Average gasoline in Michigan climbed about 32 percent over three weeks, moving from $2.99 to $3.95 a gallon, according to Grist, which linked the rise to fighting with Iran that began in late February. In response, Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued a formal energy emergency that cleared southeast Michigan retailers to sell lower-cost summer-blend fuel, pointing to the war and to tariffs, Grist reported.
Polling suggests the price pressure carries political weight. A Climate Power survey of 600 likely Michigan voters taken in mid-June found 42 percent less inclined to back a congressional candidate aligned with Trump's energy policies, compared with 21 percent more inclined, according to Grist.
Grist reported that the state saw $4.1 billion in planned clean manufacturing investment and roughly 11,700 jobs fall away in the wake of Trump-era rollbacks, alongside $540 million in climate grants either canceled or delayed.
The Trump administration directed Consumers Energy to keep the J.H. Campbell coal plant running beyond its scheduled retirement, according to Grist. Michigan's attorney general, among other critics, argued that keeping the plant online will cost ratepayers more than moving off it, Grist reported.
Under Michigan's 2023 Clean Energy and Jobs Act, the state must reach 100 percent renewable electricity by 2040, according to Grist. House Republicans have since passed "Project Lighthouse," a package aimed at repealing those clean energy mandates, Grist reported. Its sponsor, state Representative Pauline Wendzel, described the 2023 targets as "arbitrary" and said they benefit large investor-owned utilities rather than ordinary ratepayers.