The North Dakota News Cooperative commissioned a poll of 501 North Dakotans to determine their views on energy production. Surprise, surprise: North Dakotans overwhelmingly support continued coal and oil production within the state.
79 percent of respondents support state government efforts to preserve coal and oil production in the state, and only 14 percent opposed. 63 percent strongly support the preservation of fossil fuels in the state. An overwhelming 95 percent of Republicans and 80 percent of independents supported this question. Even 47 percent of Democrats agreed.
North Dakotans also support more environmental protections. 63 percent of the surveyed respondents answered yes to “Would you support or oppose more environmental protections when it comes to producing energy in North Dakota?” 28 percent answered No and 9 percent responded Don’t know/refused. 92 percent of Democrats wanted more environmental protections and only 46 percent of Republicans agreed.
There’s a distinction between “preservation at all costs” — the policy pursued by the Biden administration — and conservation that thoughtfully stewards natural resources. This question likely captures some respondents from both.
A plurality of the respondents (45 percent) supports the state of North Dakota fighting federal efforts to “cut back or eliminate the production of fossil fuels.” 42 percent oppose such measures and 13 percent don’t know/refused the question. The margin of error is large enough that there is not conclusive support either way, and the number of respondents answering don’t know/refused is larger than any other question. The question’s phrasing makes it difficult to determine which of the 42 percent of respondents want only to “cut back” fossil fuel production rather than “eliminate” it, perhaps inflating the degree of opposition for this question.
It may simply also be that respondents don’t know enough about what the state is doing to combat federal efforts to stymie energy production. The state of North Dakota is leading a coalition in suing the Bureau of Land Management against burdensome methane flaring regulations. The state also challenged California-style electric vehicle regulations and a federal plan that would reduce the amount of land available for coal leasing in North Dakota by 90.5 percent.
However, the most concerning interpretation is that respondents know that energy production is good for their state and want the environment protected at the same time — but buy into the federal government’s net-zero emissions goals and mandates that would “cut back or eliminate the production of fossil fuels.”
The poll surveyed 501 North Dakotans between Nov. 17-19, 2024, and has a margin of error of +/- 4.4 percent. The poll surveyed roughly equal numbers of men and women and roughly half and half from the eastern and western halves of North Dakota.
