As midterms approach, some voters say climate change is more important than inflation in the long term

MILWAUKEE – Most voters in Wisconsin who spoke with Fox News said addressing climate change is more important than curbing inflation ahead of the November midterm elections.

“Climate change is going to affect our children, our children’s children,” Heather, from Green Bay, said. 

But Matt, from Milwaukee, said he cares more about lowering inflation as he feels the impact of price hikes every day. 

“It comes out of my pocket,” Matt said. “I pay for that, and it’s easy for me to pick out.”

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Nearly 80% of Democratic Wisconsin voters said climate change was the most concerning issue, an August Marquette University poll found. Inflation, which nationally hit a 40-year record-high of 9.1% in June, ranked sixth.

Climate change is “only going to get worse if we don’t act on it now,” London, from Milwaukee, said.

But 91% of Republican voters polled in the Marquette survey said inflation was their top issue. They rated climate change last. 

“I really don’t care about climate change,” Matt said. “It’s normal for temperature to change.”

But Christian, from Milwaukee, said Americans need to think about potentially drastic climate changes ahead in the next few decades. 

“If it’s already at 100 degrees it’s just going to go up from that,” Christian said.

U.S. cities reached record-high temperatures over the summer, ranking as the third-hottest season in history. The extreme heat the Pacific Northwest experienced was a once-in-10,000 years event and was driven by climate change, a UCLA researcher found.

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“I would lean towards climate change being a long-term problem,” Miles, from Wisconsin, said.

David, visiting from Texas, told Fox News: “Climate change is part of a more dire an issue of something that needs to be corrected while the other will eventually correct itself.” He said the U.S. recovered from heightened inflation in the past. 

Democrats across the country have implemented policies in an effort to slow climate change. Congress, for example, in August passed the Inflation Reduction Act, which included tax subsidies for electric vehicles. Gov. Gavin Newsom recently announced that California would ban the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035.

“Climate change is something that may be on a trajectory that there is no up and down,” David said. 

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But one man visiting from Florida said inflation is more important as it “determines the entire economy and affects every family.” 

While gas prices decreased slightly after surpassing $5 per gallon in June, grocery store costs, among other expenses, remain high.

“It’s critical that that be addressed,” one man said on high inflation. “Climate change is more of a long-term aspiration.” 

Heather told Fox News that voters shouldn’t have to choose if climate change or inflation is more important, as it’s critical for politicians to handle multiple dire issues at once.

“You don’t tackle inflation and ignore climate change,” Heather said. 

If the government can “only tackle one issue at a time than they probably shouldn’t be there,” Heather said. “We should probably elect somebody else.”