Who do our senators represent on climate change?

March 2019

Last week’s New York Times opinion piece, “People Might Actually Like the Green New Deal,” presented the results of a nation-wide poll on the resolution and included state-level data. It provided a great opportunity to see what your state thinks of the Green New Deal (GND). I was surprised to see that 56% of Arizonans support it. However, this makes sense given the severity of projected climate change impacts for the state.

Last week, the Senate also voted on the GND. While this premature vote was by many accounts a political stunt, it did tell us a few things about our senators. For example, Arizona’s newly elected Democratic senator, Kyrsten Sinema, was one of only three Democrats who voted no, while all others voted “present” to avoid playing into the stunt.

Why would Sinema vote no on the GND at this early stage, especially when 56% of Arizonans support it? Could it be because she accepted $320,254 in fossil fuel donations since 2011? The GND is not going away, and as it gains momentum we need to as our representatives who they really represent.