Losses in the off-cycle elections this week are prompting reflection among Republicans about energy policy, as Democrats won by emphasizing affordability concerns, which will remain a top concern for voters in the 2026 midterm elections.
The Democratic Party swept gubernatorial elections in Virginia and New Jersey on Tuesday, and also secured several key down-ballot races in New York, Georgia, and Pennsylvania. They highlighted skyrocketing electricity prices and other rising costs of living in such a way that some Republicans wished their own candidates had followed suit.
“When I saw the exit polls for New York, affordability was a leading issue,” Daniel Turner, founder and executive director of a conservative energy policy non-profit Power the Future, told the Washington Examiner. “It was a missed opportunity to talk about it.”
While President Donald Trump has vowed to slash energy and electricity prices in half, there is widespread agreement that these costs are only expected to rise in the coming months.
In the latest update to the Consumer Price Index, the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that electricity prices rose by 5.1% for the year ending in September, nearly double the rate of overall inflation.
Voters clearly signaled discontent with rising energy prices, with roughly 87% of New Jersey voters calling electricity prices a “problem” where they live, according to exit polls conducted by CNN.
“There’s no question electricity prices are increasing and people are going to start talking about it a lot more, and people are going to start pointing fingers as to who is to blame,” former Trump climate and energy adviser George David Banks told the Washington Examiner.
Democrats were able to resonate with voters by campaigning on energy prices.
In Virginia, Democrat Abigail Spanberger, a former congresswoman, defeated Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears in the governor’s race.
As part of her plan to lower costs for Virginia residents, Spanberger vowed to increase local generation, ensure data centers don’t impose higher costs, utilize energy efficiency, and accelerate key projects.
Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey defeated Republican Jack Ciattarelli, a former state assemblyman and Trump ally, who was making his third run for governor.
Sherrill vowed to lower energy costs and utility bills for New Jersey residents on Day One, declaring a State of Emergency on utility costs. She proposed freezing utility rates and demanding that utility companies and state grid operators, such as PSE&G, JCP&L, and PJM, reduce prices.
Erick Ford, president of the New Jersey Energy Policy Coalition, told the Washington Examiner that energy prices played a role in both gubernatorial races.
“The energy prices we are seeing, they didn’t happen overnight,” Ford said. “Whoever’s governor, whether New Jersey or Virginia, and both winners they’re going to have to confront the issue and take it on, and listen to the experts in the industry.”
“The current increase in electricity and energy, it’s not going away anytime soon. So you’ll probably see this issue continue into the midterms,” Ford added.
The midterm elections are a year away, and energy prices are expected to keep rising. Drew Bond, CEO of the public policy nonprofit C3 Solutions, told the Washington Examiner that it is essential for Republicans to maintain discipline in messaging.
Bond said that “candidates matter,” and they need to be effective messengers as energy prices rise.
“Republicans are going to have to be very disciplined on message, because while there’ll be a lot of successes to point to, I believe, related to energy security, energy reliability, and energy affordability – specifically related to electricity prices — that’s going to be a tough one to overcome,” Bond said.
Democrats have already indicated their intention to keep energy and electricity prices top-of-mind, focusing on the administration’s efforts to stifle the growth of renewable energy resources.
“What we’ll be able to show in the midterms [elections] is the Trump administration has deliberately raised electric utility prices by suppressing cleaner, cheaper renewable power and driving the grid to expensive, polluting units that run up the cost for everyone,” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) told Politico.
Jason Grumet, CEO of the American Clean Power Association, told the Washington Examiner that there is “little question” that energy prices will be one of the top issues in the midterm elections.
Grumet said he hopes the off-cycle election will serve as a “tipping point” and lead the Trump administration to return to an all-of-the-above energy policy. The administration has taken action in recent months to increase fossil fuel production while hindering renewable energy sources, such as wind.
“We’ve been wondering for a while when the implications of these actions would start to become a political liability for the administration, and we think the answer is yesterday,” Grumet said.
The Washington Examiner asked the administration whether Republicans should adjust their strategy regarding energy prices as they approach the 2026 midterm elections.
In response, the White House provided a link to a post on Trump’s TruthSocial, which stated: “‘TRUMP WASN’T ON THE BALLOT, AND THE SHUTDOWN WERE THE TWO REASONS THAT REPUBLICANS LOST ELECTIONS TONIGHT,’ according to pollsters.”
However, some Republicans are hopeful that trickle-down effects of Trump’s energy agenda – such as ‘Drill, baby, Drill” – will be more visible to voters this time next year, with lower prices at the pump and for heating homes.
Turner said he hopes Republicans will focus on low gas prices during the next election cycle as evidence of “reason for optimism” in the energy markets, as voters are exposed to fluctuating gas prices every day.
“There are issues to run on when it comes to energy prices, but there’s a message that needs to be resonating with the American voters all the time,” Turner said.
Additionally, Banks told the Washington Examiner that Republicans can also focus more on capacity and energy infrastructure.
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To successfully campaign on energy issues, Banks supported focusing on building “everything that makes economic sense.”
“Don’t take anything off the table,” he said, adding that permitting reform will be crucial to deploy more energy.
“We’ve got to be able to build stuff, we’ve got to be able to build infrastructure,” Banks said. “Despite the fact that we’re the wealthiest country in the world, our energy infrastructure is in dire need of fixing.”
