MEMO: Energy affordability is driving Nevada voters to the polls this election
tags
TO: Interested Parties
FROM: Climate Power
DATE: October 28, 2026
RE: Energy affordability is driving Nevada voters to the polls this election
In 2024, Trump and Republicans promised to cut energy costs in half. Instead, Trump slashed cheaper clean energy, entered a costly war in Iran, and paved the way for rapid data center expansion with no guardrails, and Joe Lombardo has supported and praised Trump’s unpopular policies. All of this has led to skyrocketing gas and utility prices, while worsening air and water quality and slowing economic growth. Over the past year, energy affordability has become a top issue for voters struggling to choose between filling up their gas tanks, heating and cooling their homes, and putting food on the table for their families. Voters aren’t happy, and they’re set to make their voices heard at the polls on November 3rd.
Trump and Joe Lombardo’s policies are costing Nevadans
- Joe Lombardo has backed Trump’s war in Iran that’s already cost the average Nevada family an extra $759 in fuel costs, with no end in sight.
- In 2025, Lombardo signed a bill to make it easier for gas utilities to raise bills on Nevadans.
- Under Lombardo’s administration, data centers received more than $238 million in tax breaks and abatements over just two years.
- As of September 2026, Nevada had 102 planned or operating data centers.
- Between higher gas prices, utility bills, and tariffs, Trump has cost the average Nevada family an extra $1,433 since he took office, and by the end of the year, that total could grow to $2,312.
Energy affordability dominated news cycles
- Nevada Democrats criticize gas and diesel prices under ‘Lombardo-Trump economy’
- “It couldn’t be clearer that Lombardo and Stavros Anthony are ignoring the real, harsh reality that Nevadans face,” Jauregui said. “Because of their failure to lead, families have to pick between putting gas in their tank or food on their table.”
- Gubernatorial candidate Aaron Ford talks about high gas prices
- Arianna Yoder, a Reno resident of 16 years, told us, “Whether it’s gas, groceries, anything, it is so hard to be able to focus on one thing and be able to afford all of those things. When we have to literally focus on hoping that we can get from point A to point B.”
- Gas prices come to Nevada’s Gubernatorial race
- “Four years ago, as Lombardo was running for governor, gas prices hovered around $4.68 a gallon,” Ford says. “During that time-period he tweeted that gas prices were harming Nevada families. And that we needed and I quote: “leadership that ensures our families and businesses are protected from these disastrous policies,” unquote. But once he got into office, Joe Lombardo stopped fighting for us, in Nevada. He started working for Trump full time.”
- Nevada Democrats contrast rising costs for working families with Trump-era wealth at Las Vegas event
- “They’re really struggling to make ends meet, and at the same time, this administration is focused on building an arch, building a ballroom, and it’s like, where are your priorities for American workers?” Lee said.
Rising costs drive votes
- In Nevada, Emerson College conducted a poll showing 43% of voters view the economy as their top issue. A separate poll from Dave Sackett indicated that inflation and cost of living, followed by the economy and jobs, were Nevada voters’ top issues.
- In battleground states, 86% of voters say their utility bills are going up, and energy costs are now tied with housing as the second-biggest financial concern facing families.
- Research found that since January, the share of voters seriously concerned about gas prices has more than doubled, while concern about electricity costs is up 10 points. 58% of voters say congressional Republicans are making energy prices worse, compared to just 22% who say better.
Behind the money
- Trump has made as much as $21 million from his oil and gas investments since the start of the Iran war, bragging about the money these companies are making as Nevadans pay the price at the pump.
- AI-linked donors poured $2 million into Joe Lombardo’s reelection campaign, as he championed data centers that could consume as much water annually as 150,000 households.
- Throughout his career, Lombardo has taken at least $122,300 from Big Oil and Gas and at least $107,000 from utilities.
Trump promised to cut energy costs in half. Instead, he passed the 2025 Republican tax bill which gutted clean energy investment and tilted the playing field toward expensive oil and gas, just as demand is exploding due to the proliferation of data centers. And Joe Lombardo has supported Trump’s agenda, from supporting his war in Iran to praising parts of the Republican tax bill. Nevadans are paying the price, and they’ve had enough of politicians enriching themselves as they struggle to afford their energy bills.
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