紐時賞析／高電費與帳單 促使共和黨選民倒戈

Escalating Electricity Bills Help Drive a Political Shift

高電費與帳單 促使共和黨選民倒戈

As loyal Republicans, Reece Payton said that he and his family of cattle ranchers in Hogansville, Georgia, had one thing on their minds when they cast their ballots in November for the state’s utility board — “to make a statement.”

身為忠誠的共和黨員，裴頓和住在喬治亞州霍根斯維爾、經營牧場的家人11月投票選舉該州公營事業委員會成員時，心中只有一個想法：要表明立場。

They were already irked by their escalating electric bills. But after they heard a data center might be built next to their Logos Ranch, they had enough of Republicans who seemed far too receptive to the interests of the booming artificial intelligence industry.

他們早已因為不斷攀升的電費而感到惱火。但在聽說可能會在他們的洛格斯牧場旁邊建造一座數據中心之後，他們對共和黨徹底失去耐心，因為這些人似乎過於迎合蓬勃發展的人工智慧產業的利益。

“That’s the first time I ever voted Democrat,” Payton, 58, said.

58歲的裴頓表示：「那是我生平第一次投給民主黨。」

Message sent.

訊息已清楚傳達。

In some of Georgia’s reddest and most rural counties, Republicans crossed party lines in November and helped propel two Democrats, Peter Hubbard and Alicia Johnson, to landslide upsets, ousting the incumbent candidates on the Georgia Public Service Commission. No Democrat has served on the five-person commission, which regulates utilities and helps set climate and energy policy, since 2007.

喬治亞州一些共和黨勢力最強、最偏鄉的郡，共和黨選民在11月跨黨投票，協助2名民主黨哈伯德和強森獲得壓倒性勝利，擊敗現任委員。自2007年以來，再也沒有民主黨人於這個由5人組成、負責監管公共事業並協助制訂氣候和能源政策的委員會任職。

Across the country, Democrats have seized on rising anxiety over electricity costs and data centers in what could be a template for the 2026 midterm elections.

放眼全美，民主黨正利用選民對電費與數據中心擴張的憂慮，打造一套可能成為2026年期中選舉操作模式的策略。

In Virginia, Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger pledged during her campaign to lower energy bills and make data centers pay more.

在維吉尼亞州，州長當選人史班伯格競選期間承諾，降低能源帳單費用並要求數據中心負擔更多成本。

In New Jersey, Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill promised to declare a state of emergency on utility costs and freeze rates. And in Memphis, Tennessee, state Rep. Justin J. Pearson, who is challenging Rep. Steve Cohen in a high-profile Democratic primary next year, has vowed to fight a supercomputer by Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI, that would be located in a predominantly Black neighborhood.

在新澤西州，州長當選人謝里爾承諾將宣布公營事業費用緊急狀態，並凍結費率。而在田納西州曼菲斯，州眾議員皮爾森誓言要對抗馬斯克人工智慧公司xAI在以非裔為主的社區興建超級電腦。他將在明年備受矚目的民主黨初選挑戰現任眾議員柯恩。

Strong opposition by citizens forced the Tucson City Council in August to pull the plug on an Amazon data center slated for that Arizona city, and then in September forced Google to call off one in Indianapolis.

由於民眾強烈反對，迫使亞利桑納州圖森市議會8月終止亞馬遜興建數據中心的計畫，又在9月迫使谷歌中止在印第安納波利斯興建數據中心的計畫。

“Electricity is the new price of eggs,” said Charles Hua, executive director of Powerlines, a nonpartisan organization that aims to modernize utility regulations and reduce power bills. “This is a defining moment for politicians of all stripes — what’s your answer to lowering utility bills? Because I think consumers and voters are looking for leadership on this.”

致力於改革公營事業監管、降低電費的無黨派組織Powerlines執行董事華氏表示：「電價不只是費用，而是政治、經濟問題、以及民怨的來源。這是各路政治人物的關鍵時刻—如何回應選民對降電費的需求？我認為消費者與選民正在等待有人展現領導力。」

文／David W. Chen，譯／羅方妤