汽油價格成為美國選舉焦點
Gas on the ballot in US elections
美國選舉正考驗選民會否因汽油及電力價格飆升而懲罰總統。多個國會選戰關鍵地區的焦點包括 AI 帶動家庭電費上升，選票亦關乎是否收緊數據中心發展。若民主黨重奪國會一院或兩院多數，未來兩年的美國能源政策將面臨重大變化。
Tim’s view
Today’s US election is a test of how much voters will want to punish the president for soaring gasoline and power prices.
Energy costs are always an important factor in elections; gas prices are the only economic indicator displayed in big bold numbers at major intersections. But between the war in Iran and the data center power rush, there’s rarely been an election in which energy prices — and the policy decisions pushing them up, from the White House to local zoning boards — are so much in the headlines.
The average gas price during US President Donald Trump’s two years back in office is the highest it’s ever been halfway through a presidency, according to a Financial Times analysis. Since the oil embargoes of the 1970s, US presidents have been keenly aware that Americans have a very limited willingness to tolerate pain at the pump in the service of foreign policy objectives. And in many of the key congressional battlegrounds, AI-linked increases in household power bills are a central point of tension, making the votes a kind of referendum on how hard to hit the brakes on data center development, too.
If Democrats succeed in regaining a majority in one or both houses of Congress, the US energy story is in for big changes over the next two years. The party’s leaders will face an immediate challenge, needing to decide how much hardball they’re willing to play with Republicans and the White House over permitting reform. Federal budget fights will likely resurface arguments about tax incentives for EVs and other clean tech. Investigative committees will demand answers from the administration about everything from offshore wind lease pullbacks to the diesel deal with Moscow. Meanwhile, a new cohort of state and local leaders will grapple with what kind of pressure to apply on the power demands of Big Tech.
These are the storylines I’ll be focused on here until 2028. Happy voting!
Notable
- The US attacked Iran’s Qeshm Island, the latest in a series of targeted strikes that came even as President Donald Trump pushed for an off-ramp in his war with Tehran.
來源：Semafor · semafor.com