Poll: Voters won’t back climate skeptic in ’16

A new poll released Tuesday found that voters are more likely to support a presidential candidate in the next election who believes in human-caused climate change than one who does not.

The survey also found that most voters support the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposal to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 30 percent. 

{mosads}Democratic-aligned Public Policy Polling conducted the automated survey for environmental group Americans United for Change Monday, the same day the EPA released its proposal.

Researchers found that 46 percent of voters would not vote in 2016 for a candidate who does not believe in human-caused climate change, and only 38 percent would support such a candidate. Fifty-three percent of respondents support the EPA proposal, compared with 35 percent in opposition.

“The politics on this issue are pretty clear. Voters believe in man-made climate change, and they support President Obama’s new initiative to help deal with it,” PPP said in a memo about the poll. “Republicans risk putting themselves in an even deeper hole with independent voters by continuing to express their skepticism, and it has the potential to help cost them yet another presidential election in 2016.”

The poll zeroed in on Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), a potential 2016 presidential candidate who does not believe in human-caused climate change.

Fifty-six percent of voters trust scientists who believe in climate change more than they trust Rubio, PPP said.

Half of voters said they would vote for former Secretary of State Clinton, a Democrat who believes that climate change is caused by humans, if given the choice between her and Rubio, while 41 percent would vote for Rubio.