Environmental Polling Roundup – March 27, 2026
Headlines
The Economist + YouGov – Trump is hitting new lows in his approval ratings on the economy and inflation, as nearly nine in ten Americans agree that the war in Iran is increasing gas prices [Article, Topline, Crosstabs]
AP + NORC – Americans oppose escalation of the Iran conflict and don’t think that the stated goals of the war are as important as limiting oil and gas price increases [Website, Topline]
CBS News – Americans expect the war in Iran to have long-term impacts on oil and gas prices [Article, Topline + Crosstabs]
Gallup – Americans’ overall energy concerns aren’t spiking in the same way that they did at the outset of the Russia-Ukraine War; partisanship plays a major role in people’s evaluation of the current situation [Article]
Key Takeaways
Partisanship is shaping how Americans feel about the Iran conflict and the U.S.’s energy situation, but the impact on gas prices is undeniable. A new poll by Gallup finds that Americans on the whole are no more worried about the availability and affordability of energy than they were a year ago, and considerably less worried than they were following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
This counterintuitive finding is largely a result of partisanship: even amid the war in Iran, Republicans say that they are less worried about the availability and affordability of energy now than at any point under the Biden administration. Democrats, meanwhile, report greater concern about the country’s energy situation now than at any point under Biden.
The impact of the war on gas prices is clear to Americans, however, regardless of their partisan ties. Surveys by The Economist and YouGov and by CBS News find that nearly all Americans, including around nine in ten Republicans, agree that the Iran conflict is increasing gas prices.
While Republicans can’t deny that the war is raising their gas prices, they rationalize it in other ways. CBS News finds, for example, that Republicans are far less likely than Democrats or independents to believe that the cost impacts will continue in the long term. Further, the majority of Republicans (but few Democrats or independents) say that Americans should be willing to pay higher gas prices during the conflict.
Trump’s approval ratings on inflation and the economy are the worst they’ve been in his second term. The Economist and YouGov find that Trump is deeply underwater in his approval on inflation (-34) and the economy (-25). These ratings are as bad or worse than at any other point in his second term as Americans feel the economic pain of the Iran war.
As Americans look for solutions to the cost of living crisis, it’s important for advocates to keep directing the public’s blame toward the responsible factors (the Trump administration’s failed energy agenda, its war on clean energy, and corporations that are price gouging everyday Americans to pad their profits) and to present credible solutions (including both expanding clean, affordable energy and stopping price gouging by utilities and corporate polluters).
Full Roundup
The Economist + YouGov – Trump is hitting new lows in his approval ratings on the economy and inflation, as nearly nine in ten Americans agree that the war in Iran is increasing gas prices [Article, Topline, Crosstabs]
Trump is hitting new lows in his approval on the economy and inflation. The Economist and YouGov find that Trump is now 34 points underwater in his approval on inflation (30% approve / 64% disapprove) and 25 points underwater in his approval on the economy (35% approve / 60% disapprove).
Trump’s ratings on these issues were actually rebounding somewhat earlier in the year, but are now as low or lower than at any other point in his second term as Americans are feeling the economic pain of the war in Iran.
In YouGov’s weekly tracking survey of registered voters, the percentage saying that the economy is getting worse (57%) is also at its highest point since November 2022.
Nearly all Americans recognize that the Iran war is increasing gas prices. Roughly nine in ten Americans (89%) say that the Iran war is increasing gas prices, including more than two-thirds (66%) who say that the war is increasing gas prices “a lot.”
Even among Republicans, who overwhelmingly say that they still approve of how Trump is handling the economy (76% approve) and inflation (68% approve), nearly nine in ten (89%) agree that the war is increasing gas prices and most (53%) agree that it is increasing gas prices “a lot.”
Americans single out AI companies as a group that has too much influence in Washington. While the survey didn’t otherwise focus on the topics of AI or data centers, a question about the influence of various groups in Washington reveals how skeptical Americans are of the AI industry.
When asked to choose which groups “have too much influence” from a list of groups that lobby the U.S. government, more respondents selected AI companies than any other type of organization–including the gun lobby, pro-Israel lobby, and environmental groups:
- AI companies – 42% say that they have too much influence
- Gun organizations – 37%
- Supporters of Israel – 36%
- Religious groups – 29%
- Unions – 21%
- Environmental groups – 20%
- Supporters of Palestine – 19%
- Teachers – 12%
- Doctors – 8%
This finding is consistent with other public polling that shows that voters are wary of the Trump administration’s closeness to Big Tech and believe that the administration’s AI policies are geared more toward Big Tech than everyday Americans.
AP + NORC – Americans oppose escalation of the Iran conflict and don’t think that the stated goals of the war are more important than keeping oil and gas prices from rising [Website, Topline]
Americans say that the U.S. military action in Iran has already gone too far. Roughly three in five Americans (59%) say that the military operation has “gone too far,” compared to 26% who say that it’s been “about right” and just 13% who say that it has “not gone far enough.”
Democrats (90%) and independents (63%) are far more likely than Republicans (26%) to say that the U.S. military action has gone too far. Even among Republicans, however, there is very little desire to escalate the conflict as only one-fifth of Republicans (20%) say that the U.S. “has not gone far enough.”
Gas prices have surged to the top of Americans’ affordability concerns. Americans are now more likely to say that they’re “extremely” or “very” concerned about being able to afford gas (45%) than groceries (41%), electricity (35%), or their rent or mortgage payments (29%).
This finding mirrors recent research from Navigator, which found that more voters are feeling an increase in gas prices than in any other type of expense.
Americans don’t think that the U.S.’s stated goals in Iran are more important than keeping oil and gas prices from rising. Roughly two-thirds of Americans (67%) say that preventing U.S. oil and gas prices from rising should be an “extremely” or “very” important foreign policy goal for the country.
Americans say that preventing these price increases is even as important as preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon (65% “extremely” or “very” important), and far more important than preventing Iran from threatening Israel (39%) or replacing Iran’s government with one that’s friendlier to U.S. interests (33%).
CBS News – Americans expect the war in Iran to have long-term impacts on oil and gas prices [Article, Topline + Crosstabs]
Nearly all Americans agree that the Iran war is raising gas prices. Similar to what this week’s Economist-YouGov poll found, CBS News finds that the vast majority of Americans (85%) report an increase in gas prices in their area and nine in ten (90%) believe that the U.S. military conflict with Iran will cause U.S. oil and gas prices to increase in the short term.
Most expect that the impacts on oil and gas prices will continue in the long term, despite partisan differences. The majority of Americans (58%) believe that the conflict will cause U.S. oil and gas prices to increase “in the long term.”
This question reveals far more of a partisan split than the question about short-term impacts. There is little difference in the percentages of Democrats (94%), independents (91%), and Republicans (88%) who believe that the conflict will have a short-term impact on oil and gas prices as the recent spike in gas prices is undeniable even to the most hardened partisans.
Looking forward, however, Republicans are far less likely to believe that the conflict will lead to long-term price increases (27%) than Democrats (85%) or independents (61%).
Republicans are also much more likely to say that Americans “should be willing to pay more for gas during the U.S. military conflict with Iran” (64%) than Democrats (11%) or independents (27%).
Gallup – Americans’ overall energy concerns aren’t spiking in the same way that they did at the outset of the Russia-Ukraine War; partisanship plays a major role in people’s evaluation of the current situation [Article]
Americans’ overall energy concerns aren’t spiking in the same way that they did at the outset of the Russia-Ukraine War. Gallup finds that only around one-third of Americans (35%) say that they worry “a great deal” about the availability and affordability of energy, which is essentially level with the last times that they asked this question in March 2025 (35%) and March 2024 (37%).
A more apt comparison is to March 2022, in the immediate aftermath of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. At that point, nearly half of Americans (47%) said that they worried “a great deal” about the availability and affordability of energy. This represented a 10-point jump from a year earlier (37% in March 2021).
Americans’ relative lack of alarm around energy issues in response to the Iran conflict compared to the war in Ukraine is largely explained by partisanship.
Partisans’ energy attitudes are on opposite trajectories in Trump’s second term, with Democrats growing more concerned as Republicans’ stated concerns drop. When the Russia-Ukraine War set off a global energy crisis during the Biden administration, Democrats were far less likely to say that they worried “a great deal” about the United States’ energy situation (28%) than Republicans (66%) or independents (48%).
That partisan pattern is repeating itself now: amid an energy crisis under Trump’s watch, Republicans express less alarm (23% worry “a great deal”) than Democrats (46%) or independents (34%).
Democrats and Republicans had also been trending in different directions in their assessments of the U.S.’s energy situation before the conflict in Iran. The percentage of Democrats who said that they worried “a great deal” about the availability and affordability of energy increased by 17 points between March 2024 and March 2025 (from 21% to 38%), while the percentage among Republicans dropped by 17 points (from 50% to 33%).
Republicans’ reported worries about the availability and affordability are lower now than at any point during Biden’s term in office, while Democrats’ stated concerns are greater now than at any point under Biden.
In this way, Americans’ stated concerns about the availability and affordability of energy appear to be driven more by their trust in the administration (or eagerness to downplay its problems) than the actual state of energy markets.
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