As the 2026 midterms approach, voters are contending with concerns around affordability, the AI boom, and climate disruption in their daily lives. AI data centers have become the wild card in energy politics, driving up energy demand and utility bills, and playing a large role in a battleground House primary. A year after the One Big Beautiful Bill Act rolled back key parts of the Inflation Reduction Act, many climate advocates assumed the energy transition was stalled out, but new research suggests otherwise. How will climate and energy shape the ballot box this year? And what's it like to campaign on those issues in a swing state? William Lawrence, Candidate, US Congress MI-07; Co-founder, Sunrise Movement Leah Stokes, Associate Professor, UC Santa Barbara; Author, “The Carbon Wave” Lily Bermel, Visiting Fellow, Columbia Center on Global Energy Policy. For show notes, related links, and episode transcript, visit our ⁠episode page⁠ at ClimateOne.org Highlights: 00:00:00 Intro 00:03:25 William Lawrence on campaign messaging 00:05:48 William Lawrence on climate and data centers 00:08:05 William Lawrence on giving people more agency 00:13:21 William Lawrence on addressing decarbonization and affordability 00:16:41 Leah Stokes on rewriting narratives about having children in a climate crisis 00:18:55 Leah Stokes on what's driving climate hushing 00:26:36 Leah Stokes on working on climate policy and a high risk pregnancy 00:31:30 Leah Stokes on the trials and joys of working with others 00:36:17 Leah Stokes on what the future could hold after the midterms 00:39:42 Lily Bermel on the methodology of “Glass Half Full” 00:46:01 Lily Bermel on the other factors affecting solar and wind deployment 00:48:55 Lily Bermel on how energy could play into the midterm elections *** Join Climate One for a town hall event on September 28 at 6 p.m. on navigating AI, climate, and the future of democracy. How do we ensure that AI and data centers serve the public good? How does a democracy function when AI is distorting our sense of shared truths? Tickets available at ⁠climateone.org/events⁠ *** Also: We’ll be having an electric conversation on October 14 at 6 p.m. between PG&E CEO Patti Poppe and California State Senator Scott Wiener about energy affordability, outages, and whether cities like San Francisco are ready to break up with the investor-owned utility model. Tickets available at ⁠climateone.org/events⁠ *** Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on ⁠Patreon⁠, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. ⁠Sign up today⁠. *** Ad sales by ⁠Multitude⁠. Contact them for ad inquiries at ⁠multitude.productions/ads Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the Midterms Approach, What’s Electrifying the Electorate?

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As the 2026 midterms approach, voters are contending with concerns around affordability, the AI boom, and climate disruption in their daily lives. AI data centers have become the wild card in energy politics, driving up energy demand and utility bills, and playing a large role in a battleground House primary. A year after the One Big Beautiful Bill Act rolled back key parts of the Inflation Reduction Act, many climate advocates assumed the energy transition was stalled out, but new research suggests otherwise.   How will climate and energy shape the ballot box this year? And what's it like to campaign on those issues in a swing state?  William Lawrence, Candidate, US Congress MI-07; Co-founder, Sunrise Movement  Leah Stokes, Associate Professor, UC Santa Barbara; Author, “The Carbon Wave”  Lily Bermel, Visiting Fellow, Columbia Center on Global Energy Policy.    For show notes, related links, and episode transcript, visit our ⁠episode page⁠ at ClimateOne.org     Highlights:  00:00:00 Intro  00:03:25 William Lawrence on campaign messaging  00:05:48 William Lawrence on climate and data centers   00:08:05 William Lawrence on giving people more agency   00:13:21 William Lawrence on addressing decarbonization and affordability   00:16:41 Leah Stokes on rewriting narratives about having children in a climate crisis  00:18:55 Leah Stokes on what's driving climate hushing   00:26:36 Leah Stokes on working on climate policy and a high risk pregnancy   00:31:30 Leah Stokes on the trials and joys of working with others   00:36:17 Leah Stokes on what the future could hold after the midterms  00:39:42 Lily Bermel on the methodology of “Glass Half Full”   00:46:01 Lily Bermel on the other factors affecting solar and wind deployment   00:48:55 Lily Bermel on how energy could play into the midterm elections   ***  Join Climate One for a town hall event on September 28 at 6 p.m. on navigating AI, climate, and the future of democracy. How do we ensure that AI and data centers serve the public good? How does a democracy function when AI is distorting our sense of shared truths? Tickets available at ⁠climateone.org/events⁠   ***  Also: We’ll be having an electric conversation on October 14 at 6 p.m. between PG&E CEO Patti Poppe and California State Senator Scott Wiener about energy affordability, outages, and whether cities like San Francisco are ready to break up with the investor-owned utility model. Tickets available at ⁠climateone.org/events⁠   ***  Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on ⁠Patreon⁠, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. ⁠Sign up today⁠.  ***  Ad sales by ⁠Multitude⁠. Contact them for ad inquiries at ⁠multitude.productions/ads Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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