Voters Trust Harris More Than Trump to Handle Hurricane Relief and Want to Increase FEMA Funding
By William Diep
Hurricanes Helene and Milton are expected to cost the U.S. more than $50 billion in damages each. The back-to-back hurricanes have also brought new attention to how former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris might handle future storm recovery efforts, including their perspectives on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Last week, President Joe Biden and Harris deployed $860 million in aid to hurricane survivors and their communities.
In a new survey, Data for Progress tested voters’ thoughts on which presidential candidate would handle the climate crisis better, and gauged their opinions on FEMA funding in the aftermath of Helene and Milton.
Half of voters (50%) trust Harris more to handle climate and extreme weather disasters like the recent hurricanes Helene and Milton affecting the southeastern U.S., while 46% trust Trump more.
A plurality of voters (41%), including 52% of Democrats and 43% of Independents, think private corporations are the party most responsible for causing and accelerating climate change in the U.S. — even more than the federal government (29%) and private individuals (11%).
Six in 10 voters, including most Democrats (84%) and Independents (52%), have a favorable view of FEMA’s response to recent hurricanes.
More than half of voters (51%), including a plurality of Independents (48%), think the U.S. should increase funding for FEMA. Only 12% of voters think FEMA funding should be cut.
In line with similar findings regarding support for the proposed Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act, a majority of voters, including 90% of Democrats, 65% of Independents, and 52% of Republicans, would support Congress passing a “climate superfund” bill, which would require the biggest polluters to pay a share to confront the climate crisis. The money would go toward climate change intervention efforts, including additional funds for FEMA.
Broadly, these results show that most voters want to see increased funding for FEMA, support making big polluters pay their share to confront the climate crisis, and trust Harris over Trump to handle hurricane response efforts.
William Diep (@WilliamDiep6) is a communications intern at Data for Progress.