By a nearly three-to-one margin, conservatives believe economic concerns should be placed ahead of environmental ones, according to a new survey.
The poll, conduced by NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist, showed that 72% of Republicans say the economy should be prioritized when it comes to policy, even if that means climate change issues get ignored.
That’s a steep climb from the last time the question was posed five years ago.
In 2018, 59% of Republicans had the opinion that economy should always come before the environment.
Conversely, but not surprisingly, their political rivals among the populace take the opposite stance by an even greater margin.
A total of 80% of Democrats said climate change should be prioritized “even at the risk of slowing economic growth,” a nearly identical result to the polling from five years ago.
Overall, 53% of Americans believe climate change is the more important issue of the two, with 44% saying the economy should take precedent.
Climate change led the overall vote five years ago as well, though it held a 58-34 percentage margin.
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