Seven out of 10 voters (69%) support offshore oil drilling, and even more (77%) favor tax incentives for the development of alternative energy sources, which means Congress is on track with the energy bill it is expected to pass in the next two weeks.

Nineteen percent (19%) oppose offshore drilling, and 12% are against tax incentives for solar, wind and new conservation programs, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Both drilling and alternative energy plans have registered consistently high support in previous Rasmussen Reports surveys.

As always, though, the devil’s in the details.

Congressional Democrats and some of their Republican colleagues believe states should decide whether to allow oil drilling off their own coasts, for example, and voters by a close 44% to 39% margin agree. Republican leaders on Capitol Hill worry that this is another tactic by the opposing party to limit such drilling.

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While 93% of Republicans – and 65% of unaffiliated voters -- support offshore drilling, only 50% of Democrats agree. Thirty-two percent (32%) of Democrats, 19% of unaffiliateds and just four percent (4%) of GOP voters oppose such drilling.

Not surprisingly then, nearly half of Democrats (47%) believe states should have the right to ban oil drilling off their own coasts, while 55% of Republicans, whose party is usually strong on states’ rights, do not. Fifty-four percent (54%) of unaffiliated voters favor giving states the say-so on drilling off their coastlines.

A measure the House is likely to vote on next week would allow offshore drilling 50 miles off the shore of states that approve it and 100 miles off any stretch of the U.S. coast.

Thirty-eight percent (38%) of those who support offshore drilling say oil rigs should be allowed within 50 miles of the coastline, but nearly as many (36%) say the rigs should be permitted within 12 miles. Thirteen percent (13%) of drilling supporters believe drilling is permissible 100 miles off the U.S. coast, and five percent (5%) call for the rigs to be more than 100 miles from land.

John McCain’s call in early June for Congress to limit the longstanding ban on offshore drilling as one way to combat high gas an d oil prices is credited in part with reviving the Republican’s presidential campaign.

Democrats historically have opposed offshore oil drilling, largely for environmental reasons, and their presidential candidate Barack Obama has consistently urged alternative energy development and conservation instead. But Obama and Democratic congressional leaders have given qualified support to offshore drilling in the face of strong voter support for it and continuing high prices at the gas pump.

By substantial margins, voters believe McCain’s top priority is finding new sources of energy while Obama is more focused on reducing the amount of energy we consume.

In the latest survey, 94% of likely McCain voters favor offshore oil drilling, as opposed to 41% of those who plan to vote for Obama. Nearly as many likely Obama voters (38%) oppose drilling.

By comparison, 70% of potential McCain voters and 87% of likely Obama voters support solar, wind and new conservation programs.
Nationally, the race between Obama and McCain remains close in both the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll and the Electoral College projections.

Sixty-five percent (65%) of voters believe it is at least somewhat likely that gas prices will go down if offshore drilling allowed, including 34% who say it is Very Likely. Just 10% say it is not at all likely.

Rising energy costs have fueled inflation in the economy, and voters tell us that economic issues are number one this election year. Shortly after Democratic leaders adjourned Congress for over a month despite GOP complaints that the drilling issue needed to be addressed, 61% of voters told Rasmussen Reports that Congress should return to Washington immediately to vote on lifting the ban on offshore drilling. Voters also overwhelmingly expected Congress to adjourn this year without taking action.

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