Climate change ranked last on a list of 20 concerns likely Iowa Republican voters want presidential candidates to talk about, according to a poll released Tuesday.
Eighteen percent of respondents said they want Republican White House hopefuls to discuss climate change as they head to the Hawkeye State to win favor at its caucuses, the Bloomberg Politics-Des Moines Register poll of likely caucus-goers said. That was far lower than the top issue, the budget deficit, which netted 94 percent. Breaking gridlock in Washington, the 10th-highest concern, netted 68 percent.
The figures come as Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., announced his presidential bid Monday. Graham has said he wants Republicans to figure out a platform on climate change, which most scientists say is driven largely by burning greenhouse gas-emitting fossil fuels.
But most Republican candidates question the conclusion that humans are the primary causes of global warming. Some, such as likely candidate and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, have said climate change is occurring, but how much humans contribute to that is unknown.
Environmental groups are trying to make climate change a wedge issue in the 2016 election by raising its profile to sway otherwise-reluctant candidates. While it is a low priority for Republican caucus-goers, 81 percent of Democrats said they want to hear candidates discuss it.
But the poll suggests that GOP candidates might ignore the topic altogether.
Taking an early stance on climate change could pose difficulties for would-be Republican nominees who feel the need to cater to conservatives to win primary elections. The poll suggests that the dynamic of appealing to conservatives over striking a perhaps more moderate, general election-friendly tone to attract independents is very much at play on climate change and in Iowa.
Big environmental spenders such as billionaire climate activist Tom Steyer’s NextGen Climate Action super PAC have been operating in the state since the 2014 election cycle. NextGen was particularly active trying to push climate change in hopes of elevating former Democratic Iowa Rep. Bruce Braley to the Senate. He lost to Republican Joni Ernst.
While climate change ranked last in the survey, 76 percent of Iowans wanted candidates to address energy. NextGen and other groups have contended that while climate change polls low, it is part of other policy debates and issue areas.
The poll included 402 likely Republican caucus-goers and 437 Democratic likely caucus-goers. It was conducted May 25-29 via telephone and carried a 4.9 percent margin of error for Republicans and 4.7 percent for Democrats.
