Hillary Clinton’s push for millennial voters involves embracing their concern for the environment.
Her plan is close to the norm for moderate Democrats; it “includes new funds for water infrastructure and parks; tighter restrictions on onshore oil, gas and coal extraction; and a reiteration of her opposition to offshore drilling in the Atlantic Ocean and Arctic Circle,” according to Newsweek.
The plan doesn’t sound like something that could swipe votes from Trump’s base. Nor is it designed for vote poaching. It’s designed to ensure Bernie Sanders supporters vote for her in November.
In a tight race, shoring up her support on the margin will be crucial to edge out Donald Trump. The Real Clear Politics poll averages since mid-May only give Clinton a 1.5 percent lead on Trump. Democratic turnout levels, then, need to be high.
It might not be enough.
In a Harvard poll, millennials were more concerned with “income equality,” “education,” and “national security and terrorism” than the environment. Millennials care more about environmental issues than older generations, but not enough to drive them to the polls. Clinton’s environmental plan might be a plus for Democratically inclined young Americans, but on the margin, the effect could be too small to matter.
“Donald Trump’s unequivocal embrace of business interests over the environment gives Clinton an opening to draw a dramatic contrast on the issue,” Emily Cadei wrote.
Other writers have argued that a Trump presidency would be a “disaster” for the environment. Trump has called the Environmental Protection Agency a “disgrace,” but said that “we’ll be fine with the environment.”
Like most of his positions, it’s unclear what he actually believes. As the Republican Party has embraced a Trump presidential nomination, he’s accepted establishment advisors. A Trump environmental policy, then, is likely to mirror GOP conventional wisdom.
With a millennial voter bloc unmotivated by environmental concerns, then, Hillary is back to her problem of attracting millennial voters. For her sake, Bernie supporters need to be so invested in the environment that they’ll overlook their other objections to a Clinton presidency.
