Voters’ anger over high electricity bills and data centers loom over 2026 midterms

Voter Anger Over Rising Electricity Costs Fuels 2024 Midterm Election Battles

As the 2024 midterm elections approach, voter frustration over the skyrocketing cost of living—especially soaring electricity bills—is emerging as a pivotal campaign issue. Communities grappling with rapidly increasing electric rates or disputes over who should bear the cost of powering energy-intensive Big Tech data centers are becoming key battlegrounds in crucial races nationwide.

**Electricity Costs Take Center Stage in Recent Elections**

This week’s gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia—a notable hotspot for data centers—highlighted electricity expenses as a critical concern for voters. In Georgia, Democrats successfully unseated two Republican incumbents on the state’s utility regulatory commission amid growing public scrutiny of utility rate hikes.

Voters across New Jersey, Virginia, California, and New York City consistently identified economic worries as their top priority, as both Democrats and Republicans prepare to focus on affordability in the upcoming fight for control of Congress.

President Donald Trump has already signaled his intent to emphasize affordability issues next year as Republicans aim to defend their narrow majorities, while Democrats blame the administration for the increasing household costs. At the forefront of these debates may be electricity bills, which in many areas are climbing faster than the U.S. inflation rate—though this trend is not uniform nationwide.

“There’s a lot of pressure on politicians to talk about affordability, and electricity prices are right now the most clear example of problems of affordability,” said Dan Cassino, professor of politics and government and pollster at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey.

**Electric Bill Increases Show No Sign of Slowing**

Higher electricity costs are expected to persist, with many Americans likely facing increased monthly bills during next year’s midterm campaigns. According to consumer advocacy group PowerLines, gas and electric utilities have sought or already secured rate hikes exceeding $34 billion for the first three quarters of 2025—more than double that of the same period last year.

With roughly 80 million Americans struggling to pay utility bills, the situation has become a severe hardship for many. “It’s a life or death and ‘eat or heat’ type decision that people have to make,” said Charles Hua, founder of PowerLines.

In Georgia, proposals to build new data centers have sparked local opposition, while newly elected Democrat Peter Hubbard accused his Republican predecessors on the state’s utility commission of “rubber-stamping” rate increases from Georgia Power, a subsidiary of energy giant Southern Co.

Monthly bills from Georgia Power have increased sixfold over the past two years, now averaging $175 for a typical residential customer. Hubbard’s campaign message clearly struck a chord with voters. Rebecca Mekonnen of Stone Mountain, a suburb of Atlanta, said she voted for the Democratic challengers to demand “more affordable pricing. That’s the main thing. It’s running my pocket right now.”

Georgia Power now proposes to invest $15 billion in expanding power generation capacity, largely to meet demand from data centers. Hubbard is pressing whether these data centers will fairly share their costs or leave the burden on regular ratepayers.

**Midterm Elections Shine Spotlight on Electricity Hotspots**

The 2024 midterms will feature crucial battles in states where fast-rising electric bills and data center expansions are fueling community unrest. Key battlegrounds include California, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas.

Experts link rising electricity costs to a mix of factors: expensive grid modernization projects to improve resilience against extreme weather and wildfires; booming energy demand from data centers, bitcoin miners, and renewed domestic manufacturing; and climbing natural gas prices.

“The cost of utility service is the new ‘cost of eggs’ concern for a lot of consumers,” said Jennifer Bosco of the National Consumer Law Center.

Data centers, in particular, impose enormous energy demands—an average AI data center consumes as much electricity as 100,000 homes, according to the International Energy Agency. Some centers require more power than entire cities like Pittsburgh, Cleveland, or New Orleans.

While many states have actively courted data centers as economic engines, legislatures and utility regulators have faced increased pressure to shield ordinary consumers from bearing the connecting costs. Meanwhile, communities resisting proximity to these large facilities are mobilizing.

**Electric Bills Are a Major Stressor for Many Americans**

An October poll by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 36% of U.S. adults consider electricity bills a “major” source of stress—especially as colder months approach. Meanwhile, some states warn that funding for low-income heating assistance is delayed due to the ongoing federal government shutdown.

Although concerns about utility costs vary more regionally than other financial pressures—such as grocery prices, which worry over half of Americans—electric rates do fluctuate widely depending on the state or utility ownership model. Federal data reveals that for-profit utilities are raising rates much faster than municipally owned utilities or cooperatives.

In the Mid-Atlantic region spanning 13 states from Illinois to New Jersey, consumers are paying billions more to cover the cost of powering data centers—including some centers not yet constructed. Next June, electric bills in this area are expected to rise further due to increased wholesale electricity costs aimed at attracting new power plants dedicated to serving data centers. This has prompted governors such as Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro, Illinois’ J.B. Pritzker, and Maryland’s Wes Moore—all Democrats seeking reelection—to pressure the regional grid operator, PJM Interconnection, to limit these increases.

**Red States vs. Blue States: Contrasting Trends**

Drew Maloney, CEO of the Edison Electric Institute—a trade group for for-profit electric utilities—pointed to Democratic-leaning states as primary drivers of higher electricity costs.

“The red states’ electricity rates are not going up at the rate the blue states are,” Maloney stated. “But the data centers are largely going to the red states and the rates are still stable.”

Excluding high-rate areas like California, where wildfire mitigation drives grid upgrades, and pricey New England, most of the country’s electricity price increases roughly track inflation, Maloney explained.

However, blue states are not alone in attracting data centers, and some red states have also faced sharp rises. In Indiana, another emerging data center hotspot, the consumer advocacy group Citizens Action Coalition reported this year that residential customers of for-profit utilities endured the steepest rate hikes in at least two decades. Republican Governor Mike Braun condemned the increases, saying, “we can’t take it anymore.”

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*Associated Press reporter Jeff Amy in Atlanta contributed to this report.*
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