Party Cues in the News: Elite Opinion Leadership and Climate Skepticism

Supporters of the Republican Party have become much more skeptical of the science of climate change since the 1990s. We argue that this phenomenon can be explained by a model of top-down persuasion by party elites. We construct aggregate measures of climate skepticism from nearly 200 public opinion polls at […] Read more »

Americans like Green New Deal’s goals, but they reject paying trillions to reach them

Ever since Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) introduced it last February, the Green New Deal has sparked a rancorous political debate about what exactly should be done to combat ever-worsening climate change. But outside of Washington, few know much about it. In a nationwide public […] Read more »

Democrats Need to Mind the Gap Between Their Base and Swing Voters

Sometimes things can seem contradictory but are not necessarily so. A variety of polls released this week on the 2020 presidential race painted very different pictures of President Trump’s odds for reelection, depending on how narrowly they zoomed in on the electorate. CONT. Charlie Cook Read more »