WASHINGTON, January 28, 2026 — We absorb a lot of polling information, and we’ll have some new findings to share with you soon about some research that EDF Action has commissioned, but two numbers from a recent Navigator survey released last week have jumped out at me. When asked what President Trump and congressional Republicans ought to be focused on, 55% of respondents answered: inflation and the cost of living, their top choice by a wide margin. When asked what they think the President and Congress are focused on, only 19% answered that they were focused on inflation and the cost of living. That issue ranked sixth among perceived priorities, revealing a 36-point gap between what Americans want leaders to address and what they believe those leaders are focused on. When the American people don’t think you care about fixing the things you want them to fix, politicians find themselves in perilous territory. This is especially true for a President who promised to cut energy costs in half within his first year back in office.
Talking and writing about Trump is unavoidable in my job, but it is exhausting to write about and probably tiresome to read. So, I’d like to take a break from that to highlight what real leadership on energy looks like. Last weekend, Abigail Spanberger was sworn in as the 75th Governor of Virginia, and the first woman to ever hold that job. On Monday, one of her first official acts as Governor was to address a joint session of the Virginia General Assembly. She identified energy as her second priority (after affordability more broadly). Here’s what she had to say:
“Virginians are paying far too much to heat and cool their homes. And while we cannot control global energy markets, there are things we can do to lower monthly utility bills for Virginia families.
We are going to expand energy storage across the Commonwealth. Energy storage allows us to capture cheaper power and use it during peak demand — when prices are highest. That means savings for families and a more reliable grid for everyone.
We are also going to expand programs that help low-income Virginians make their homes more energy efficient. Simple improvements like better insulation and weatherization can save families hundreds — even thousands — of dollars per year.
Virginia needs to be more energy independent. That means solar. That means nuclear. And yes, despite what Washington might have you think, it also means offshore wind.
As we speak, the federal Interior Department is attempting to halt offshore wind development across the country — including one of the largest infrastructure projects in Virginia’s history.
And while I was glad to see the court ruling on Friday that temporarily blocked this action by the federal government, we all know that this battle is far from over.
This project will create thousands of jobs and generate billions of dollars in economic activity in Hampton Roads, and as Governor, I will do everything in my power to make sure it continues to move forward.
And if we’re talking about energy affordability, let me say here today that the Commonwealth of Virginia is rejoining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative — RGGI.
For me, this is about cost savings. RGGI generated hundreds of millions of dollars for Virginia — dollars that went directly to flood mitigation, energy efficiency programs, and lowering bills for families who need help most.
Withdrawing from RGGI did not lower energy costs. In fact, the opposite happened — it just took money out of Virginia’s pocket. It is time to fix that mistake.”
There is nearly complete harmony between EDF’s priorities and approach and the vision that Governor Spanberger laid out. EDF Action Votes was pleased to support Governor Spanberger in each of her runs for Congress, and with the Board’s assent, we launched EDF Action Virginia, a state-based political action committee that raised funds to help her gubernatorial campaign. I happily knocked doors on her behalf in Northern Virginia and spent the last couple of days of the campaign canvassing in Richmond. I’ve recently been encouraged by a member of our board to draw clearer lines connecting our electoral work to our policy priorities. I’d be hard-pressed to come up with a clearer example than the one that our nation’s newest governor just set.
Those of us hoping for a calmer 2026 have been disappointed, and I’ll admit that on more than one occasion, I’ve been tempted to tune out. But one piece of good news is that we are in an election year. With your continued help and support, we will continue to work to elect champions for the environment who understand that a transition to clean energy will lower prices and create good paying jobs, like the one we just played a small role in helping to elect in Virginia.