Many liberals would like the Democratic Party to put climate change at the center of its messaging and policy agenda. They would also like Democrats to win more elections. In a recent column in the Washington Post, former Washington governor and presidential candidate Jay Inslee argued that there is no tension between these two objectives: The best way for Democrats to defeat Republicans is to focus more on bold climate action.

Inslee’s case can be broken down into three claims:

• Democrats lost in 2024 largely because their support among younger voters fell sharply.
• Young voters care about climate change. In fact, according to the Associated Press’ polling, 60 percent of young Trump voters are concerned about the climate.
• Therefore, “to present a compelling vision to the next generation,” Democrats “should focus on the issue that simultaneously represents the greatest threat to them and the clearest delineation between the two parties” — climate change.

Inslee is right that young voters swung hard against the Democratic Party in 2024. AP VoteCast, a high-quality exit poll, showed Kamala Harris winning voters under 30 by just 4 points. By contrast, Joe Biden won young voters by more than 20 points in 2020. And it’s also true that young voters are more worried about climate change than older ones.

Nevertheless, the evidence for Inslee’s fundamental thesis — that the best way for Democrats to win back power is to focus more on climate — is weak.

The problem with his argument is simple: Voters — both old and young — do not consider climate change a top priority. And focusing on an issue that voters care relatively little about isn’t a great way to win their support.

This story was first featured in The Rebuild.

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Voters – including young ones – do not consider climate change a top priority

When Gallup asked Americans last year which issues were most important to their vote,

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