Immigration & Climate Change Polls
After this week’s debate, my fellow Red, White and News counterparts and I took to the streets, and social media to conduct various polls on the issues discussed in the debate. Our readers had a lot to say about the biggest problems facing our nation, and as we all know, public opinion on said issues can serve as a good indication on which candidate is favored to win the presidency. My main polling focus was to see what the public thought about immigration and climate change. The polls and their results are available on the Red, White and News website. Here is what the numbers mean.
Many are viewing the Syrian refugee dilemma as a matter of immigration, and both democrats and republicans alike are struggling with what to do with these people. Presidential candidate, Senator Rebecca Sanders has come out in favor of accepting 65,000 Syrian refugees, a number that she believes is more than fair. Those polled about the issue agreed resoundingly, with 77% of the responses coming in favor of Sanders’ plan. This tells us that on this polarizing issue, this sample reflects a massive majority of people who agree with taking in refugees, a form of clarity we do not usually see in politics.
Illegal immigration is another pressing matter in our nation. 60% of those polled favored an easier citizenship process and granting amnesty to those who are already here illegally, but have their families and lives here in America. Both Sanders and Senator Jordan Rubio have similar views on this issue, meaning that both to some degree would have public support of their plans for illegals.
If there was anything that generated controversy on Monday’s debate, it was the dispute over alternative fuels. Senator Rubio practically dismissed them altogether, since in his opinion, coal is the cheaper option and new method such as wind and solar power would cost too much money. On the contrary, Senator Sanders believed that alternative fuels would present a money-saving opportunity as they would promote job growth and less dependence on foreign oil. When our readers were asked what they thought, a whopping 93% said that they would support a switch to alternative energies such as wind and solar power. It is clear as day who the people are with on this issue.
Sticking with climate change, another divide between republicans and democrats is on whether or not humans have a direct affect on climate change. Senator Sanders believes that humans in fact are responsible for the increase in the Earth’s average temperature and there is more than enough science to back her claim up. Senator Rubio on the other hand, feels that the evidence is inconclusive and does not take climate change as seriously. In our poll, 70% of people agree that humans do have a direct affect on climate change.
With all of these numbers, it seems to me that Rebecca Sanders has a clear advantage when it comes to her plans and views being popular amongst the majority of Americans. The President of the United States is supposed to reflect the views of the people, and based on these polls, there is an obvious favorite in this race to the presidency. If Rubio wants a chance at winning, he may have to adjust some of his ideas.
