The number of liberal Democrats across the country who consider global warming an important issue has dropped in the most recent election cycles, from 82% in 2020 to 65% in 2025, according to polling by Yale University and George Mason University. But not in California, where a 2025 survey by the Public Policy Institute of California found that eight in 10 adults consider climate change to be a very serious (46%) or somewhat serious (34%) threat to the state’s future economy and quality of life. The issue has become one of the dominant topics in the fiercely contested gubernatorial primary, with Democratic candidates touting their commitment to clean energy and condemning each other for ties to the fossil fuel industry.
So far, the Democratic frontrunners — billionaire Tom Steyer and former state Attorney General Xavier Becerra — have vigorously clashed, largely over their commitment to clean energy and their ties to the fossil fuel industry. Steyer is trying to make Becerra’s oil money a defining issue, while Becerra is betting that his overall record holds up to scrutiny.
