New Report Highlights How Greg Murphy’s Votes Are Fueling North Carolina’s Cost of Living Crisis
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Raleigh, NC — New state-specific modeling published today by Energy Innovation underscores the direct links between Trump’s policies and the cost-of-living crisis North Carolina families are facing—a crisis that our country will be saddled with for years to come if Republicans keep their majorities in both houses of Congress.
Trump’s war in Iran has sent gas and diesel prices through the roof, his gutting of clean energy has slashed energy supply at a time when demand is skyrocketing, and the blank check he’s given to data center developers has pushed utility prices sky-high. Rather than standing up for North Carolinians, Murphy has shown his loyalty lies exclusively with Trump in vote after vote.
Toplines from Energy Innovation’s new analysis include:
- North Carolina households will pay an additional $34 billion for energy – an average of $670 per household in 2035 and $770 in 2040.
- Cutting policies that drive transportation sector innovation and efficiency will inflate gasoline prices in North Carolina 16 percent in 2035 and 29 percent in 2040, atop upward pressure from the Iran war.
- OBBBA and federal cuts to domestic manufacturing and innovation will cost North Carolina’s economy 15,000 jobs per year on average over the next decade, in addition to the 7,400 clean energy jobs lost since January 2025.
- Slowing down electrification and domestic energy manufacturing will lower GDP, spilling into other economic sectors. North Carolina’s economy will lose $2.9 billion in GDP in 2030, with annual losses peaking at $5.1 billion by 2039.
- Worsening local air pollution will raise healthcare costs in North Carolina by $1.1 billion, with annual increases of $83 million in 2035 and $110 million in 2040, contributing to rising household costs alongside rising energy prices and goods inflation.
“Greg Murphy has been a cheerleader for the Trump policies ratcheting up our energy costs, from the Iran War to gutting American clean energy to massive tax breaks for data centers—and we simply can’t afford it,” said Climate Power’s North Carolina State Director Terryn Hall. “Republicans have been in control of the US House, Senate, and North Carolina’s legislature and the results have been disastrous. We deserve elected officials who truly serve North Carolinians, not bend over backwards for their big money donors like Murphy.”
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