If Republicans hope to win the 2026 midterms, they need to prioritize energy affordability.
The Trump administration last month announced that the Department of Energy (DOE) would be reorganized to focus on gas and nuclear power rather than deceptively named renewables (that is, toxic and inefficient “green” energy). As divisions such as the Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy Office and the Office of Fusion replace Biden boondoggles like the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, energy experts are optimistic about the future. And that is incredibly important for the Republican Party going into next year‘s midterm elections. In fact, the GOP should have a whole-of-party approach toward prioritizing this issue.
So-called green energy is toxic, unreliable, expensive, inefficient, and dependent upon slave and abusive labor in Africa and Asia. From every perspective, it is a disaster, yet that is exactly where the Biden administration put taxpayer money and government resources. The Trump administration has been transforming the DOE to shift toward more reliable fuel and energy sources.
A new letter signed by organizations including CFACT, American Energy Institute, Consumers Defense, and Truth in Energy and Climate expresses support for Energy Secretary Chris Wright’s plans. Steve Milloy, senior fellow at the Energy & Environment Legal Institute, said, “Wright became the first Energy Secretary to have actual experience and expertise in the energy industry – and it shows in his remarkable record of accomplishment so far. Implementing the MAGA agenda, Secretary Wright is advancing energy that works – like coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear – and terminating unreliable and expensive energy that depends on the Green New Scam.”
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Jason Isaac, CEO of the American Energy Institute, was equally laudatory. “Secretary Chris Wright… has led the largest deregulatory initiative in Department of Energy history, cut billions in wasteful green subsidies, and restored a clear path to American energy dominance. He halted dozens of harmful appliance rules, streamlined NEPA, canceled politically driven wind, solar, and carbon-capture spending, reignited U.S. LNG and nuclear development, and used emergency authority to keep critical coal capacity online so the grid stays stable when it matters most,” Isaac said.
And this will have very real impacts on which way Americans vote next year. In the 2024 election, the economy and its attendant issues of affordability and inflation were the number one concern for voters. It was a major factor in why Donald Trump was elected.
Survey data from the American Petroleum Institute during the last election cycle found “2024 Election Voters are concerned about inflation and experience financial pain, and they see a role for domestic natural gas and oil production in helping consumers and small businesses.” That included 86% of voters overall, 77% of Democrats, 90% of independents, and 92% of Republicans.
Even a majority of Democrats see gas prices as a key issue, and certainly, independents do. If the Trump administration and the Republican Party can demonstrate to the American people that they are making very noticeable and significant progress in fuel and energy affordability, that could be the key that drives Republicans to victory in 2026.
