Who Benefits From $6 Diesel? Sen. Tina Smith Says Follow the Money | Energy on the Ballot

Gas is up more than a dollar a gallon since the Iran war began, and diesel set an all-time record in September. Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) says the president’s donors are profiting while everyone else pays more.

Smith explains what voters should listen for when a candidate promises to bring energy costs down, and why she voted against a data center bill Republicans are now campaigning on.

Part of Energy on the Ballot, our series on energy and the 2026 midterms.

In this episode:

• The heating aid program the White House wants to eliminate, and the St. Paul man it kept in his home
• “Don’t do data centers the dumb way,” and why nondisclosure agreements make neighbors so angry
• Why a senator from a mining state fought a Chilean-owned copper-nickel mine near the Boundary Waters
• What former Fed Chair Jerome Powell predicted about getting a mortgage in 10 or 15 years
• The campaign word Smith calls “a weird focus group word”
• Why Smith wants Democrats to show more “boldness” if they win back power

Links:

Our website: https://www.energyempire.fm

Sen. Smith’s request for a cost estimate of the 2025 tax law’s data center breaks: https://www.smith.senate.gov/u-s-senator-tina-smith-requests-cost-estimate-of-big-beautiful-bills-data-center-tax-incentives/

Sen. Smith’s report on the home insurance crisis: https://www.smith.senate.gov/u-s-senator-tina-smith-releases-new-report-on-solutions-to-the-home-insurance-crisis/

The Klobuchar-Smith letter on heating aid: https://www.smith.senate.gov/u-s-senators-amy-klobuchar-tina-smith-push-the-trump-administration-to-release-heating-assistance-funds-before-winter/

Gov. Spanberger on Making Data Centers Pay Their Fair Share: https://www.energyempire.fm/episodes/gov-spanberger-on-making-data-centers-pay-their-fair-share-energy-on-the-ballot