Trump's focus on cultural issues amid high energy bills zaps Republicans

Driving the news: Democrats notched two seats on a powerful but little-known utilities commission in Georgia on Tuesday, winning roughly 63% of the unofficial vote, according to preliminary results from Georgia's secretary of state.

• The win marks the first time in nearly 20 years that Democrats have held a seat on the five-member board, a clear rebuke of the six rate hikes Republican members have approved in the past two years.
• In Virginia's governor's race, Democrat Abigail Spanberger hammered home the need for cheap, clean energy and making data centers pay their share in power costs.
• Democrat Mikie Sherrill won the New Jersey governor's race with the promise to freeze utility rates and build out renewable energy.

The big picture: Republicans' MAGA-driven cultural attacks didn't land in races that had seldom to do with identity politics, as one of the losing GOP energy commissioners admitted in the weeks before Election Day.

• "We're attempting to scare our Republican base," Tim Echols told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
• Echols later questioned the strategy, adding that he had to give Democrats "credit" for tapping into voters' anger over their power bills.

The latest: Democrats hope to widen what they see as a political opening on power prices.

• Party members on Congress' Joint Economic Committee on Thursday released a report projecting that the average U.S. household will pay $100 more for electricity in 2025 than 2024.

By the numbers: Georgians using the state's largest electricity provider were whacked with a $518 bill increase per year, or a roughly 33% rise on average.

• In New Jersey and Virginia, residents saw their electricity prices increase by 21% and 13%, respectively, between August 2024 and 2025, according to data from the Energy Department.

What they're saying: "Voters across the country just sent a clear message: their bills are too damn high," Climate Power spokesperson Alex Glass told Axios in an emailed statement.

• "This winning blueprint confirms that energy affordability must be at the center of the conversation for Democrats in 2026."
• Leah Stokes, a University of California, Santa Barbara, political scientist and author, told Axios in a phone interview that the results prove that the American people are "annoyed that the rich keep getting richer — including utility executives — and the rest of us have harder and harder bills to pay every single month."

The other side: Trump told voters that Democrats were going to make their energy costs "soar" in a Truth Social post on Monday.

• "Why would anyone vote for New Jersey and Virginia Gubernatorial Candidates, Mikie Sherrill and Abigail Spanberger, when they want transgender for everybody, men playing in women's sports, High Crime, and the most expensive Energy prices almost anywhere in the World?" he questioned.
• After both Democrats won, Trump brushed off the losses on social media Tuesday night, writing that Republicans only lost because he "wasn't on the ballot," and because of the government shutdown.
• The White House referred Axios to the president's remarks on Wednesday, in which he reiterated that his administration is "delivering an economic miracle." The Republican National Committee did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.

The bottom line: A lot can change in the next year before midterms, but Democrats moving away from their 2024 "pro-Democracy" message to rising utility bills is a strategy on a kitchen table issue that offers the party hope.

Go deeper: How Virginia, New Jersey governors will address high electricity costs after winning

Editor's note: This story has been updated with information on the Joint Economic Committee Democrats' report.