Six candidates pitch different plans to lower the price of groceries
With 62% of voters citing cost of living as their top concern, candidates from North Carolina to Texas are proposing targeted tax cuts, regulatory changes, and price controls.
By Lucas Mehta ·
Affordability has become the central theme of the 2026 election cycle. A poll released this month by the health policy nonprofit KFF found that 62% of voters identify the cost of living as the most important issue for candidates to address. Concerns about health care, gas, and transportation round out the top list of worries for the American electorate.
Politicians across the country are framing their platforms around these financial pressures. In North Carolina, Democratic Senate candidate Roy Cooper argues that tariffs and corporate influence are squeezing family budgets. He proposes blocking anti-competitive mergers, banning algorithmic pricing, and requiring data centers to pay full power costs. Cooper also wants to ban corporate and foreign buyers of single-family homes to lower housing prices.
New Mexico gubernatorial candidate Deb Haaland blames record corporate profits for high prices. Her plan includes waiving permit fees for grocery stores in food deserts and banning AI-driven rent fixing. She proposes adjusting the minimum wage for inflation annually and expanding the Child Tax Credit to put more money in families' hands.
Republican New York gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman takes a different approach. He blames state taxes and green energy policies for high costs. Blakeman pledges to cut utility bills by half and lift the state ban on fracking to expand domestic energy production, though he has not detailed the mechanism for the utility savings.
In South Carolina, Democratic Senate candidate Annie Andrews focuses on immediate relief at the pump. She proposes suspending federal gas and diesel taxes and giving local communities the power to push back on data center development. In Texas, Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico frames high costs as a corruption crisis. He plans to repeal tax breaks for the top 1% and redirect those funds into a cost-of-living tax cut, while also offering downpayment assistance to first-time homebuyers.
Ken Paxton, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Texas, emphasizes tax deductions. He proposes a $50,000 deduction for first-time homebuyers and a doubled child tax credit. Paxton also wants to make Trump Accounts for children permanent and exempt certain off-grid power systems from federal electricity regulations.
Xavier Becerra, the Democratic candidate for governor of California, argues that weak competition allows corporations to price-gouge. He promises to freeze utility rates and home insurance premiums and to declare a housing state of emergency to speed up construction. Voters can find specific ballot positions through state election offices, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, or the League of Women Voters' VOTE411 tool.
Source: The San Bernardino Sun
