Environmental Polling Roundup – November 6, 2026
Headlines
National Voter Poll (Network Exit Poll) – Most midterm voters said that AI and data centers were a “crucial” or “major” factor in their vote and the majority also said that they were “very concerned” about utility costs; Democrats won both of these groups by commanding margins [The Hill Article, NBC News Exit Poll Website]
Data for Progress – Half of voters say that they’re “very worried” about climate change increasing their cost of living over the next twenty years [Article, Crosstabs]
Key Takeaways
Concerns about data centers and utility costs both contributed to Democrats’ historic midterm gains. The national exit poll used by the major news networks finds that most midterm voters (56%) said that AI and data centers were a “crucial” or “major” factor in their vote for Congress, while three-quarters (76%) said that they would oppose the construction of a new data center in their community.
Democrats dominated among both of these groups, as voters who oppose local data centers broke for Democratic candidates by a 30-point margin (64%-34%) and voters who described AI and data centers as a “crucial” or “major” factor in their vote supported Democrats by a nearly two-to-one margin (65%-33%).
Voting groups that swung the most to Democrats compared to the 2024 election, including younger voters and Hispanic voters, were also particularly likely to say that AI and data centers were a priority in their voting decisions.
Democrats also won by a greater than two-to-one margin (66%-32%) among the majority of voters (53%) who said that they were “very” concerned about the cost of utilities such as electricity, natural gas, and water.
Democrats’ strong midterm performance was driven by a variety of factors, as disapproval with Trump, the war in Iran, gas prices, tariffs, and the general cost of living all clearly sunk Republicans’ prospects. Polls throughout the cycle similarly showed that data centers and utility bills were likely to move voters into Democrats’ camp, and the exit poll data bears this out as voters were more likely to support Democrats the more they cared about these two issues.
Voters recognize climate change as an affordability issue. Data for Progress finds that the majority of voters (52%), including 62% of Democrats as well as 42% of Republicans, are “very” worried that climate change will increase their cost of living over the next twenty years.
Other research supports this finding that voters can draw a connection between climate change and affordability, and it helps to be specific about the types of costs that climate change is driving up. Yale and George Mason found this year that most voters (54%) believe that global warming is having at least “some” effect on the cost of living generally. When they were then asked specifically about utility bills, nearly two-thirds of respondents (66%) said that they believed that global warming is causing at least “some” increase in the costs of home utility bills like electricity, gas, and water.
Full Roundup
National Voter Poll (Network Exit Poll) – Most midterm voters said that AI and data centers were a “crucial” or “major” factor in their vote and the majority also said that they were “very concerned” about utility costs; Democrats won both of these groups by commanding margins [The Hill Article, NBC News Exit Poll Website]
Voters who turned out cared a lot about, and opposed, data centers. In the exit poll used by the national news networks (an overview of which can be found here), around one-quarter of midterm voters (23%) said that AI and data centers were a “crucial” factor in their vote for Congress and an additional one-third (33%) said that AI and data centers were a “major” factor for them.
This midterm electorate was also lopsidedly opposed to data centers: three-quarters of midterm voters (76%) said that they would oppose the construction of a new data center in their community.
Groups that swung the most to Democrats were particularly likely to say that data centers were a voting priority. While Democrats made large gains relative to the 2024 presidential election among every major segment of the electorate, early analyses indicate that the swings among Hispanic and younger voters were particularly large. The New York Times, for example, estimates that Hispanic voters shifted by 29 points toward Democrats and that voters aged 18-29 shifted by 33 points toward Democrats.
In the national network exit poll, these two groups were also particularly likely to say that AI and data centers were an important factor for them in the midterms. While 56% of voters overall described AI and data centers as a “crucial” or “major” factor in their vote, this figure rises to 64% among Hispanic voters and to 67% among voters aged 18-29.
Voters who prioritized data centers overwhelmingly supported Democratic candidates. The exit poll finds that the 56% of voters who called AI and data centers a “crucial” or “major” factor in their vote supported Democratic candidates by a nearly two-to-one margin (65% Democrats / 33% Republicans). Meanwhile, Republicans won by 13 points (43% Democrats / 56% Republicans) among the minority of voters (44%) who said that data centers were either a “minor” factor or “not a factor” in their voting decisions.
Democrats also overwhelmingly carried the three-quarters of voters who oppose local data centers, as these voters broke for Democrats by a 30-point margin (64% Democrats / 34% Republicans). And while Republicans won by a wide margin among voters who said that they would support a local data center (28% Democrats / 71% Republicans), these data center supporters made up just one-quarter of the electorate (24%).
Most midterm voters said that they were “very” concerned about utility costs. Just over half of midterm voters (53%) said that they were “very” concerned about the cost of utilities such as electricity, natural gas, and water. For context, utilities were one of several household costs that midterm voters expressed deep concerns about–along with the costs of gasoline and diesel (59% “very” concerned), food and groceries (59%), and health care (59%).
Concern over utility costs also correlated with Democratic vote share. Democrats won nearly two-thirds of voters (66%) who said that they were “very” concerned about the cost of utilities, around half of voters (48%) who said that they were “somewhat” concerned about utility costs, and only 30% of voters who said that they were “not too” concerned or “not at all” concerned about utility costs.
A similar pattern held true for other spending categories like gasoline and diesel, food and groceries, and health care, as voters who expressed stronger concerns about the cost of living were more likely to support Democratic candidates for Congress.
Data for Progress – Half of voters say that they’re “very worried” about climate change increasing their cost of living over the next twenty years [Article, Crosstabs]
Half of voters say that they’re “very worried” about climate change increasing the cost of living. Data for Progress finds that nearly four in five voters (78%) are at least “somewhat” worried that climate change will increase the cost of living over the next 20 years, including just over half (52%) who are “very” worried.
Large majorities of Democrats (85%), independents (80%), and Republicans (70%) all say that they’re at least “somewhat” worried about the cost of living rising because of climate change.
Voters on both sides of the political divide express deeper concern about the effects of climate change on the cost of living than its effects on extreme weather or other impacts. Voters are more likely to say that they’re “very” worried about climate change increasing the cost of the living than any of the other climate impacts that Data for Progress asked about in the poll:
- Increasing cost of living – 52% are “very” worried that climate change will cause this in the next twenty years
- More severe extreme weather – 39% “very” worried
- Crop failures – 37% “very” worried
- Warmer temperatures – 33% “very” worried
- Degraded natural areas – 31% “very” worried
While Democrats tend to express strong concerns about each of these climate impacts, more Democrats say that they’re “very” worried about climate change increasing the cost of living (62%) than any of the other climate impacts that Data for Progress asked about. Republicans, meanwhile, are much more likely to say that they’re “very” worried about climate change increasing the cost of living (42%) than about climate change causing crop failures (24%), more severe extreme weather (21%), warmer temperatures (18%), or degraded natural areas (17%).
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