A poll (pdf) by the Mellman Group, a Democratic polling firm, found that a majority of voters in New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District see global warming as a “real and serious threat that is happening now.”

Perhaps the most politically relevant question in the poll was, “Do you favor or oppose the United States taking action to reduce it emissions of gases like carbon dioxide that cause global warming?” The poll found that 68 percent of voters in the Southern New Mexico district support carbon dioxide reductions while just 23 percent oppose them.

Former Congressman Steve Pearce, R-N.M., said he entered the 2nd Congressional District race because of Congressman Harry Teague’s, D-N.M., vote for the American Clean Energy and Security (ACES) Act. The bill passed 219 to 212 in June.

The Democratic blog Democracy for New Mexico wrote of the poll, “Congressman Harry Teague, who voted for H.R. 2454, the American Clean Energy And Security Act, should rest a little easier now that factual data is emerging to negate the view that loud Tea Party protests and attacks by right-wingers indicate deep and widespread dissatisfaction with global warming mitigation and renewable energy legislation.”

According to the poll, 52 percent of voters believe that global warming is happening now and an additional 20 percent think it will happen in the future; 21 percent believe it will not happen.

A plurality of those polled, 43 percent, believe that efforts to reduce global warming “will create American jobs” while 30 percent say it “will cost American jobs.”

The poll was of 400 likely 2010 general election voters and interviews were conducted from August 6 to August 9. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 4.9 percent.