The Atlantic
Will Republican officials in the state pay a price for the recent blackouts?
Updated on February 25, 2021 at 9:45 a.m. ET
Dozens of Texans are dead because of the state’s energy crisis last week. Some froze in their bed or their living room. Others suffocated in their idling car, poisoned by carbon monoxide. A few perished in house fires while trying to keep their family warm. And millions spent days without heat or running water. Gaming out the electoral ramifications of an event when it’s still causing pain may seem crass. But the politics of the energy crisis are inextricable from the event itself. Many Texans blame the collapse of the power grid the impetus for all this suffering on a lapse in state leadership. Will voters hold those leaders accountable next time they cast a ballot?