New Poll Shows Importance of the Outdoors to Voters Remains Strong and Intensified During COVID-19
June 24, 2020
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEJUNE 24, 2020 Voters call for bold ideas to protect public lands; oppose efforts to roll back environmental regulations DENVER—A new Winning the West 2020 poll released today by the Center for Western Priorities shows heightened support for public lands and conservation policies among the growing “outdoor voting bloc” that is critical to winning competitive elections in […]
Colorado voters prioritize outdoor issues when voting, advocacy group’s survey says
October 15, 2019
Coloradans will be focusing on public lands, parks and wildlife when voting in future elections, according to a survey released Thursday by the Center for Western Priorities, a Denver-based environmental advocacy group.
Western voters say they want protection, expansion of public lands
October 3, 2019
As the 2020 campaigns heat up, candidates who support public lands are likely to do better than those who back the Trump administration’s oil and gas agenda, according to a new Western state poll.
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Conservation Wins Western Voters in 2020
Throughout the West, public land conservation is a winning campaign issue.
Regardless of political party, Western voters identify with the region’s outdoor spaces and deeply value access for hiking, hunting, fishing, and camping. According to our post-election analysis, in the 2018 election, whether a candidate ran for governor, senator, or representative, those who showed support for the West’s outdoors, parks, and public lands had a leg up in connecting with voters. That trend looks only to intensify in the upcoming 2020 elections.
The Winning the West campaign provides polling demonstrating that connecting with Westerners requires striking the right balance on public lands, energy, and recreation issues. In recently conducted polls, voters in Mountain West swing states like Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Nevada, and New Mexico told us they disapproved of the Trump administration’s record on public lands and would support candidates who care about conservation and respecting the Western way of life.
See previous years’ polls2019 TOPLINES BY STATE
Click a state for more information and toplines.
Montana
62% of Montana voters believe we should protect new deserving land in the future as parks and national monuments.
60% of Montana voters support increasing access for hunting and fishing on public lands, including national wildlife refuges.
60% oppose increasing public land available for oil and gas development by reducing conservation efforts on behalf of potentially endangered wildlife, like the sage-grouse.
Nevada
79% of Nevada voters support increasing investment in the development of renewable energy sources like wind, solar, and geothermal.
65% oppose significantly reducing the size of national monuments.
67% support limiting oil, gas, and coal extraction on public lands.
Arizona
Arizona voters oppose removing restrictions on uranium mining near the Grand Canyon by a 2 to 1 margin.
79% of Arizona voters support increasing spending on public lands to ensure that our national parks, wildlife refuges, monuments and other lands have the necessary funding for access and maintenance.
76% of Arizona voters support requiring mining companies to pay taxpayers a royalty for extracting minerals on public lands.
Colorado
61% oppose opening public lands close to national parks and monuments for oil and gas drilling.
64% oppose rolling back environmental regulations on oil and gas development.
74% support increasing the royalties that companies pay to taxpayers for extracting oil, gas, and coal.
New Mexico
81% approve of increased investment in the development of renewable energy sources.
90% support requiring oil and gas companies operating on public land to detect and repair natural gas leaks in drilling equipment.
81% approve of reinvesting energy royalties collected from public lands back into the public lands themselves.
