GOP backing for wind and solar is cratering, new poll shows
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New polling shows steep declines in Republicans' support for solar and especially wind power — data that lands as GOP lawmakers weigh bills to curtail incentives.
Why it matters: The Pew Research Center survey reveals Democrats' challenge in trying to exact a political price for scuttling IRA credits.
- If this poll is right, it doesn't look like ending the credits would create jeopardy with the GOP base — especially if these trend lines continue.
- But roughly 9 in 10 Democrats polled support more wind and solar, making renewables popular on an overall basis. That matters in swing districts.
The big picture: The poll of 5,085 U.S. adults — conducted from April 28 to May 4 — shows steep erosion in just five years among Republicans (see above).
- Support for wind, which President Trump especially dislikes, is under 50%.
- "Republicans' views on the nation's energy priorities are now the reverse of what they were in 2020," Pew said.
A few other data points from the wide-ranging poll...
Nuclear support is growing across the aisle. Sixty-nine percent of GOP and GOP-leaning respondents want to see more nuclear power, up from 51% in 2016.
- Among Dems and Dem-leaners, it's at 52%, up from 38% in 2016.
Pew highlights a wider GOP shift. Today 67% of Republicans surveyed say producing fossil fuels should be a more important priority than wind and solar.
- In 2020, 65% said renewables should be the higher priority.
There's a sharp divide on regulations, too. Seventy-seven percent of Republicans say it's possible to cut back environmental rules while still protecting air and water.
- Just 32% of Democrats have the same view.
What we're watching: George Mason University's Ed Maibach tells me that Pew's renewables results track with a soon-to-drop survey from the school's Center for Climate Change Communication and Yale researchers.
- "The erosion of support for clean energy among Republicans is almost certainly driven primarily by Donald Trump's, his administration's, Fox News' and other MAGA pundits' relentless bad-mouthing of clean energy," he said via email.
- "Relentless message repetition is the key to public communication effectiveness, even [when] the messages are factually wrong," said Maibach, the group's director and founder.
The other side: Republicans who are paring back hundreds of billions of dollars in IRA credits and grants for renewables, EVs and much more call them part of a "green new scam."
- Senate environmental committee Republicans, in releasing their portion of the budget plan yesterday that scuttles many grants, said it "promotes fiscal responsibility by rescinding taxpayer dollars spent through the wasteful and bloated IRA."
Of note: Responses from the entire sample of 5,085 adults has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.6%. For Republicans the margin of error was plus or minus 2.3%; for Democrats it was plus or minus 2.2%.
What's next: Senate Republicans could soften House plans to quickly end and restrict many tax credits.
- All eyes are on the Finance Committee, which writes tax policy and hasn't released its plan.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with the margin-of-error percentages for Republicans and Democrats.
