Democrats Face Debate Over Climate Messaging: Should They Talk About It?

Democrats are at odds over whether to make climate change a central part of their political messaging. Despite widespread recognition of climate change as a problem, many voters prioritize other issues at the ballot box, according to recent polling.

This debate has intensified in recent months, with centrist groups like the Searchlight Institute arguing that climate-centric messaging could backfire. In a report released earlier this year, the institute urged advocates and elected officials to avoid focusing on "climate" in favor of more pressing topics such as affordability and lower energy prices. The report concluded:

"While battleground voters overwhelmingly agree climate change is a problem, addressing it is not a priority for them."

Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego has echoed this sentiment, stating that climate change messaging can alienate voters. In a recent interview with Politico, he said:

"Honestly, it’s just so loaded. If our goal is to bring down our carbon footprint—try to restrain climate change—we need to win. And focusing on words versus outcomes, I think, is a real good pathway to losing."

The debate over climate messaging is further complicated by the broad and often confusing use of the term "climate" in U.S. politics. While climate change refers to the effects of rising global temperatures caused by greenhouse gas emissions, in political discourse, it has become a catchall for a wide range of issues. These include tax credits for solar panels, responses to hurricanes, the Green New Deal, disaster relief, fossil fuel extraction policies, fuel efficiency regulations, and federal funding for scientific research. This expansive definition encompasses both the problems caused by climate change and the proposed solutions to mitigate, adapt to, or address them.

Critics of climate-focused messaging often point to the Biden administration’s tenure as an example of how climate issues have dominated the agenda. However, Democrats have historically devoted relatively little attention to climate change itself over the past decade. Even during the 2020 presidential primaries, ambitious climate plans primarily emphasized the economic benefits of green technologies, such as job creation, outcompeting China, re-industrializing the Midwest, and reducing emissions. This approach was later incorporated into President Biden’s American Jobs Plan, which, due to negotiations with Senator Joe Manchin, was scaled down and refocused on energy-centric policies, culminating in the Inflation Reduction Act.

The shift in how Democrats discuss climate change can be traced back to 2018, when the party regained control of the House of Representatives. At that time, "climate" became shorthand in Washington for efforts to impose a price on carbon to reduce emissions from major polluters. Many of these attempts failed, largely due to opposition from polluting industries, including those funded by the Koch Brothers. Their efforts successfully framed "climate" as a partisan issue, deterring many lawmakers from addressing it openly.

As a result, Democrats largely abandoned attempts to pass climate policies through Congress for nearly a decade. When progressive groups and newly elected officials proposed the Green New Deal, it sparked further debate within the party about the best way to address climate change without alienating voters.