Voters Overwhelmingly Supportive of Natural Gas. Democratic Candidates Can Take Advantage.

Others remain silent and risk missing out on a potent electoral issue and tool for quickly decarbonizing emissions.

With the 2024 U.S. elections just two months away, candidates have limited time to engage with voters and take a stance on several critical issues, including the direction of energy and climate policy.

While Democrats have largely avoided public support for natural gas this election cycle, the recent presidential debate hosted by ABC News reinforced the bipartisan backing of this vital American resource. During the debate, Vice President Kamala Harris highlighted her work to invest in a diversity of energy sources including increasing “domestic gas production to historic levels.” While her remarks indicate a growing understanding of where voters are on the issue, the evidence suggests that adopting a more outwardly supportive position on natural gas will help her develop inroads with a majority of voters in both parties.

As the election draws nearer, Harris and the Democratic party have an opportunity to unite voters by being vocal about opportunities to use U.S. natural gas as a proven and widely popular decarbonization tool in the energy transition.

Jumpstarted by the U.S. shale boom, natural gas has been a key factor in reducing domestic emissions over last several years, and was once again the largest driver behind U.S. energy sector emissions reductions in 2023. Meanwhile, it has also served as an economic and job-creation engine in states like Pennsylvania.

A recent nationwide poll conducted by Impact Research and commissioned by the Partnership to Address Global Emissions (PAGE) shows that voters overwhelmingly support natural gas. In fact, 69% of voters, including most Democrats, support increasing natural gas production.

“The path to victory is clear: voters support natural gas, and lawmakers who have heeded public opinion have overwhelmingly been successful in their elections.”

The poll found that voters are increasingly pragmatic about the energy transition and the role of cleaner fuel sources such as natural gas. 76% of voters and 80% of Democrats want the country to move steadily to clean energy, using all available options, including natural gas, to keep energy affordable and reliable.  

A winning issue for politicians and the environment

This recent polling is not an anomaly. The last several years have also proven that supporting natural gas is a winner at the ballot box, particularly for Democrats.

Lawmakers who publicly back this position include Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), a proponent of natural gas production, who has claimed that "climate change is an existential threat, but we must transition in a way that preserves the union way of life for thousands of workers currently employed or supported by the natural gas industry in Pennsylvania and the communities where they live."

In 2022, Fetterman vocally supported natural gas and won a hotly-contested Senate seat in a year when Republicans expected to make significant legislative gains. Two years after prevailing in this election, Fetterman holds a net +7% approval rating, according to a New York Times/Siena poll.

Besides Fetterman, Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) has found similar electoral success. Bennet, now a three-term Senator, believes "it's been very important for American liquified natural gas (LNG) to replace the natural gas Russia was sending to Europe." The results showed in the 2022 midterms, where Bennet secured his reelection by 14.6%.

In the House, Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) – also a strong proponent of exporting U.S. LNG to our allies overseas – represents one of the most competitive districts in the country. Nevertheless, Golden triumphed in 2020 despite Donald Trump winning the district by 11% that same year. And in 2022, Golden was reelected by 6.2%.

The Time to Champion Decarbonization is Now

The path to victory is clear: voters support natural gas, and lawmakers who have heeded public opinion have overwhelmingly been successful in their elections. By contrast, pursuing overly ambitious climate policies at the expense of proven solutions can have election consequences.

As we saw in Europe this summer, voters are willing to vote against policymakers who do not prioritize energy affordability, reliability, and security. As a result, pragmatic energy proponents made significant electoral gains across the EU's parliamentary elections.

The bottom line is that natural gas is an effective climate solution, and policymakers can openly support sensible energy policies to help them align with voters.  

PAGE Launches Ad Campaign Showing that Natural Gas is Broadly Supported by Voters Across Party Lines

WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 18, 2024) – The Partnership to Address Global Emissions (PAGE) this month launched a new D.C. advertising campaign highlighting recent polling results showing that voters, across party lines, support natural gas as an important energy source and want to see increased production of natural gas.

“Ahead of the 2024 election, it’s important for candidates, policymakers and their staff to understand where voters stand on critical energy issues, which rank among their top priorities this campaign season,” said Chris Treanor, Executive Director of PAGE. “Our ad campaign sends a clear message: a majority of voters support natural gas and want the energy source included as part of a steady energy transition.”

Targeted to Inside-the-Beltway energy policy leaders and elected officials, the WTOP radio, Massachusetts Ave, NE wallscape, and Capitol Hill mobile and digital billboard ads issue a call to action to visit www.listentovoters.com which reinforces the fact that natural gas expansion has broad bipartisan support, including:

Given this overwhelming backing of voters, policymakers should take the lead on positioning our country for a successful clean energy transition that reduces emissions, creates jobs, and strengthens the economy by supporting natural gas expansion.

The ad campaign will run through the month of July 2024.

About PAGE 

The Partnership to Address Global Emissions (PAGE) is a coalition of responsible energy companies, allied NGOs, labor unions and leading climate advocates dedicated to reducing global emissions by promoting U.S. policies that protect the climate, strengthen the economy, lower energy costs and bolster energy security through the production and export of cleaner natural gas. Learn more at https://www.pagecoalition.com/.

Download the Media Statement

Shying away from natural gas could cost candidates support in November

Pursuing perfection at the expense of the good would derail the climate progress we’ve achieved over the last several years 

Ahead of the 2024 U.S. elections, policymakers have only a few more months to make their case to the American people on how to address several critical issues, including the direction of energy and climate policy at the national level. 

Over the past two decades, the U.S. has made significant progress in reducing carbon emissions with the help of U.S. natural gas, which accounts for a substantial portion of the decrease. Additionally, the Biden Administration and Congress have successfully implemented a range of policies over the last several years to tackle the nation’s CO2 emissions further. 

Voters, including 80% of Democrats, want a steady transition to clean energy using all available resources.

However, rather than taking credit for these victories, some lawmakers have hesitated to voice their support for natural gas, fearing alienating voters and hurting their re-election chances. Ironically, for these policymakers, shying away from natural gas could do the reverse and hurt their re-election efforts.  

According to a new nationwide poll conducted by Impact Research and commissioned by the Partnership to Address Global Emissions (PAGE), 69% of voters, including most Democrats, support increasing natural gas production. 

Backfiring Ambition 

Pursuing perfection at the expense of the good could derail our climate goals and make it even more challenging to achieve the targets set out in the Paris Climate Agreement. Climate-focused policymakers who fail to voice their support for affordable, reliable, and secure energy policies that include natural gas could face disappointing results at the ballot box in November. In fact, voters – including 80% of Democrats – want a steady transition to clean energy using all available resources according to the poll. 

Policymakers encountered a similar scenario in 1993 when the Democratic-controlled House passed a large, broad-based BTU energy tax policy featuring then-President Clinton's high-profile public push. While the bill failed in the Senate, it nevertheless proved consequential in the 1994 mid-terms – Democrats lost 54 seats and control of the House.  

More recently, Democrats pursued an overly ambitious cap-and-trade bill in 2010—the American Clean Energy and Security Act. The bill sought to impose a market-based system that would set a ceiling on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while allowing companies to trade permits to meet these requirements.  

Much like the BTU tax, the cap-and-trade bill never made it through the Senate, mainly because an independent EIA study commissioned by Senate Democrats found that it would increase energy prices. This misfire provided campaign fodder for Republicans during the election cycle, and Democrats paid the price at the ballot box, losing a historic 63 House seats during the 2010 mid-terms. 

Democrats still have time to support a popular solution responsible for a large portion of U.S. emissions reductions.

Lessons for 2024 

With half the world's population holding elections in 2024, politicians would be wise to learn from the past and support a steady, pragmatic, clean energy transition using all available resources.  

As we saw last month, the EU's Green Party faced significant losses in parliamentary elections. In contrast, opponents of highly restrictive EU climate policies saw substantial gains in countries including France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Italy.  

These results indicate that policymakers were moving faster on climate initiatives, impacting affordability and reliability, than voters were comfortable with. These losses may result in a dramatic shift in EU climate policy in the foreseeable future.   

EP Elections: The Shape of the New Parliament

As U.S. policymakers look onward, they currently sit at a significant crossroads. They can either pursue overly ambitious climate policies that voters don't support or embrace a proven approach to tackling global emissions and ensure our energy security by supporting U.S. natural gas.   

Candidates still have time to support a popular solution responsible for a large portion of U.S. emissions reductions. However, the clock is ticking, and voters have shown little patience with politicians who fail to heed public opinion.   

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