To: Interested Parties

From: Sara Schreiber, SVP for Campaigns, League of Conservation Voters

Date: October, 23rd, 2025

Re: Energy affordability is on the ballot: And there is a clear choice between the candidates.

Outlets like NBC have called energy affordability the “sleeper” issue of 2025. But voters have been wide awake to the impact rising costs have on their lives and it has become one of the sharpest contrasts between candidates in this fall’s most important elections.  

Cost of living continues to be a major issue on voters’ minds, with rising energy costs among their top household budget concerns. Late to the fight, Republicans in the final weeks have tried desperately to convince the public they are focused on affordability. In Trump’s latest message to voters he falsely promises to bring down electricity costs if they choose Republicans in November. But despite previous promises to cut energy bills in half, electric bills under Trump’s chaotic energy policy have increased nationwide by 10% and are projected to keep rising at twice the rate of inflation. We know clean energy solutions can buck this trend –  a new analysis found that nearly all states with a higher-than-average amount of wind and solar power are paying lower-than-average electric bills.

In Georgia, New Jersey, and Virginia there has been a clear line drawn between candidates responding to voters’ concerns on energy costs with real solutions and those toeing the MAGA party line by supporting the Trump Administration’s ban on clean energy, multi million dollar taxpayer bailout for expensive dirtier energy sources like coal, and other ineffective proposals that make the problem even worse. 

LCV’s state affiliates in these states are running multi-million dollar campaigns to drive the conversation around costs ensuring the public understands who is focused on the issues that matter and who is making the problem even worse.

New Jersey Governor

One of the most closely watched races in the country will be the fight for New Jersey Governor. Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill, a former Navy pilot first elected to Congress in 2018, is facing off against MAGA Republican Jack Ciattarelli. Ratepayers in New Jersey were hit with a 20% increase in utility bills in June and rates are expected to rise again next year after a price-setting auction is held next July. 

Real or false solutions

• Mikie Sherrill
  • Campaign messaging laser-focused on her affordability agenda, with a key plank on energy announced early in the race to tackle rising costs by building more clean energy. 
  • Committed to immediate action as Governor pledging she’d declare a state of emergency and implement a full rate freeze. 
• Jack Ciattarelli 
  • Promised to take power off the grid by opposing proven energy generation like offshore wind.
  • Voiced support for Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill which raises energy costs by cutting clean energy tax credits and projects. 
  • Called to pull the state out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative which has saved New Jerseyans millions on their electric bills with clean energy and efficiency investments. 
  • An independent analysis found that Ciatarelli’s plans will cost New Jerseyans $900 per year in new energy costs.  

New Jersey LCV Victory Fund making the choice clear 

• New Jersey LCV Victory Fund and their affiliated entities have invested $1.7 million campaign squarely focused on Jack Ciatarelli’s costly energy policies and their impact on New Jersey families. This is the largest electoral investment in a statewide campaign in New Jersey LCV Victory Fund’s history, making them one of the top spenders in the race.

Virginia Governor

In the Virginia governor’s race, energy costs have once again dominated the headlines and airwaves. This contrast has also filtered into races for the Virginia House of Delegates and local elections. The proliferation of data centers in Virginia, which is now home to over a third of data centers worldwide, has made the associated increased energy rates a flashpoint issue in down-ballot races. Virginia provides a unique look at the ability for Democratic candidates to run and win on energy affordability at all levels of the ballot while holding Republicans accountable for ignoring voters’ concerns and supporting policies that have skyrocketed rates.

Ignoring the issue or tackling it head on 

• Abigail Spanberger
  • Spanberger has focused relentlessly on affordability. She’s addressed data centers directly to ensure they are “paying their fair share” and building out clean energy projects long stalled by both Governor Youngkin and new blockades from the Trump Administration. 
  • Just this week, Spanberger discussed her plan to tackle rising costs of energy bills by expanding renewable energy generation.
• Winsome Earle-Sears 
  • Earle-Sears campaign has chosen to focus on culture issues to divide the electorate. She’s frequently highlighted her opposition to gay marriage and abortion. 
  • Affordability has been an afterthought for Earle-Sears’s campaign. When Earle-Sears has addressed rising energy costs, she has promised to gut the state’s landmark clean energy law and pull out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative despite the thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in investments both have brought to Virginians.

Virginia LCV PAC and partners amplifying the issue

• Our state affiliate in Virginia VALCV-PAC, one of the largest outside spenders in the race, has a wave of digital ads focused on affordability and supporting candidates behind building more affordable clean energy. 

• • VALCV-PAC is also running a large-scale canvass program knocking on over 150,000 doors to talk with voters about the issues that matter to them including energy costs and making sure they know the stakes of this election. 

• Outside advocates have run “The Energy Bills are Too Damn High” tours across the state and debates have focused heavily on ways to lower costs.

Georgia Public Service Commission

The Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) has two seats of their five member board up in November. The Commission oversees the state’s utilities and has oversight for rate increases and future energy development. All 5 seats are currently occupied by Republicans who have repeatedly voted to hike rates – raising bills by over $500 a year for the average Georgia family. Meanwhile elections have been delayed due to a Voting Rights Act lawsuit followed by anti-democratic state government actions. That means this will be the first time Georgia voters have had the chance to make their voices heard since numerous utility bill rate hikes were approved by current members of the commission.

Contrast between the candidates

• Peter Hubbard and Dr. Alicia Johnson, the two challengers for the open seats, have made rising costs central to their campaign with a statewide  “My Power Bill’s Too High” tour. 
• Meanwhile the Republican candidates have turned to familiar 2024 culture and racially coded attacks with current commissioner Tim Echols saying Dr. Alicia Johnson, a Black woman, “wants to bring DEI and wokeness to the PSC.” 

Georgia Conservation Voters Action Fund making the choice clear

• Our state affiliate Georgia Conservation Voters Action Fund has made these races their top 2025 priority investing over $2.2 Million in robust organizing and voter communications. This makes GCV Action Fund the largest outside spender in these elections.

• This is the largest electoral investment in GCV Action Fund’s history with billboards, SMS texting, direct mail and digital ads squarely focused on costs (“$500”, “Wallet”, and “No Accident”)  alongside a new webpage where voters can see how much their bills have risen.  

Public attention on the race

• The Republican candidates have tried to divert attention from their record raising rates, hoping instead that corporate utility and business interest funding will help them.
• But as election day approaches the race has garnered statewide and even national attention with the press as well as Georgians with significant online followings and even some big name creators. 

The road ahead

Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans’ work to undermine, stall, and flat out ban wind and solar projects have led to higher utility bills for Americans nationwide. The Republican budget is expected to add more than $100 a year to Americans’ bills, and his administration’s attempt to block and limit wind and solar energy could cost even more. Affordability should be seen as the path to winning back voters’ trust. Candidates that are fully focused on bringing down utility costs and building homegrown clean energy will show voters they are serious about the issue. MAGA Republicans who are beholden to Trump’s disastrous energy agenda, will face the consequences of ignoring voters’ most pressing concerns.