VoltsDavid RobertsAll episodes
So, how about those midterm elections?
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Last week’s election was a blue wave all the way down the ballot: Democrats took the House and Senate, went from 16 state trifectas to as many as 22, flipped utility commissions, and rejected data centers almost everywhere. Caroline Spears of Climate Cabinet, which won more than 100 of its 120-plus races, joins me to sort through the statehouses, PSCs, and ballot measures. Then we ask the harder questions of whether these new majorities can actually bring down costs and what it all means for climate and energy policy.
Chapters:
00:00 – Introduction
02:20 – How Climate Cabinet’s races went
04:31 – The national results and historic firsts
07:21 – Trifectas 1: which states flipped
12:25 – Trifectas 2: Pennsylvania and going big
18:21 – Trifectas 3: North Carolina, redistricting
22:47 – Regulators 1: Georgia’s new majority
26:09 – Regulators 2: Arizona and Louisiana
28:32 – Regulators 3: Texas Railroad Commission
32:22 – Undervoting and other down-ballot wins
38:05 – Data centers 1: the ballot-box backlash
40:27 – Data centers 2: is clean energy next?
45:09 – Ballot measures 1: Michigan and Colorado
49:13 – Ballot measures 2: Ann Arbor, Eugene, AZ
55:56 – Housing and transit
1:01:44 – How states can cut energy bills
1:08:46 – Quick fixes, lasting fixes, and EVs
1:13:11 – Looking ahead to 2028
1:20:14 – Final thoughts
