Energy Job Growth, Keystone XL Pipeline Support Strong in Polls

North Dakota voters overwhelmingly see the connection between increased oil and gas production and job creation, and remain strongly in favor of the Keystone XL pipeline project, and national respondents also support - by a narrower margin - the Keystone XL pipleline. Those are the takeaways of two recent polls in the past week, and in the recent election.

In the first poll, Harris Poll showed that people want conservation efforts such as parks, water and wildlife projects supported…but not at the expense of job creation. That was the message sent by the voters last week when they “strongly opposed” North Dakota’s Measure 5, Jack Gerard, CEO and American Petroleum Institute president, said in a statement.

Measure 5 would have used 5 percent of the state’s oil and gas taxes to fund those projects, rather than supporting job creation from increased domestic oil and natural gas production.

A Harris Poll that was done on election night showed that 90 percent of the voters supported job creation, and 86 percent of those polled said they saw the connection between the increased production of the states fossil fuel resources and a robust economy for the country, according to The Bakken.

“When people focus on the American energy Renaissance and see the real value to them as Americans, as consumers for job opportunities and energy security – the list goes on – you’ll see that they overwhelmingly support us taking advantage of this unique American opportunity that no one would have predicted just a few years ago,” Gerard said.

Much of the support for Measure 5 came from conservation and wildlife groups, while opposition came from energy groups, business development groups, and farm groups, according to The Bakken.

The Harris Poll also showed strong support in North Dakota for the Keystone XL pipeline project, with 91 percent of Republicans and 58 percent of Democrats in the state registering support for the project.

In another poll looking at Keystone XL pipeline support – this time a national poll by Pew Research Center - the Keystone XL pipeline project enjoyed 59 percent support. That was down from a March 2013 poll by Pew showing that 66 percent of respondents were in favor of building the Keystone XL pipeline project.

Politically, Republicans registered 83 percent support for the project, similar to their support in the 2013 result, while Democrats registered 43 percent support, down from 54 percent in 2013, according to the magazine National Journal.