My Climate Candidate
An interactive guide to where the 2020 presidential candidates stand on climate issues
If CNN’s prime time programming is any guide, 2020 could be climate change’s year. Not in a doom-and-gloom, massive storm systems, and out-of-control wildfires way — though, sigh, that could happen too — but as a prominent issue in electoral politics. In early September, the cable news network devoted seven full hours to a series of town halls in which CNN anchors, climate scientists, and concerned citizens grilled 10 of the candidates vying for the Democratic nomination for president on their plans for tackling the climate crisis.
It’s a reflection of changing priorities. A poll published in early -July from the Washington Post and ABC News found that climate change came in second behind health care when voters who lean Democrat were asked what the most important issue would be in the 2020 general election. The same poll found that voters of all persuasions disapproved of how President Donald Trump has handled climate change more than any other issue — immigration, foreign policy, even “issues of special concern to women.”
Discussions of climate policy have evolved in this election cycle. Democratic primary candidates initially would drop buzzwords like “Green New Deal” or “Paris accord” to give the sense that they were climate- conscious. But a vocal and seemingly omnipresent activist community has forced serious primary contenders to bone up on issues related to warming, from their stances on whether the country should continue fracking for natural gas, whether nuclear energy makes sense as part of a future energy mix, and whether there should be a price on carbon. With so many candidates and so many concerns, it’s easy to lose track of who stands for what. Which candidate has a plan to address the climate crisis that tracks most closely to what a voter (you, dear reader) might want?
That’s where we at Grist come in. We’ve assembled this handy, scannable candidate sorter so you can peruse the many many many candidates vying for your vote — and find your political soulmate.
Happy sorting!
To see more of Grist’s 2020 election coverage, click here.
Senator, ColoradoMichael Bennet
Pro
Anti
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Former vice presidentJoe Biden
Pro
Anti
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Founder Bloomberg L.P. and former mayor of New York CityMichael Bloomberg
Pro
Anti
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Senator, New JerseyCory Booker
Pro
Anti
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Governor of MontanaSteve Bullock
Pro
Anti
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Mayor of South Bend, IndianaPete Buttigieg
Pro
Anti
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Former secretary of Housing and Urban Development and mayor of San Antonio, TexasJulián Castro
Pro
Anti
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Mayor of New York CityBill de Blasio
Pro
Anti
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Former representative, MarylandJohn Delaney
Pro
Anti
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Representative, HawaiiTulsi Gabbard
Pro
Anti
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Senator, CaliforniaKamala Harris
Pro
Anti
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Senator, MinnesotaAmy Klobuchar
Pro
Anti
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Mayor of Miramar, FloridaWayne Messam
Pro
Anti
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Former representative, TexasBeto O’Rourke
Pro
Anti
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Former governor of MassachusettsDeval Patrick
Pro
Anti
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Representative, OhioTim Ryan
Pro
Anti
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Senator, VermontBernie Sanders
Pro
Anti
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Former representative and governor of South Carolina.Mark Sanford
Pro
Anti
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Former representative, PennsylvaniaJoe Sestak
Pro
Anti
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Founder, NextGen ClimateTom Steyer
Pro
Anti
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President of the United StatesDonald Trump
Pro
Anti
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Former representative from IllinoisJoe Walsh
Pro
Anti
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Senator, MassachusettsElizabeth Warren
Pro
Anti
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Former governor of MassachusettsBill Weld
Pro
Anti
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Author and spiritual guruMarianne Williamson
Pro
Anti
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Founder, Venture for AmericaAndrew Yang
Pro
Anti
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CREDITS:
Executive Editor
Nikhil Swaminathan
Senior Editors
Teresa Chin, Matt Craft, Darby Minow Smith
Associate Editor
Kate Yoder
Research
Miyo McGinn, Emily Pontecorvo
Writers
L.V. Anderson, Eve Andrews, Molly Enking, Nathanael Johnson, Miyo McGinn, Jesse Nichols, Daniel Penner, Emily Pontecorvo, Rachel Ramirez, Paola Rosa-Aquino, Naveena Sadasivam, Zoya Teirstein