Republicans and Democrats are sharply divided on energy

• A Pew Research Center poll found a significant partisan divide on energy issues, with Democrats favoring renewables and Republicans supporting fossil fuels and nuclear power.
• Nuclear power has the narrowest partisan gap, with about two-thirds of Republicans and half of Democrats supporting its expansion.
• The partisan divide is reflected in the energy policies of the 2024 presidential candidates, with Trump focusing on energy independence and fossil fuels and Harris advocating a clean energy transition.

Energy and climate problems have long was a divisive point in American politics, Democrats generally believe in investing in renewable energy sources, while Republicans are more supportive of expanding large-scale energy production, including the use of fossil fuels and nuclear power.

This view, via Kayla Zhu of Visual Capitalist, Events the share of Democratic (and Democratic) and Republican (and Republican-leaning) American adults who favor the expansion of various energy sources in the United States.

The numbers come from a Pew Research Center survey of more than 8,500 US adults, conducted in May 2024.

What energy sources do Democrats and Republicans support?

Nuclear power has the smallest partisan gap of any energy source (18 percentage points). About two-thirds of Republicans support expanding nuclear power, compared to about half of Democrats.

Overall, 56% of American adults polled support the expansion of nuclear power in America.

Democrats are much more supportive of expanding renewable energy sources such as solar and wind compared to Republicans, while Republicans are more supportive of fossil fuels such as oil and coal.

Coal mining has the largest partisan gap at 48 percentage points, with only 16 percent of Democrats favoring coal expansion compared to 64 percent of Republicans.

2024 US Presidential Candidates’ Energy Policies

This energy divide is reflected in the positions of the 2024 presidential candidates on energy policy, which largely fall along party lines.

Republican presidential candidate and former president Donald Trump has promised to issue fast approvals for nuclear power plants, while focusing on energy independence and stopping energy-based inflation by increasing the use of fossil fuels.

Democratic candidate and current Vice President Kamala Harris has historically been a strong supporter clean energy transition and was an early sponsor of the Green New Deal when he was a senator.

By Zerohedge.com

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