This week, CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten and anchor John Berman discussed how voters are changing their tune around the issue of climate change, despite the fact that July was the hottest month on record in the US.
“All right, we learned that July 2026 was the hottest month on record in the United States. Very hot, causing a whole lot of problems. So the question is, will that become a political issue? How much do people care about that? How much do people care about climate change? Is it something they will vote on? CNN Chief Data Analyst Harry Enten is here. Wow, it was hot. So is that going to drive decisions from voters?” Berman asked.
“You know, I was schvitzing a lot in the month of July, although granted, you know, I schvitz a lot all the time. But the bottom line when it comes to voters is, simply put, they don’t care. They don’t care,” Enten replied, adding:
I mean, just look at these numbers. Okay, top issue in a midterm vote — you can list up to three issues. The economy, not surprisingly, comes in at number one at 54%. Immigration, 28%. Look at climate change — it’s tied for 14th, tied for 14th, all the way down here at 3%. Johnny, I’m not the greatest mathematician in the world, but I sure as heck know that 54% is a whole heck of a lot higher than 3%. So despite the climate being so warm in the month of July, the hottest month on record here in the United States of America, the voters, simply put, do not say that climate change is going to be an issue on which they vote in the midterm election.
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And you can see this 3% here, and you can see in these slides right here: “Say climate change is a very big problem.” In 2016, it was 40%. It was 40%. Look where we are in 2026 — it’s 39%, it’s 39%. Now, Johnny B, you’re talking about change. Where the change we have seen is partisanship, right?
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