The Nov. 4 New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial races are being closely watched as they spotlight issues that could determine how campaigns nationwide approach 2026’s midterm elections.
In both mid-Atlantic states’ elections, voters’ chief concerns include taxes, health care, job generation, and inflation in the context of affordability, with spiking grocery prices, rising housing costs, and skyrocketing utility bills among their sources of anxiety.
With New Jersey customers paying on average 19 percent more for electricity in August 2025 than in August 2024, and Virginia utilities—after imposing 30 percent hikes from 2020-23—receiving approval for 15 percent to 21 percent rate increases in the next two years, power bills may be among the factors that determine what party is in power in state houses and governors’ mansions in 2026….