Hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas, also known as fracking, has emerged as an issue in the 2024 presidential election. Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have debated their positions on fracking in part because of its importance in Pennsylvania – one of the most closely contested swing states in the election and the nation’s second-largest producer of natural gas.
Overall, 44% of Americans support more hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas in the United States, while 53% oppose it, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey.
Pew Research Center conducted this analysis to understand Americans’ views of energy production in the United States. We surveyed 8,638 U.S. adults from May 13 to 19, 2024.
Everyone who took part in the survey is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), an online survey panel that is recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses. This way, nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories. Read more about the ATP’s methodology.
Here are the questions used for this analysis, along with responses, and the survey methodology.
Fracking is a drilling technique that involves pumping water, sand and chemicals into layers of shale rock deep underground, cracking them open to release oil and gas. It has allowed energy companies to tap into previously inaccessible reserves, leading to an increase in oil and gas production. Fracking has also raised environmental concerns, including those related to its impact on drinking water.
Fracking is less popular with Americans than several other forms of energy production. For instance, large majorities support more solar (78%) and wind (72%) power in the U.S. Nuclear power (56%) is also more popular with the public than fracking.
Compared with other forms of fossil fuel development, support for fracking ranks just behind offshore oil and gas drilling (48%) but slightly ahead of coal mining (39%).
Though it remains somewhat unpopular, the share of Americans who support more fracking has increased by 7 percentage points over the last four years. This is primarily due to increasing support among Republicans.
Related: How Americans View National, Local and Personal Energy Choices
Differences in views between Republicans and Democrats
Nearly seven-in-ten Republicans and Republican leaners (68%) support more hydraulic fracturing. Republican support is much higher than it was in May 2020, when 56% favored more fracking. This is consistent with the growing GOP support for fossil fuel development we’ve seen across several measures over the past four years.
Fracking is very unpopular among Democrats and Democratic leaners. Three-quarters say they oppose more fracking, while just 23% favor it.
More broadly, majorities of Democrats oppose all forms of fossil fuel development we asked about in our recent survey, including offshore oil and gas drilling, hydraulic fracturing, and coal mining. Instead, they prioritize the development of renewable energy, and large majorities support more solar (91%) and wind (88%) power.
Age differences among Republicans
While Republicans express broad support for fracking overall, there are notable differences of opinion within the GOP by age. Older Republicans express far more support for fracking than younger Republicans do. For instance, 78% of Republicans ages 65 and older favor more fracking, compared with 55% of Republicans ages 18 to 29.
More generally, the youngest Republicans stand out from older ones in their view that the country should prioritize renewable energy sources over fossil fuel sources.
Note: Here are the questions used for this analysis, along with responses, and the survey methodology.
