Change the Climate 2020

NEW NEVADA POLL: Climate Change is a Defining Issue for Caucusgoers, Especially Latinos

Feb 12, 2020

Contact: Emily Samsel, emily_samsel@lcv.org, 202-454-4573

Las Vegas, NV — As national attention turns to Nevada ahead of the state’s February 22 Democratic caucuses, the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) and the Nevada Conservation League released results of a new Public Policy Polling poll of Nevada likely Democratic caucusgoers that finds climate change remains a top two issue for Nevada voters.

Among other findings, the poll shows that:

  • Nearly nine in ten (86%) likely Democratic caucusgoers think climate and the environment is a very important or the most important issue of 2020.
  • When deciding who to support, climate change remains a top two concern for voters, second only to health care.
  • For likely Latinx caucusgoers, climate change is an even more important issue than health care or immigration.
  • Nearly four in ten (38%) believe candidates are not talking enough about climate change, while 41% said candidates were talking about the issue the right amount.

Full poll results below and linked here. A memo summarizing the results can be found in English here and in Spanish here.

Since early 2019, LCV’s Change the Climate 2020 program has called on every presidential candidate to prioritize addressing the climate crisis and its outsized impact on low-income communities and communities of color beginning on day one as president.

In Nevada, LCV and its organizing program Chispa Nevada have partnered with the Nevada Conservation League to invest in earned and paid media, track candidate policies and statements, and tell the stories of Nevadans impacted by climate change. Chispa Nevada and the Nevada Conservation League have also hosted bilingual caucus trainings for climate voters and urged their members to engage directly with all candidates and their campaigns.

“Nevadans know that 2020 is our last and best chance to confront the climate crisis and are looking for a nominee who is committed to taking immediate action,” said Andy Maggi, Executive Director of the Nevada Conservation League. “That’s why climate champions have been elected up and down the ballot in Nevada and why our state is leading in this fight. As candidates campaign in Nevada, they must continue talking about their climate plans with voters and learning from our clean energy and sustainability leaders how we can solve this crisis together.”

“Latinx communities are hit first and hardest by climate, so it’s not surprising to see that climate change is the most important issue for Nevada Latinx voters in deciding who to support for president,” said Rudy Zamora, program director of Chispa Nevada, an organizing program of LCV. “Latinx voters want the next president to have a strong climate plan. If 2020 candidates want to win the Latinx vote in Nevada, they must understand the relationship that our communities have with our environment and make it a priority to address climate injustices.”

For more information on LCV’s work to elevate the climate crisis in the Democratic presidential primary, visit the Change the Climate 2020 website.

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