, Mount Everest climber, and environmental activist Caroline Gleich announced her run for US Senate too, centering climate action and air quality in her campaign announcement. The Environmental Voter Project’s Executive Director, Nathaniel Stinnett, joined the Climate Now podcast to discuss the US Senate race in Utah as well as other climate politics news items.
How an Alabama Utility is Controlling its Local News Coverage.
Floodlight News has done some wonderful reporting on how Alabama Power has managed to influence its news coverage, almost eliminating local coverage of utility-related pollution or the nation’s highest electricity rates.
How You Can Take Action
Join the Environmental Voter Project on Zoom to mobilize low propensity environmental voters for the upcoming New York 3rd Congressional District special election! Sign up for our phonebanks using scripts proven to boost turnout: January 29th at 7pm ET / 4pm PT, February 6th at 12pm ET / 9am PT, and February 12th at 12pm ET / 9am PT. Training provided — please join us!
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