The Democratic sweep of the 2026 midterm election came amid affordability concerns, mass new voter registrations, and claims of fraud. Yet since winning, Democrats have spent plenty of time discussing subjects other than the cost pressures that helped define the election.

One of those subjects is climate alarmism, an agenda that remains unpopular with many Americans. Despite barely mentioning climate change during the campaign, Democratic politicians are now promoting climate action from the United Nations COP31 conference in Turkey.

Climate Depot’s Marc Morano traveled to Turkey to cover the conference and its displays of woke politics and climate hypocrisy. More than 90 private jet flights brought oligarchs to the country for discussions about reducing carbon and targeting coal and gas energy.

The ref calls it! 0-31 UN Climate Summit misses wide left https://t.co/6xahqwlvAC

— Marc Morano (@ClimateDepot) November 12, 2026

President Donald Trump boycotted COP31, but politicians and delegates from United States companies still traveled to the conference. They were eager to mingle while advancing the familiar climate agenda that Democrats largely kept hidden from voters during the midterm campaign.

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Morano addressed that sudden resurrection in a statement released on November 12. “Democrats are exhuming the corpse of the long-dead climate movement. This past midterm election year, just 2% of Democrat candidates mentioned climate change ,” he emphasized.

That figure captures the political calculation Democrats made before voters went to the polls. Climate rhetoric was apparently considered such a liability that candidates were instructed to focus on affordability rather than reheating warnings about global warming.

“The Dem billionaire donor class explicitly told candidates: Do not mention climate change. We’re going to talk only about affordability. The media and the activists called this 'climate hushing.' But now, the Democrats in Turkey are claiming the election was somehow all about climate change,” Morano said.

Marc Morano in Antalya, Turkey, at COP31, statement:

"Democrats are exhuming the corpse of the long-dead climate movement. This past midterm election year, just 2% of Democrat candidates mentioned climate change. The Dem billionaire donor class explicitly told candidates: Do not mention climate change. We’re going to talk only about affordability. The media and the activists called this 'climate hushing.' But now, the Democrats in Turkey are claiming the election was somehow all about climate change." #COP31 https://t.co/xSQST3Xqcq — Marc Morano (@ClimateDepot) November 12, 2026

The strategy was plain enough during the campaign. Democrats did not believe climate propaganda would galvanize enough voters, but after securing power, they promptly returned to demanding climate action and treating the election as a supposed mandate for it.

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The Guardian reported that approximately 20 members of Congress, all Democrats, attended COP31. They were angry that the State Department did not provide them with free flights to Turkey.

Rep. Sean Casten of Illinois criticized Trump while also arguing that taxpayer money should have covered his travel expenses. The spectacle featured politicians traveling abroad to attack the president, promote policies affecting Americans, and complain that the public had not paid their way.

Climate change apparently did not appear in NBC or Fox News exit polling for the 2026 election. That omission hardly supports the claim that voters delivered Democrats a roaring climate mandate, no matter how eagerly conference attendees try to manufacture one after the fact.

A Deloitte survey from the beginning of the year found that 61% of United States consumers still favored gas engines. Only 5% said they wanted to switch to electric vehicles, while American skepticism toward the climate narrative increased during 2025.

The University of Chicago released results in September from a joint survey conducted with the Associated Press. It found that 34% of Republicans, 46% of independents, and 68% of Democrats believed in human driven climate change.

Democrats were the only group in which a majority supported that claim. Even within their party, roughly one third rejected it, exposing how far climate activists remain from the universal agreement they often suggest already exists.

The University of Chicago highlighted support for conservation and renewable energy efforts, but its findings also revealed sharp limits on personal sacrifice. Only 17% of voters were willing to pay a $100 carbon fee, while just 38% would pay even a $1 fee.

Those numbers show the gap between offering abstract approval and accepting direct costs. Most voters were unwilling to pay the proposed fees that even Democratic voters do not want to surrender their cars, meat, or income for climate policies.

Democrats are reviving climate alarmism after an election in which their candidates largely avoided it. For critics, the private jets, international conference, and demands for taxpayer funded travel reveal an agenda driven less by popular demand than by ideology and control.

The politicians preaching sacrifice continue to travel internationally and enjoy comforts unavailable to many of the people their policies would affect. Climate alarmism may have been politically buried during the campaign, but its champions are already digging furiously now that voting is over.

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