Staff Reports
A poll released Wednesday by the Conservative Energy Network shows voters want candidates who back clean energy development.
According to the poll, 72% of voters think it is important for candidates to share their stance on clean energy issues and 68% say they would support a candidate who backs clean energy development.
Further, three-quarters of those polled said they would see congressional Republicans in a more favorable light if they embraced a conservative, market-based approach to clean energy policy.
Anecdotally, this trend was demonstrated in the Georgia runoff.
The sole conservative victor in the state on January 5 was Public Service Commissioner Bubba McDonald, an outspoken supporter of solar power known as the “Godfather of Solar” in the state, who outperformed other Republican candidates on the ticket.
“CEN polling shows that while voters overwhelmingly want more clean energy, they don’t want progressive policies that grow government and give environmentalists a blank check — policies like the Green New Deal,” CEN president and CEO Mark Pischea said.
“They want conservative policies applied to support the growth of our clean energy economy, and more and more they are showing support for the leaders who embrace commonsense, market-focused policy initiatives to usher in a clean energy future. I’m optimistic that opportunity exists for bi-partisan solutions that will generate enduring clean energy policy — particularly at the state and local levels.”
The CEN poll also found that 80% of voters want the U.S. to accelerate clean energy development and 87% want more electricity competition, which would give people the choice of what companies they buy their power from.
Most voters, regardless of party, say the country should develop more wind, solar and hydropower capacity.
The CEN poll was conducted Dec. 16-22 by Public Opinion Strategies. The online poll received responses from 1,000 voters nationwide who said they cast a ballot in the 2020 election. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.53%.
