“Our generation grew up seeing the worsening of the climate issue while politicians did nothing.” That may sound like a quote from teen climate activist Greta Thunberg, but it’s the opening line of a new series of political ads airing in multiple states ahead of the 2022 midterm elections — ads that advocacy groups Climate Power Action and the League of Conservation Voters hope will tip the scales in favor of climate-focused Democrats.
Historically, however, climate change has not been a major political game changer. Even when candidates believed that their supporters cared profoundly about the environment, it hasn’t consistently altered votes. For example, in the 2020 presidential election, two-thirds of voters told exit pollster Edison Research that climate change was a “serious concern,” yet 29 percent of the same group voted for then-President Donald Trump, whose attitude on climate change was… contradictory… at best.
At first appearance, a $12 million ad campaign geared especially at boosting Democratic politicians’ climate change credentials seems to be a fool’s errand. However, despite the fact that the substance of these commercials clearly indicates that they are intended for a certain target — young voters who perceive themselves as part of a generation facing the costs of inaction on climate change – the ads aren’t even for all of them. Instead, the organizations supporting these commercials are attempting to attract a certain segment of young voters. Nonetheless, there are reasons to believe that, on such razor-thin margins, climate change might become a major concern.
