Virginia Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger. Photo: Adnan Masri
In the 2025 general election, voters in Virginia and New Jersey chose governors who ran on clean energy solutions to tackle rising costs and strengthen grid reliability. Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger and Governor-elect Mikie Sherrill both centered energy affordability, reliability and readily available clean energy solutions in their campaigns, and won.
“The results of both governors races reflect that leaders who embrace clean energy as a path to lower bills, reliable power and economic growth are being rewarded at the ballot box,” said Heather O’Neill, president and CEO at Advanced Energy United. “These elections send a clear message to every statehouse in America: clean energy wins.”
Virginia and New Jersey share overlapping energy challenges, including rising electricity needs, rising costs and an aging power grid. Both governors-elect will need to hit the ground running to meet the moment by working with their legislatures and across state lines to make it easier to build more advanced energy infrastructure, as well as maximizing existing grid infrastructure, and ensuring grid infrastructure investments aren’t made on outdated solutions.
“Virginians voted for a pragmatic leader who gets results, because we’re in the midst of a growing energy affordability crisis, and she will need to lead from Day 1,” said Jim Purekal, Virginia director at Advanced Energy United. “Governor-elect Spanberger has a clear mandate to make energy more affordable and reliable by making it easier to build low-cost clean energy and fixing the bottlenecks that slow progress.”
“Governor-elect Sherrill ran and won on a clean energy platform because of what clean energy delivers: lower bills, a more reliable grid and homegrown jobs,” said Katie Mettle, New Jersey policy lead at Advanced Energy United. “Her victory signals that New Jerseyans understand that clean energy is a winning formula for families, for the economy and for the grid.”
In other energy-related election night news, Georgia elected two new public service commissioners to the state’s five-person body — marking the first time since 2006 that an incumbent commissioner has lost their election. Challengers Peter Hubbard and Dr. Alicia Johnson unseated two incumbents who had voted to approve six rate hikes over the last two years.
“The election of two new Public Service Commissioners represents a seismic change in Georgia’s energy landscape and reflects a new politics of electricity in America,” said Charles Hua, founder and executive director of PowerLines. “Consumers have sent a clear message: they are paying attention and will hold public officials accountable for decisions that impact their utility bills.”
News item from Advanced Energy United
