Help Us Flip
the Senate
Donate Now
$25 $45 $100

May 6, 2026

  • Press Release

    • IN THE STATES: GOP Senate Candidates’ Cost-Raising Agenda Continues Driving Up Gas Prices Across the U.S.

    The Bulwark: “[…] gas prices in the United States skyrocketed, which immediately spooked Republicans concerned with holding on to their Senate majority”

    In case you missed it, with gas prices “up in every state” and the average national gas price over $4.50 a gallon, new reporting from The Bulwark is highlighting how Republican Senate candidates are dismissing concerns about skyrocketing costs. 

    From telling voters that they will be “fine” to calling spiking prices “a small price to pay” to desperately trying to avoid the issue, Republican Senate candidates are ignoring voters’ economic pain, with some even seeing their own “stock portfolio[s benefit] from the protracted engagement.”

    See for yourself:

    The Bulwark: As Gas Prices Go Up, Senate GOP Candidates Pipe Down

    • When gas prices rise, so do the anxieties of political candidates who belong to the party in power. And this year, that includes many Republicans whose campaigns are crucial to maintaining a GOP Senate majority.
    • At the onset of the Trump administration’s unilateral military action (war) against Iran, gas prices in the United States skyrocketed, which immediately spooked Republicans concerned with holding on to their Senate majority. In the two months since the opening of hostilities, prices have fluctuated in some states while continuing to climb in others, with those around the Great Lakes seeing particularly challenging increases.
    • “We’re gonna be fine, we got plenty of oil,” Mike Rogers, a Republican candidate for Senate in Michigan, said in March. “You’ll get your oil, because we’re going to pump our oil right here in America, and we got plenty.”
    • Six weeks later, though, GasBuddy’s Patrick De Haan reported gas prices leaping upward in several middle-American states. In Rogers’s Michigan, they went up 88 cents. In Ohio, they climbed 94 cents. In Wisconsin, 33 cents. And in Indiana, prices grew by a calamitous dollar and nine cents.
    • The national average price per gallon now sits at just under $4.50 per gallon, according to AAA. In Rogers’s Michigan, it’s over $4.80 per gallon.
    • Sen. John Cornyn, who is hanging by a thread in the Republican primary for his long-held Texas Senate seat […] seemed untroubled by his constituents’ pain at the pump: “I would say it’s a small price to pay […]”
    • In Ohio, where gas prices are hovering above $4.80 per gallon, Republican Sen. Jon Husted has been largely silent on the issue. His Democratic opponent, former Sen. Sherrod Brown, has been slamming him over his reticence.
    • “It’s clear this war is hurting people financially and in other ways. There’s no end in sight. [Republicans] have no idea how to end this war. They didn’t plan anything,” Brown said at a campaign event last week. “Husted hasn’t raised one voice against this war or any idea about how to end it.”
    • Another battleground-state Republican who has been avoiding the subject is Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) [… whose] stock portfolio has benefited from the protracted engagement: It includes oil and natural gas investments that are booming thanks to the price increases. Collins owns stock in ConocoPhillips, which has grown substantially since late February, when Trump started the war.
    • The two House Republicans vying for a chance to face off against incumbent Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) in Georgia’s Senate race have been vocal in their support of the Iran war while staying relatively quiet on the increased price of gas.
    • Rep. Mike Collins touted lowering gas prices two months ago, but since then has avoided the issue. Nevertheless, Collins supports the war effort.
    • In a party that demands complete loyalty to the president, members’ silence on a given issue is often a key indicator of stress. That very few have even attempted to discuss high gas prices suggests the matter is top of mind for them amid the midterm election cycle.

    AS OF MAY 6TH, GAS PRICES IN SENATE BATTLEGROUND STATES ACROSS THE COUNTRY ARE SPIKING AS A RESULT OF TRUMP AND SENATE REPUBLICANS’ RECKLESS, PRICE-SPIKING AGENDA:

    Latest News

    See All News

    Let’s Win Back the Senate

    When we say that Senate Democrats are counting on grassroots donors, we’re not kidding. In fact, 98% of donations to the DSCC during the 2024 election came from donors giving less than $200.

    And every gift you give the DSCC is a gift that helps propel Democratic Senate candidates to victory.

    $10 $25 $45 $100 Other