Christine Waugh-Fleischmann, an art teacher, reports spending up to $200 weekly on gasoline for visits to her grandchildren. A Democratic voter in Michigan’s 7th Congressional District, she believes the seat, currently held by Republican Representative Tom Barrett, could switch parties, partly due to high gas prices.
“I see many people in my conservative neighborhood who are upset,” she told Reuters. “It’s gas. It’s grocery prices, it’s health care costs.”
The source of her frustration is evident. Following the onset of conflict with Iran in late February, Michigan’s average gas price surged by about 32 percent in three weeks, rising from $2.99 to $3.95 per gallon. Governor Gretchen Whitmer declared an energy emergency to allow the sale of cheaper summer-blend fuel in southeast Michigan, attributing the decision to the war and tariffs. Despite these measures, prices continued to climb, with a 90-cent increase in a single week, one of the steepest rises in any midterm battleground, briefly surpassing $4 before recently declining.
Crisis, emergency orders, and ongoing struggles are central to Michigan’s midterm elections, a reality both parties are acutely aware of.
A ground shift
Historically, Republicans viewed Michigan as a prime target for a takeover in 2026. However, recent developments have cast doubt on that prospect. A Democrat secured a special state Senate election in May by nearly 20 points in a district previously won narrowly by Kamala Harris, and Donald Trump’s economic approval rating among Republicans dropped from 74 percent to 62 percent between March and April.
A Climate Power survey of 600 likely Michigan voters in mid-June revealed that 42 percent, including 44 percent of independents, would be less inclined to support a congressional candidate endorsing Trump’s energy policies, compared to 21 percent who would be more inclined. Moreover, 58 percent blamed Trump for higher energy costs, and 63 percent disagreed with his statement that high gas prices were a “small price to pay” for the conflict in Iran. Since the conflict began, 45 percent have grown more supportive of diversifying the U.S. energy mix to include solar and wind power.
“Michigan families are feeling the impact of Trump’s energy agenda at the pump and in their power bills — and voters understand this,” said Tom Lenard, Climate Power’s Michigan director, cautioning that candidates supporting this agenda “do so at their own political risk.”
However, not all voters in Barrett’s district share this view. Alexander Melton, a 38-year-old heating and air conditioning technician, told Reuters that he still supports the Republican congressman. “We don’t dictate the price of gas,” he said.
Affordability versus the ‘Green New Scam’
In the Democratic Senate primary set for August 4, candidates Haley Stevens, Mallory McMorrow, and Abdul El-Sayed have all linked affordability messaging to clean energy. McMorrow, before withdrawing from the race, described it as “a freedom issue, it’s a cost issue” and argued that Democrats are “on the verge” of reducing bills. Republican Mike Rogers, vying for a U.S. Senate seat for the second time, argued that the push for renewable energy is actually driving up Michigan’s energy costs.
Behind the rhetoric lies genuine economic damage. Michigan lost $4.1 billion in planned clean manufacturing investment and around 11,700 jobs due to Trump-era rollbacks. In addition, $540 million in climate grants were either canceled or delayed, including $156 million intended to help low-income residents install solar panels. Furthermore, the administration instructed Consumers Energy to keep the J.H. Campbell coal plant operational beyond its planned retirement, a decision critics argue will cost ratepayers more than transitioning away from coal.
The consequences have transcended party lines. In March of last year, Representative John James of Shelby Township and at least seven other House Republicans urged their colleagues to maintain the Biden-era clean energy tax credits. “We must not disregard the sector-wide energy tax provisions that manufacturers and job creators in my district depend on,” James stated.
Divided government, divided stakes
The central conflict is in Lansing. Michigan’s 2023 Clean Energy and Jobs Act mandates 100 percent renewable electricity by 2040, but the upcoming elections could decide its fate. Last month, House Republicans passed “Project Lighthouse,” a package to repeal the clean energy mandates; its sponsor, state Representative Pauline Wendzel, labeled the 2023 requirements as “arbitrary” and argued they favor large investor-owned utilities over everyday consumers. However, the Democratic-held Senate is likely to block this legislation — for now. Meanwhile, DTE Energy and Consumers Energy, the state’s largest utilities, will submit integrated resource plans under the new law for the first time in 2026, suggesting that the election will influence the framework as it takes effect.
Ben Poulson, state government affairs director for the Michigan League of Conservation Voters, contends that the repeal legislation extends beyond its sponsors’ claims. “It abolishes numerous programs we’ve been utilizing to reduce energy waste and diminishes the accountability of utility companies in the state,” he told Planet Detroit.
Denise Keele, executive director of the Michigan Climate Action Network, noted that climate change is surfacing on the campaign trail under a different guise. “We’re seeing it manifest as energy affordability,” she said, pointing out that Michiganders face some of the highest residential electricity and gas rates in the country. House Republicans, she argued, “are essentially blaming clean and renewable energy for rising energy prices” — despite renewables comprising only about 11 percent of the state’s energy mix, with wind and solar being cheaper and quicker to construct. Her frustration extends to Democrats, whom she believes aren’t sufficiently promoting renewable energy’s success, a reluctance she likened to what Bill McKibben, a renowned environmental activist and journalist, calls “climate hushing.” The truthful argument — that prices will rise less with renewables than with fossil fuels — “is apparently too difficult to convey.”
Data centers and utility money
Data centers, which have increased utility rates while promising jobs, are a major flashpoint, dividing traditional Democratic supporters. Gubernatorial frontrunner Jocelyn Benson, endorsed by the Michigan League of Conservation Voters at a Grand Rapids riverfront event, has committed to enforceable regulations on data centers and utilities and a moratorium on companies violating environmental standards. Her platform focuses on expanding clean energy to reduce utility bills, replacing outdated water infrastructure, and reinstating polluter pay laws.
Nevertheless, some unions support data center projects. “We respectfully urge policymakers to endorse a responsible path forward for data center development that protects communities, enhances the tax base, strengthens our workforce, and keeps Michigan competitive for decades to come,” testified Douglas W. Stockwell, business manager and general vice president of Operating Engineers 324, at a Michigan House of Representatives hearing.
Voter dissatisfaction with utilities is also reshaping the financial landscape. More than 150 Michigan politicians from both parties have pledged to reject campaign contributions from Consumers Energy and DTE, as reported by the Michigan League of Conservation Voters — even as Consumers Energy sought another rate increase for its electricity customers this week.
“What’s happening is disgusting; it’s exploitative, extractive, and unethical,” said Jerry Norris, a Lansing community activist, who is closely following the money trail this cycle. “It might not own everyone who accepts such money, but it influences them, creates an obligation, and incurs a debt,” he told WILX10.
For voters like Alexis Jones of Lansing, the issue boils down to one number on an envelope. His utility bill is “almost $400,” he said.
“It’s terrible. Not only do I have to look out for myself, but I’ve got little munchkins, grandkids, to care for. And things are out of control.”
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