Memo: Polling on The Green New Deal in Battleground Districts
By Julian NoiseCat, Director of Green New Deal Strategy at Data for Progress; Sean McElwee, Co-founder of Data for Progress; Emily Bello-Pardo, Senior Analyst at YouGov Blue; John Ray, Senior Analyst at YouGov Blue; Alissa Stollwerk, Director of YouGov Blue; Mark White, Senior Analyst at YouGov Blue.
In this survey of battleground congressional districts, we find that Green New Deal policies are popular. Focusing on the jobs and economic growth benefits of a Green New Deal is particularly effective, while messages about inequality are especially important to voters between the ages of eighteen and twenty-nine—a key demographic for Democrats. Grand framings that refer to a “space race” or the legacy of the original New Deal are less effective.
We also found that more ambitious emissions and investment timelines do not dissuade voters, suggesting that policymakers should feel comfortable advancing policies that meet the scale of the crisis. While an aggressive right-wing attack has had a measurable impact on public opinion, the Green New Deal remains popular in battleground districts. Every policy we polled that could fit within the broad, ambitious, and equitable agenda of the Green New Deal was popular. Encouragingly, our survey also suggests that there is still significant opportunity to educate and influence voters with positive messaging in favor of the Green New Deal.
