Jay Inslee is succeeding in raising the profile of climate change, if not in gaining traction in the Democratic presidential primary. Climate change has matched or overtaken healthcare and jobs in some polls as a top issue for Democratic voters, a trend for which Democrats give Inslee at least some credit.

“Inslee is doing the party, activists, the other candidates, and people who really care about climate change an enormous service by doing the legwork and putting thinking on the page,” said Julian NoiseCat, director of Green New Deal strategy at Data for Progress, a liberal group.