Soaring utility bills have become another weapon in Democrats’ midterm arsenal, new figures show, as the party pours millions of dollars into highlighting this aspect of the affordability debate. According to figures from the advertising data firm AdImpact, analyzed and shared with Newsweek by the climate-focused advocacy group Climate Power, over $191 million has been spent on political ads specifically referencing utility and energy bills in the first nine months of 2026, including more than $138 million in the third quarter alone. The majority has come from Democrats and been spent in battleground states considered critical in the 2026 midterms—an election that has centered around themes of affordability and the rising cost of living.
"Democrats are the ones listening, and they’re putting their message about lowering costs in front of voters because they know it resonates," Climate Power Spokesperson Marcus W. To determine how prominent utility costs have been in 2026 midterm campaigning, Climate Power searched through AdImpact data and transcripts for terms such as "utility bill," "electric bill" and "electricity bill." The resulting data on House, Senate and governor races cover broadcast TV, cable TV and digital video ads which aired from January 1. The data reveal that groups have devoted increasing resources to the issue as the elections approach, with total spending rising from $25.5 million in the first quarter, to $47.4 million in the second, to $138.5 million in the third.
Climate Power said that the latter was spent across 1,904 distinct ads and over 600,000 airings between July 1 and September 30, and that a further $96.3 million has been spent from October 1 to October 16 across nearly 300,000 airings. And beyond the clear spending advantage for Democrats—who accounted for 70 percent of utility-related ad spend in the third quarter—the data reveals that much of this has been deployed across this year’s battleground states, led by Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Texas. Taken together, Climate Power said that just 11 states have accounted for over 60 percent of total utility-focused ad spending since July.
"Battleground Democratic candidates have led the charge on ads highlighting soaring utility costs because they understand that families are talking about this issue at the kitchen table," Robinson told Newsweek. According to the latest inflation report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), electricity costs increased 4.4 percent in the 12 months to September, faster than the headline inflation rate of 3.7 percent. And analysis from the utility marketplace ElectricChoice, as of October finds that the average residential electricity rate in the U.S. is 18.34¢ per kilowatt-hour, a 5 percent year-over-year increase.
By average monthly electricity bills, the firm identified the top 10 most expensive states as: Polls continue to show voters treating energy bills as among their primary affordability concerns. A mid-September Searchlight Institute survey of 1,498 likely voters found that, when made to choose between lowering costs and battling climate change, 56 percent prioritized the former. And 96 percent said that their electricity bill had either stayed the same or risen over the past year.
Polling commissioned by Climate Power and conducted by Hart Research in January among 2,710 registered voters revealed that 84 percent were concerned about their electricity bills, with 42 percent of swing voters "very" concerned. Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Dan Orton and Tony Phillips. Want access to the latest insights on politics and economics?
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