MEMO: Energy affordability is driving Ohio voters to the polls this election

TO: Interested Parties

FROM: Climate Power 

DATE: October 30, 2026

RE: Energy affordability is driving Ohio voters to the polls this election

In 2024, Trump and Republicans promised to cut energy costs in half. Instead, Trump and Ohio Republicans slashed cheaper clean energy, entered a costly war in Iran, and paved the way for rapid data center expansion with no guardrails, all of which 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 Ohio Republicans’ policies are costing Ohioans

• Electricity bills hit record highs in Ohio, the average Ohio family was projected to spend nearly $750 on cooling costs this summer, and utility bills are up 25% since Trump and Congressional Republicans took over. 
• Between higher gas prices, utility bills, and tariffs, Trump has cost the average Ohio family an extra $2,175 since he took office, and by the end of the year, that totals could grow to $3,300.
• Current data center development is expected to increase electric bills in Ohio by an additional $70 per month over the next two years. 

Energy affordability dominated news cycles 

• WVXU News: The price of electricity is up in Ohio, leaving many worried about how to pay the bills
  • When Clermont County resident Paul Napier received a $700 electric bill this summer, he thought he might lose everything. “No groceries, no car. I wouldn’t be able to pay my lot rent on my mobile home,” Napier, who is on Social Security, said. … Five years ago he said it was typically less than $200. This year, it’s been at least about $500 a month.
• Ohio Capital Journal: $10 diesel? One Ohio analyst says it’s possible.
  • “The reason I think $10 is a distinct possibility is because things don’t move linearly,” Dayton-based data analyst Eric Pachman said. “At a certain point, people just freak out about stuff. We haven’t reached that point. Things have gradually risen as supply has drained to the lowest levels on record. There’s been no freakout yet. But I’d say it’s a distinct possibility or even a reasonable probability.”
• Ohio Capital Journal: State audit shows Ohio energy prices up 34% since 2022
  • State Auditor Keith Faber and his team conducted an audit of the PUCO, which showed they have let energy prices increase 34% since 2022, while companies are petitioning for additional hikes. “I would ask FirstEnergy, if in their conscience they’re okay with raising rates on us, given the profits they’re already making,” Don Nottage, a Lakewood resident, said.
• Signal Ohio: Electric bills hit new highs across Ohio, state data shows
  • For a Columbus household, in American Electric Power Ohio’s service territory, 900 kilowatt-hours in July 2016 cost $118. Today, that’s about $199. That’s a difference of $81 more for the month. The 10-year spike is similarly seen across the state.

Rising costs drive votes

• In a recent poll by Bowling Green State University, Ohio voters selected the economy as their top concern (39%) when picking their top three issues, with inflation coming in second (30%).
• Bowling Green State University polling found most Ohioans believe data centers are bad for the environment (70%), home energy costs (69%), and people’s quality of life nearby (65%).
• According to AdImpact data, in Ohio, Democrats put half of their ad spending into ads on utility bills and data centers. Across the state’s races, $86.3 million went to ads on energy costs, almost all about electric bills ($80.0 million from Democrats). Another $40.3 million went to ads on data centers ($38.5 million from Democrats). Most of it was in the Senate race: $70.6 million on energy costs and $30.6 million on data centers. The governor’s race added $7.9 million on energy costs and $3.1 million on data centers.
• In battleground districts, energy costs are two of voters’ top three issues: gas prices (46%) and utilities (37%), behind only groceries (68%), according to new Hart Research polling. Six in 10 voters say Trump is making energy prices worse, and 54% say the same of Republicans in Congress.
• 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 Ohioans pay the price at the pump.
• Husted has received $456,635 this cycle-to-date from Big Oil ($373,968) and from utilities ($82,667). 
• As Lieutenant Governor, Jon Husted was allegedly involved in a bribery scheme related to FirstEnergy’s billion-dollar bailout, which contributed to Ohio households paying $663 more per year for electricity in the years since. 

Available voices for interviews

• Michael McGovern, Executive Director of Innovation Ohio
• Businesses impacted by rising energy costs:
  • Charles Ott, General Manager of the Bexley Natural Market in Columbus, OH
  • Jay Warmke, Owner of Solar PV Training LLC in Marietta, OH

Trump promised to cut energy costs in half. Instead, he and congressional Republicans — who passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — 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. Ohioans are paying the price, and they’ve had enough of politicians enriching themselves as they struggle to afford their energy bills. 

###