Location: Michigan

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls – including on hazardous air quality from the Canadian wildfires, battleground voters in Michigan and Nevada, and Michigan voters and Ford’s new EV battery plant.

The majority of registered voters in three battleground states (Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Michigan) support the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Majorities across all three states believe the IRA is good for their health, energy bills, and home energy efficiency. Bipartisan majorities support the IRA and Solar for All, but there is a large partisan gap: In each state, Democrats are about 30 percentage points more likely to support the IRA. Political and economic characteristics are important predictors of perceptions of IRA benefits: Democrats, middle/high income voters, and homeowners are more likely to believe the IRA’s appliance rebates benefit individuals “like you.” Voters are most interested in local investments in energy efficiency, public transit, and parks: 2 in 3 voters want to see local projects focused on improving energy efficiency in homes and commercial buildings.

Battleground voters in Michigan and Nevada have heard little about the Biden administration’s clean energy plan, but quickly warm to it in response to positive messaging. Proof points about reducing costs, creating jobs, and improving the grid are particularly persuasive. Majorities of Michigan voters say that President Biden (58%) and Democrats in Michigan’s government (55%) are doing “too little” to address climate change. Majorities of Nevada voters say that President Biden (52%) and Democrats in Nevada’s government (53%) are doing “too little” to address climate change.

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls – including new national polling on energy policy, the factors behind people’s climate views, and electric vehicles + new polling in Michigan on energy issues and the state’s climate plan.

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls – including new national polling on the Inflation Reduction Act, national polling on the Farm Bill, polling in Michigan about climate action at the state level, and a new survey of U.S. mayors about climate policy.

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls – including a new 19-nation survey about climate change, new national polling on climate acton, new polling about the Inflation Reduction Act in Midwest battleground states, and a novel new survey of video gamers’ attitudes about climate change.

Integrated, year-round community organizing is necessary to create people-powered political representation in the Midwest. Midwestern state economies have destabilized, and this has caused shifting politics, such as formerly Democratic or swing states now voting mostly for Republicans. This report dispels multiple myths about Midwestern politics, such as: some states swung irreversibly to the right; Midwest states can be won either by engaging only people of color, or by frantically chasing white Obama/Trump voters; retail politics can work in the Midwest by “treating” white voters with messages about the economy and Black voters with messages about race, while ignoring Native, Latino, AAPI, and other voters; and we can win Presidential, US Senate, or Gubernatorial races by dumping billions of dollars into paid advertisements each cycle, rather than building the human capacity to lead and govern. This report argues for intentionally, consistently organizing people into membership organizations, unions, and community institutions in order to move constituencies of people into political action and create political homes. Overall, this report argues for “state ecosystems” of democratically accountable movement groups to engage in electoral politics.