Primary Winners Across the Country are Embracing Clean Energy Affordability on Path to Victory

To: Interested Parties
From: Evergreen Action Communications Director Seth Nelson
Date: Thursday, July 9, 2026
Re: Primary Winners Across the Country are Embracing Clean Energy Affordability on Path to Victory

With June’s gubernatorial primaries now complete, Democratic nominees Phil Weiser, Deb Haaland, Aaron Ford, and Xavier Becerra are heading to their general elections in Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, and California, with energy affordability being a core part of their pitch to voters. And the case they’re making on cheap, clean power and corporate accountability gives them a strong path to victory this fall.

The playbook is proven. Last fall, Governors Mikie Sherrill and Abigail Spanberger showed that earning voters’ trust with common-sense plans to lower costs, take on broken systems, and expand clean energy—while putting opponents on the defensive for driving up energy costs—is a winning general election strategy. Weiser, Haaland, Ford, and Becerra are positioned to run the same playbook across the American West, from a state with some of the highest electricity rates in the country to the nation’s second-largest oil producer. 

Rising energy costs are hitting American families hard—and voter demand for action is intense across party lines. A May 2026 poll from the Conservative Energy Network found that four in five voters are concerned about electricity affordability. Nearly three-fourths report their electricity bills have gone up in the past two years. And 80% say a candidate’s position on energy costs is important to their vote—including 81% of Republicans and 78% of Independents. Energy affordability has become a defining issue heading into this fall’s general elections, and voters want leaders who will go big on clean energy and hold monopoly utilities accountable.

Here’s the case each nominee is taking into their general election:

Phil Weiser, Colorado

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser enters the general election with one of the most detailed energy platforms in the field. Weiser’s plan centers on accelerating solar and wind deployment and positioning the state as a national leader in harnessing abundant, cheap clean energy:

• “Leading Our Energy Future”: Weiser’s plan includes recommitting to Colorado’s ambitious climate targets and expanding solar, wind, and battery storage to build a more reliable, more affordable grid.
  

• Data Centers Pay Their Fair Share: Weiser has committed to ensuring that new large energy users, such as data centers, “pay their fair share” to protect residential ratepayers from picking up the tab, while seeking opportunities to “sponsor new forms of clean energy options to support increasing demand.”

• Worker-Transition Support: Weiser’s plan explicitly commits to retraining for fossil-fuel-dependent communities, calling it a “great opportunity for a just transition across rural Colorado.”

Deb Haaland, New Mexico

New Mexico holds a remarkable distinction: it is simultaneously the second-largest oil producer and third-largest natural gas producer in the country, and one of the top three states in the nation for wind and solar generation share. As the former U.S. Interior Secretary, Haaland brings a federal record—and a forward-looking clean energy vision—that will be difficult for any opponent to match.

• Renewable Energy Capital: Haaland has set a clear governing vision: make New Mexico the renewable energy capital of the country. With about half its electricity already from wind and solar, it’s a credible promise that frames clean energy as New Mexico’s economic future.
  

• Clean Energy Jobs, Lower Bills: Haaland is pitching clean energy as an economic opportunity for energy communities across the state—good-paying union jobs in clean energy, paired with lower energy bills from homegrown renewable power.
  

• A Record to Run On: Haaland’s secured $775 million in her time at Interior for orphaned oil and gas well cleanup and worker transition in 21 states—concrete proof heading into a general election in an energy-producing state that she delivers for energy communities.

Aaron Ford, Nevada

NV Energy won approval from state regulators last fall to implement the country’s first mandatory residential demand charge of any investor-owned utility—while Trump’s Solar for All program cuts eliminated funding that would have lowered costs for 50,000 Nevadans. Ford didn’t wait to become governor to fight back: as attorney general, he challenged both in court. Now, in one of the most competitive gubernatorial races in the country, he’s made clean energy affordability a central plank of his “Affordable Nevada” plan:

• Accelerate Nevada’s Solar Economy: Nevada ranks seventh in the nation for solar generation, and Ford has called expanding clean energy a top priority for lowering costs in the long term. As governor, he’s vowed to “cut through red tape” to fast-track new solar and battery projects, expand residential solar access, and push back against Trump’s funding cuts already driving household bills higher.
  

• Halt Unlawful Rate Hikes: Ford is fighting to stop NV Energy’s mandatory demand charge, which would raise costs and undercut rooftop solar adoption. When a judge sided with the utility, Ford vowed to appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court—and as governor, he’ll keep fighting to prevent “arbitrary” new charges on households already stretched thin.
  

• Data Centers Pay Their Fair Share: Ford will require data centers to pay for their own increased energy consumption and the grid infrastructure needed to deliver it—rather than shifting those costs onto residential ratepayers.

Xavier Becerra, California

A May 2026 poll found that more than eight in 10 (83%) California voters reported that lowering electricity bills should be a top priority for lawmakers. That’s no surprise in a state with some of the highest electricity rates in the country. Becerra is making fighting rising energy costs and holding utilities accountable part of his central pitch to voters this fall: 

• Day One Rate Freeze: Becerra has pledged to immediately freeze utility rates and declare a state of emergency on utility costs, a concrete first-day commitment that gives voters a clear, tangible promise heading into November.
  

• Clean Energy as a Public Investment: Becerra frames clean energy not as a mandate, but as shared infrastructure whose benefits reach renters, low-income households, and working families. “The goal is to cut pollution and emissions while lowering household energy costs, strengthening public oversight, and ensuring the benefits of clean energy reach everyone,” his platform reads.
  

• Utility Accountability: Becerra has committed to stronger oversight and transparency for California’s investor-owned utilities, with affordability “at the center” of his energy policy—especially for low- and middle-income families.

The Path to November Is Clear

Going big on clean energy deployment is a proven strategy—one that helped Sherrill and Spanberger sail to decisive victories, even with opponents backed by Trump trying to make solar and wind power a liability. Weiser, Haaland, Ford, and Becerra now have an opportunity to pursue a similar path to victory across four very different states.

The through-line is consistent: voters don’t want to choose between affordable energy and clean energy. A January 2026 Climate Power survey found that 52% of voters already believe using more clean energy will make electricity more affordable in the next year or two. The candidates who make that case clearly, hold utilities and grid operators accountable, and stand up to the Trump administration’s clean energy sabotage are poised to keep winning.

All four nominees face general election opponents who will try to muddy the waters on energy costs this fall. The playbook for responding is well-established: go big on clean energy to bring down electricity bills, successfully define their opponents on energy costs, and trust voters to reward the candidate with the better plan.

For more information or to speak with a policy expert, please contact Evergreen Action Communications Director Seth Nelson at seth@evergreenaction.com.

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