Climate change has been a constant presence in Charles Hughes’ life. From kindergarten lessons about melting ice caps to the acrid taste of wildfire smoke in Colorado, the issue was always there. Now a college student in Massachusetts and chair of the state’s College Democrats chapter, Hughes admits the conversation has faded. “Honestly, it doesn’t come up as much,” he said.

That marks a dramatic shift from six years ago. During Donald Trump’s first term, and especially the 2020 Democratic primaries, climate change was a central theme. Candidates invoked the Green New Deal to fire up young voters like Hughes, spurring protests and ambitious economic proposals. But the national dialogue has cooled, leading researchers at the Searchlight Institute, a Democratic think tank, to coin the term “climate hushing.” They urged the party to stop leading with climate, arguing it’s not a priority for voters. The Sunrise Movement, once a fierce advocate for climate action among young people, refocused its mission last fall on a broader fight against the Republican president.

This shift is personified in the Massachusetts Senate primary on Tuesday. Incumbent Ed Markey, 80, faces a challenge from U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, 47. Markey still mentions the Green New Deal, but his campaign leans more on other issues to reinforce his left-wing credentials and counter concerns about his age. It’s a clear sign of how climate change has been overshadowed by affordability, U.S. policy toward Israel, and—above all—how to deal with Trump.

“Six years ago, Green New Deal was every phrase out of Ed Markey’s mouth every chance he got. That is not the case now,” said Mary Anne Marsh, a veteran Democratic strategist in Massachusetts. “It’s about who’s best to fight. Period, full stop. Everything falls under that.”

Even as the political chatter quiets, the planet keeps heating up. Scientists warn that 2026 could become the hottest year on record, driven by a strengthening El Niño. Some advocates believe the issue will resurface if Democrats retake the House in November and climate-driven disasters dominate winter headlines.

U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, a leading Democratic voice on climate, called the silence a major misstep. “Climate change has moved from the science department into the economics department,” he said. “It’s now battering people’s home insurance, property values, pocketbook concerns. So I think it’s a very powerful argument.”

Trump has repeatedly called climate change a “hoax,” and his party scoffs at proposals like the Green New Deal. The Sunrise Movement, founded in 2017 to mobilize young voters on climate, pivoted last October to a broader anti-“fascism” stance. Executive Director Aru Shiney-Ajay explained that reports of federal agents infiltrating protest meetings during Trump’s immigration raids in Minneapolis made the shift prescient. “We just live in a significantly more authoritarian country. Because of that, a lot of the Democratic primaries are about more existential questions,” Shiney-Ajay said. “It has felt less like people care less about climate and more like people are increasingly freaked out about other issues.”

A Pew Research Center poll from April shows about 6 in 10 Democrats still view climate change as a “very big problem,” roughly the same share as in 2016. Yet it often falls behind inflation, healthcare costs, and money in politics. Affordability dominates the political debate. McKenzie Wilson of Blue Rose Research, a Democratic data firm, said voters are demanding sweeping economic changes, showing a level of anger not seen in years. “In that kind of environment it’s hard to think about long-term, existential problems,” Wilson said. “If we don’t talk and focus our attention on the number one thing the electorate wants to talk about, as we saw in 2024, we’re not going to be connecting with the electorate.”

The Searchlight Institute’s provocative advice—“The First Rule About Solving Climate Change: Don’t Say Climate Change”—argues voters see it as too intimidating. Democrats might win more by focusing on other issues, then tackle the crisis once in power. Leah Stokes, a political scientist at UC Santa Barbara, called that approach “galling.” “The climate crisis is accelerating and we can’t really not talk about it for like a decade, because the planet will be even more on fire if we do that,” she said. Anthony Leiserowitz of Yale’s Climate Change Communication program agreed: “What happens over the course of the next decade will profoundly shape the habitability of the planet for literally thousands of years to come.”

Climate has crept into the backlash against data centers, but only as part of a broader conversation. Many advocates are reframing their message, highlighting how green energy can lower prices and ease insurance costs. Jared Leopold, a veteran Democratic strategist, observed: “What we’re seeing right now is, whether you’re advocating for healthcare reform or climate action or some niche tech issue, everything is filtered through some cost frame.”

At a recent debate between Markey and Moulton, a voter asked how to reduce energy prices, specifically mentioning nuclear or gas generation—not clean energy. Markey pivoted to criticize Trump: “There was a plan in place in order to have a strong, clean affordable energy future for our commonwealth, and Trump attacked it.” Tatishe Nteta, a political scientist at UMass Amherst, noted that Markey uses climate to signal his willingness to fight Trump and his alignment with the party’s left flank. But other issues, like Israel, have become more effective for that. “You’re not hearing this in most races, that I’m the candidate who’s going to protect and save our planet,” Nteta said.

Eileen Cefail, who works at the Roofers Local 33 office, recalled Massachusetts’ hottest summer in 30 years. “The roofers are tough as nails, and they work so hard, and their work is so grueling. This heat has been horrendous for them,” she said. She backs Markey, but not primarily for climate reasons. “He’s always been a union guy. He’s just for the labor.”