Voters in Battleground Congressional Districts Support Investments in Climate and Clean Energy
By Danielle Deiseroth
This week, the House of Representatives is taking a pivotal vote to advance the $3.5 trillion budget resolution recently passed by the Senate. However, nine Democratic members of Congress have indicated they will not consider the budget proposal until the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passes the House and is signed into law by President Biden.
In an August 2021 survey of voters in CA-16, GA-07, HI-01, ME-02, NJ-05, OR-05, TX-15, TX-28, and TX-34, Data for Progress and Climate Power assessed the attitudes of likely voters in these nine congressional districts towards the Build Back Better agenda. We find that voters in these districts overwhelmingly support the Build Back Better budget plan and are less likely to vote for a candidate who opposes it. Moreover, while voters in these districts widely support the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, they also want lawmakers to pass additional investments to address climate change, transition to clean energy, and reduce pollution. This indicates clearly that voters are paying attention, see these key policy pillars as linked, and that Congress must take swift action to advance both measures.
First, we asked voters in these nine districts whether they support or oppose the recently-passed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. By a +46-point margin, voters support this proposal (70 percent support, 24 percent oppose). The bill enjoys support from nearly all Democrats (93 percent support), a majority of Independents (68 percent support), and roughly half of Republicans (48 percent support).
While voters in these nine districts broadly back the bipartisan infrastructure plan, they also think lawmakers in Congress should make additional investments to tackle climate change and extreme weather, create clean energy jobs, and reduce pollution. Two-thirds of voters in these districts (66 percent) think it is “Very” or “Somewhat” important that lawmakers in Congress make these additional investments. Again, nearly all Democrats (97 percent) and a majority of Independents (64 percent) think it is “Very” or “Somewhat” important that Congress takes additional action beyond the bipartisan plan.
Next, we asked voters in these nine districts whether they support or oppose the $3.5 trillion “Build Back Better” budget reconciliation package recently proposed by Senate Democrats. By a +30-point margin, voters support this plan (63 percent support, 33 percent oppose). The plan enjoys an overwhelming +91-point margin of support among Democrats, and a +11-point margin of support among Independents. Additionally, the proposal enjoys support from over a third of Republicans (35 percent support).
Given the significant popularity of the Build Back Better budget proposal, voters in these nine districts say they are less likely to vote for candidates who oppose the plan. Half of voters say they are less likely to vote for candidates who oppose the Build Back Better agenda, including over two-thirds of Democrats (67 percent less likely) and a plurality of Independents (45 percent less likely).
Lastly, we asked voters in these nine districts if they think Democrats in Congress should use their majority to pass the Build Back Better agenda. By a +7-point margin, voters agree that Democrats should use their majority to pass the budget proposal, even if no Republicans support it. A majority of Democrats (87 percent) and 42 percent of Independents agree that Democrats should take action even without Republican support.
As lawmakers in Congress return to Washington, D.C. this week, they should feel confident voting to advance the Build Back Better agenda given its popularity among voters nationwide. The nine members who plan to vote against advancing the plan through the budget reconciliation process should keep in mind that voters in their districts support it by a +30-point margin and are less likely to vote for a candidate who opposes it. As these lawmakers look ahead to next year’s midterm elections, they would be wise to pass — not impede — President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda.
Danielle Deiseroth (@danielledeis) is the Senior Climate Data Analyst at Data for Progress.
Survey Methodology:
From August 20 to 22, 2021, Data for Progress conducted a survey of 713 likely voters in NJ-5, GA-7, TX-34, ME-2, TX-28, TX-15, HI-1, CA-16, and OR-5 using SMS and web panel respondents. The sample was weighted to be representative of likely voters by age, gender, education, race, and voting history. The survey was conducted in English. The margin of error is ±3 percentage points.