Some New Jersey citizens are facing rising utility costs after years of aggressive Democratic-endorsed green energy policies, as new polling shows the gubernatorial race locked in a dead heat. [emphasis, links added]
New Jersey has been under Democratic control for years, with a long-standing Democratic-led Legislature; Republican gubernatorial nominee Jack Ciattarelli is now tied at 43% with his opponent, Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill, according to a new Emerson College Polling/PIX11/The Hill survey released Thursday.
Ciattarelli has repeatedly noted that Sherrill backs energy policies similar to those of current Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, which, according to several energy policy experts who spoke with the Daily Caller News Foundation, have undermined grid reliability and saddled residents with high utility bills.
“As a result of the New Jersey Energy Master Plan, we’re in a lot of trouble here,” President of the Garden State Initiative Audrey Lane told the DCNF, referencing the state’s energy plan.
“New Jersey families and businesses were already feeling the strain from higher taxes, rising fares and tolls, and increasing insurance costs when energy rates jumped 20%. Families are making tough choices every day to manage costs in their own homes, and they rightly expect the state to do the same with their tax dollars.
“Yet the aspirational Energy Master Plan offered no real cost analysis, and our research shows it will cost the state more than $5 billion annually and drive a 35% increase in rates. As voters consider the next governor, they will seek leadership that prioritizes energy policies that are affordable, reliable, and practical — not just aspirational.”
Sherrill’s slipping lead in the final stretch of the race could give Ciattarelli the momentum needed to stage an upset in a state that former Vice President Kamala Harris won by just six points in 2024 and Murphy won only narrowly in his 2021 reelection.
Both Sherrill and Ciattarelli have made energy policy central to their campaigns, with Sherrill vowing to halt utility rate hikes for the “average” New Jersey family over the next year and Ciattarelli blaming high costs on Democrat policies that drove out supply while chasing offshore wind expansion.
The Emerson College survey, as well as another August poll from Fairleigh Dickinson University, found that Garden State voters are split on who to blame for their high energy bills, though they agree that the problem is severe.
“New Jersey Democrats blame utility companies for the cost of utilities at 36%, whereas Republicans blame Governor Murphy at 36% — independents are split between the governor (27%) and utility companies (23%),” executive director of Emerson College Polling Spencer Kimball said Thursday.
New Jersey shut down all its coal plants by 2022, and Democratic leadership has charged forward, pursuing a green energy transition.
The state is a net importer of energy, with one-fifth of its power supplied from generators in other states in 2023, according to data from the Energy Information Administration.
The Garden State has aggressive green energy targets, aiming for a grid powered by a 50% green energy portfolio by 2030, with Murphy setting a goal of 100% clean electricity by 2035.
“Governor Murphy, on his way out, is doubling down. He’s not making any attempt to change the policy before he leaves, other than to try and codify what he’s done,” Lane told the DCNF, also drawing attention to New Jersey importing energy. “If you go back about seven years, we were close to neutral. Now we’re importing about 30–35% of energy, which is a very big swing.”
Ciattarelli has also pointed to New Jersey’s reliance on imported energy as a major concern and has pledged to withdraw the state from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), ban offshore wind farms along the coast, and implement a new energy plan that forwards an “all-of-the-above energy policy,” according to his campaign website.
Energy sector experts like Lane, among others, have pointed out that offshore wind is a costly energy source.
Ciattarelli has targeted Sherrill over her “push” for “extreme energy mandates,” brandishing her policies as expensive, though Sherrill has asserted that more “clean” power will help lower energy costs for New Jersey.
Top image of Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill via X
Read rest at Daily Caller
