‘Drill, Baby, Drill!’: 63% of Battleground State Voters Want More Fossil Fuels

Despite concerns about climate change, increased domestic oil and gas production is favored by a majority of voters in key “battleground” states in this year’s presidential election.

A new telephone and online survey by Rasmussen Reports and the Heartland Institute finds that 63% of Likely Voters in six battleground states would support a law that would reduce gasoline and energy prices by dramatically increasing oil and gas drilling in the United States, including 44% who would Strongly Support such a law. Only 29% would oppose a law to boost U.S. oil and gas drilling. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Support for increased domestic fossil fuel production remains high even though 51% of battleground-state voters believe Earth is experiencing a dangerous level of climate change. Thirty-six percent (36%) don’t think climate change is at a dangerous level and 13% are not sure.

“The majority of likely voters from battleground states want to see a dramatic increase in domestic oil and gas production in order to fix the energy crisis,” said Linnea Lueken, a Heartland Institute research fellow.

“It's notable that even among Democrats, who are the group most concerned about climate change, 44 percent say they strongly or somewhat support increasing drilling.”

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The survey of 5,605 Likely Voters in six battleground states (Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin) was conducted on July 5-12, 2024 by Rasmussen Reports and the Heartland Institute. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Among battleground state voters who believe the earth is experiencing climate change, 52% think humans are the primary driver of climate change, while eight percent (8%) say climate change is mainly from natural causes, and 39% believe both humans and natural causes are involved.

Nearly half (48%) of battleground state voters say they wouldn’t be willing to pay any additional tax money to battle climate change. Twenty percent (20%) would be willing to pay $50 a month in extra taxes to fight climate change, while 12% would be willing to pay $100 monthly, three percent (3%) would pay an extra $500 a month in taxes to battle climate change and four percent (4%) would be willing to pay even more. Fourteen percent (14%) are not sure.

Seventy-one percent (71%) of Republicans, 23% of Democrats and 50% of battleground state voters not affiliated with either major party wouldn’t be willing to pay any extra tax to battle climate change.

Eighty percent (80%) of battleground-state Democratic voters believe Earth is experiencing a dangerous level of climate change, an opinion shared by 24% of Republicans and 49% of unaffiliated voters.

Eighty three percent (83%) of Republicans, 44% of Democrats and 63% of unaffiliated voters in battleground states would at least somewhat support a law that would reduce gasoline and energy prices by dramatically increasing U.S. oil and gas drilling.

Majorities in every racial category – 61% of whites, and 68% of black, Hispanic and other minorities voters in battleground states – would support a law to increase oil and gas drilling.

Slightly more women voters (55%) than men (47%) in battleground states believe Earth is experiencing a dangerous level of climate change.

“Heartland's survey confirms what other surveys have also found," said H. Sterling Burnett, director of the Heartland Institute's Arthur B. Robinson Center on Climate and Environmental Policy. 

"More people support expanding oil and gas production in the country than are concerned about climate change, and few people are willing to pay very much to fight climate change. Nearly half of those surveyed said they would be unwilling to pay even a single penny in taxes to fight climate change, and, despite the media saying climate change is a top issue for voters and the president calling it the only existential threat to the planet, fewer than 20 percent of those polled were willing to have the government spend $100 or more of their tax dollars each month to fight climate change. In the end, it seems the public understands the issue better than a lot of politicians and mainstream media talking heads. They recognize that the country has more important things to deal with than climate change.” 

Although many voters believe the gunman who tried to assassinate former President Donald Trump was probably driven by mental illness, most Republicans blame the shooting on the rhetoric of Trump’s enemies.

While President Joe Biden claims it is only “elites” in the Democratic Party who want him to end his reelection bid, most voters agree with Hollywood liberal George Clooney that Democrats are doomed with Biden atop their ticket. 

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to the public as well as to Platinum Members.

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