Our Mission
The EV Politics Project is a bipartisan effort to better understand the growing divide between Republicans and Democrats (and Independents) over Electric Vehicle adoption. For several years, industry research has shown that price and range/charging anxiety have been the two biggest obstacles to consumer acceptance of electric vehicles on a mass basis in the United States. But a powerful new barrier is quickly rising; a growing political and cultural rift over how EVs are seen by consumers based on their political identities. Unfortunately for EV supporters of all political ideologies, a Red State Curtain is being drawn across the U.S. auto market. We’ve been investigating this campaign-style polling research. Note this telling data from our November 2023 survey of U.S. voters and consumers:
“What is your opinion of electric car brands like Tesla, Polestar, Lucid and Rivian?”
| Democrats: | Independents: | Republicans: | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mostly Favorable: | 36% | 29% | 9% |
| Mixed: | 43% | 46% | 42% |
| Mostly Unfavorable: | 21% | 25% | 49% |
| +15 | +4 | -40 |
Note the huge gap in EV net favorability ratings between Democratic and Republican consumers: a staggering 55%, with Republicans giving EV brands a (net) -40% negative rating while Democrats rate those EV brands at (net) +15% positive rating.
In another question on our survey, 59% of Republicans agree with the statement: “EVs are for people who see the world differently than I do” while only 25% of Democrats agree with the same statement.
We believe this growing partisan divide is a critical problem that both foreign and American EV makers must move quickly to address. As experienced political operatives with decades of experience in Republican political work at both the national and local level, we are focused on researching the causes of the Red State EV Curtain problem and developing highly effective communications strategies to overcome it and end the partisan EV divide. We are also planning an aggressive political action program to counter the flood of anti-EV messaging that is likely to appear during the 2024 election cycle. We look forward to working with leading auto industry leaders and EV supporters to share our research and insights on how to “move the needle” with Republican car and truck buyers.
Industry leaders and journalists interested in a full data briefing can reach out to us here.