Voter anger over the cost of living is fast approaching next year’s midterm elections. The election will decide key races in a region facing soaring electricity costs and disputes over who should pay for powering Big Tech’s energy-intensive data centers.
Electricity prices were key issues in this week’s gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia, major data center hotspots, and in Georgia, where Democrats ousted two Republicans from the state’s Utility Regulatory Commission.
Economic concerns were top of mind for voters in New Jersey, Virginia, California and New York City as Democrats and Republicans prepared to debate the cost of living in the midterm elections for control of Congress in a heated race.
President Donald Trump has said he will focus on the cost of living next year as he and Republicans seek to maintain a slim majority in Congress, but Democrats are blaming him for the nation’s rising prices.
Electricity bills may be attracting attention. Electricity costs are rising faster than the average U.S. inflation rate in many regions, though not everywhere.
“Politicians face tremendous pressure to talk about the cost of living, and electricity prices are the most obvious example of an affordability issue right now,” said Dan Cassino, a political and government professor and pollster at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey.
Rising electricity prices are showing no signs of slowing down, and many Americans could see their monthly bills increase during next year’s campaign period.
Gas and electric companies are seeking or have already secured more than $34 billion in rate increases in the first three quarters of 2025, according to a report from consumer advocacy group Powerlines. This number was more than double the same period last year.
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