Poll: New Hampshire voters represented by Rep. Pappas rate climate provisions of infrastructure plan highly

Proposal builds bridges across party lines in New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District

Environment New Hampshire

CONCORD, NH — A new poll released Thursday revealed support for President Joe Biden’s infrastructure proposal across the political spectrum in New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District. The district, represented by Rep. Chris Pappas, includes all of Strafford and Carroll Counties and portions of Hillsborough, Rockingham, Merrimack, Grafton, and Belknap Counties. This survey, providing district-specific data on how voters view the American Jobs Plan (AJP), is sponsored by Environment New Hampshire, Earthjustice and Environment America. 

On multiple measures, voters in the district clearly signal that components of the AJP that focus specifically on climate change and clean energy are a significant selling point. When told that the plan includes a major emphasis on investments to expand the use of clean energy, such as wind and solar power, to tackle the climate crisis and create jobs, 62 percent of voters in the 1st District firmly say that this approach makes them more likely to support the AJP.

The poll found that overall, voters support the bill by a 52 percent to 40 percent margin. A majority (55 percent) of those surveyed said Congress should pass the bill if a bipartisan majority of the U.S. public supports it, even if Congress does not reflect that bipartisanship.

Among the specific provisions designed to address the climate crisis:

• 80 percent of voters in the 1st District support investments to rebuild roads and bridges and modernize public transportation to ensure it is cleaner and able to serve more people.

• 79 percent of voters in the 1st District support overhauling our country’s drinking water infrastructure.

• 68 percent of voters support addressing the challenge of climate change by shifting to greater use of clean energy, reducing carbon pollution from vehicles and industry, and making homes and buildings more energy efficient.

• 67 percent of voters support investments in clean energy such as wind and solar power by extending tax credits to spur innovation and manufacturing.

• 65 percent of voters support transitioning to clean energy to cut air pollution in New Hampshire that results from fossil fuel power plants in other states. 

“New Hampshire has been hit hard by the climate crisis and the societal devastation resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Morgan Folger, Destination: Zero Carbon campaign director for Environment New Hampshire. “The American Jobs Plan is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to invest in what matters and tackle the climate crisis, and this data demonstrates that New Hampshirites support President Biden’s plan to build back better.”

The survey was conducted via live telephone conversations between May 10 and May 15 by Hart Research Associates for Environment America and Earthjustice, in cooperation with the League of Conservation Voters. A memorandum outlining the full results of the survey is on Environment New Hampshire’s website.