How Democrats used the midterms to turn affordability concerns into ‘green populism’ — SkimNews
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- Climate and Community Institute found that candidates most aligned with “green economic populism” won 39 of 56 federal House and Senate races in which they ran (70%), including 6 of 7 Senate races and 33 of 49 House races (67%); executive director Johanna Bozuwa said climate was critical to voters’ demand for affordability.
- Bill McKibben said energy prices and the Iran war were significant election factors and called data centers the biggest crossover issue, drawing Republicans, Democrats and independents in the same direction.
- Sherrod Brown won Ohio’s Senate race after ads called Jon Husted the “face of datacenters”; Ohio electric bills had risen 34% since 2022, and a leaked Republican memo called data centers the “anchor hanging around Husted’s neck.”
- JoAnna Mendoza won Arizona’s sixth congressional district, campaigning on clean-energy investment to save ratepayers money, groundwater protection and cleaning up Pfas “forever chemicals” in drinking water; incumbent Juan Ciscomani had voted to phase out Biden-era clean-energy tax credits.
- Will Lawrence won a purple Michigan congressional seat after campaigning for state and federal moratoria on hyperscale data centers and overcoming $4 million in Trump PAC-funded attack ads; he has also expressed skepticism of large-scale clean-energy projects.
- James Talarico won Democrats’ first Texas Senate seat in decades and now proposes an “all of the above” energy approach protecting the fossil-fuel industry while investing in renewables, despite his earlier statement that fossil fuels were “destroying the planet.”
- Democrats took control of both chambers, gaining investigative and subpoena power, authority to block anti-climate judges and other appointees, and leverage over budgets Trump must pass; Rep. Jared Huffman vowed to probe big oil’s profits, while the U.S. oil industry earned $130 billion in profits since the Iran war began.
Why it matters: With a 70% win rate among green-aligned candidates and control of both chambers, Democrats can launch investigations, subpoena witnesses, block anti-climate appointees and insert climate provisions into budgets Trump must negotiate. Jared Huffman has promised an oil-profit probe, and Nov. 9 is the date cited for a permitting-reform Senate vote.
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