In A Pivotal Midterm Election Season, How Many Questions On Climate In Debates So Far? One.
Climate change affects different regions in different ways — from extreme heat and drought in the southern states and inland flooding along the coast to wildfires out west — and yet the issue has been glaringly absent from the midterm debates this election season.
Analyzing the most competitive Senate and gubernatorial races, Media Matters for America found that the vast majority of debates have not featured a single question on climate change, including the recent debate between Texas’ high-profile Senate candidates, Beto O’Rourke (D) and Ted Cruz (R).
The exception? A single gubernatorial debate in Minnesota. Minnesota faces worse drought and extreme heat with rising global temperatures. And at the end of August, Minnesota gubernatorial candidates Republican Jeff Johnson and Democrat Tim Walz were asked about their stance on tackling climate change.
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Media Matters has analyzed 12 debates so far, and plans to keep doing so as the November elections draw closer. According to the nonprofit, during the 2016 election cycle, less than a quarter of debates in competitive Senate and gubernatorial races had a question about climate change — and this year, moderators are doing even worse.
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https://thinkprogress.org/just-one-midterm-debate-has-mentioned-climate-change-so-far-and-you-probably-missed-it-dc604216a93f/