New polling released today by the BlueGreen Alliance showed voters in the Midwest vigorously support making rebuilding and retooling the American manufacturing sector a critical component of recovery efforts by Congress or the Biden administration. Hart Research conducted the poll of 1,500 registered voters in Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin from November 17-23, which showed that among voters in the Industrial Midwest:

• 86% said it is important (71% very important) to rebuild and retool American manufacturing to make the products we need here at home, including modernizing our factories to produce less pollution and investing in clean technologies;
• 83% said it is important (64% very important) that we modernize American manufacturing so that we are producing more goods—like cars, steel, and electronics—in an environmentally friendly way; and
• 73% said the president and Congress should make it a top or high priority to pass a plan that includes elements of the BlueGreen Alliance’s manufacturing agenda.

“COVID-19 has ravaged the health of the public and millions are still out of work. We need Congress and President-elect Biden to deliver immediate relief and long-term economic recovery,” said Jason Walsh, Executive Director of the BlueGreen Alliance. “This poll shows voters in the Industrial Midwest want to focus on retooling and rebuilding American manufacturing. President-elect Biden and Congress need to make building the technologies of the future here in America a central component of a long-term plan to rebuild our economy after this crisis.”

The poll also found that voters overwhelmingly support the individual elements of the BlueGreen Alliance’s manufacturing agenda, including:

• 95% said they were favorable or somewhat favorable toward making sure investments in manufacturing create good-paying jobs with good benefits, and ensure health and safety for workers and communities;
• 84% said they were favorable or somewhat favorable toward modernizing American industries, such as steel, aluminum, and glass, to manufacture these critical products in a way that produces less pollution; and
• 83% were favorable or somewhat favorable toward retooling American factories to produce the cutting-edge products of the future, like clean vehicles and energy technologies.

“It’s clear there is broad support for a manufacturing plan that helps us to build the clean economy of the future, among Biden supporters and Trump supporters, and among white voters and voters of color,” said Walsh. “We need a recovery plan now that invests in manufacturing and prepares the United States to compete in the global economy to build the technologies of the future and to invest in our existing industries—like steel, cement, and aluminum—to make them cleaner and more competitive. This is a plan everyone can get behind.”

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