NBC News: “Rising diesel prices can translate into higher costs for consumers by raising the wholesale cost of getting goods to retailers and grocery stores. The global shipping, rail and trucking industries all rely on diesel”
GOP Senate Candidates have told financially struggling Americans to “learn how to budget,” “earn more,” “be patriots,” and that they will be “fine”
In Senate battleground states across the country, the cost of gas and diesel, fertilizer and food continues to climb, with gas prices approaching “their highest level of the year” and diesel prices “registering new daily all-time highs,” as a result of the Iran war, which every GOP candidate is on record supporting and advocating for.
Republican Senate candidates are now shamelessly scrambling in a desperate attempt to paper over their extensive records backing the unpopular war and dismissing voters’ economic pain all while they see “their stock portfolios soar […] because of their investments in oil and gas.”
With nearly 40 days until the midterm elections, new data shows that “voters blame Republicans for rising gas prices by a 30-point margin” – and that they “trust the Democratic Party more” to bring gas costs down. Analysts are calling gas prices “a killer issue for the Republicans,” which has “decided midterms many times” and likely “will again” thanks to voters’ growing “frustration over prices.”
See their records and read just a sample of how voters in key battlegrounds are paying more:
- MS NOW’s CHRIS HAYES: Meanwhile, the status quo doesn’t change; the war continues. Gas prices are now nearly four and a half dollars a gallon. Diesel prices have hit a record six and a half dollars a gallon. And so Republicans are trying to distance themselves from this war, which they all supported, and Trump launched.
- Iowa Senate Republican nominee Ashley Hinson, who is acting like someone who is in a dead heat race, put out a statement this week saying, “The war needs to be brought to a successful and immediate end.” Never mind the fact that Hinson voted multiple times this year against a House resolution to end the war.
- Republican Senate nominee [in Michigan] Mike Rogers released this ad highlighting the impact the war is having on prices just yesterday:
- MI GOP Senate Candidate MIKE ROGERS: “The war with Iran needs to end, and quickly […]”
- HAYES: The thing is, Mike Rogers has long called for a U.S. war with Iran, and even gave this dismissive answer on the worst impact on gas prices back when it was launched in March.
- ROGERS: “You’ll get your oil, because we’re going to pump our oil right here in America, and we got plenty.”
- VOTER: “And so what happens if, you know, that doesn’t work out, like Europe, kind of like dries up and their economy crashes?
- ROGERS: “We’re going to be fine. We’ve got plenty of oil.”
- HAYES: And then there’s Ohio Republican Senator Jon Husted, who’s up for reelection, facing a strong challenge from Sherrod Brown and also voted against the Iran war powers resolution, telling POLITICO tonight, ‘the war needs to come to an end as quickly as possible so we can lower gas prices.’
NBC News: Gas prices approach highest level this year with just weeks to go before midterms
- Rising diesel prices can translate into higher costs for consumers by raising the wholesale cost of getting goods to retailers and grocery stores. The global shipping, rail and trucking industries all rely on diesel.
- With less than eight weeks left before the U.S. midterm elections, frustration over prices is building among consumers. The University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey recently dropped sharply on inflation concerns.
- And on some parts of social media, Americans — even some who claim to have supported Trump — are sharing their frustration with high gas prices.
- As the war with Iran nears its seventh month, there are few signs that the critical Strait of Hormuz off Iran’s southwestern coast will return to prewar traffic levels anytime soon.
GOP SENATE CANDIDATES’ SUPPORT FOR THE IRAN WAR HAS LED TO AN ENERGY CRISIS IN KEY SENATE BATTLEGROUND STATES:
IN ALASKA:
- DAN SULLIVAN:
- Voted multiple times in favor of continuing the war in Iran.
- Claimed the economy is headed in the “right direction,” while rural Alaskans have faced fuel prices up to $10 a gallon, and he even sent a fundraising email begging Alaskans to help pay for his gas money.
- See also: Alaska Beacon: Gasoline hits $26 per gallon in the northwest Alaska village of Shungnak
IN FLORIDA:
- ASHLEY MOODY:
- See also: CBS News: Middle East tensions are driving Florida gas prices to their highest since May, AAA says
IN GEORGIA:
- MIKE COLLINS:
- Voted multiple times against resolutions to stop the war in Iran – including as recently as last week.
- Praised Trump’s highly unpopular war in Iran, even going as far as to say that Trump is doing a “fantastic job.” Collins, who has said that he “wholeheartedly support[s]” Trump’s agenda, told struggling Georgians that “the economy is moving.”
- See also: Fox 5 Atlanta: Tank of gas in Georgia a painful $60 decision, voters frustrated
IN IOWA:
- ASHLEY HINSON:
- See also: Iowa’s News Now: Record diesel prices squeeze Iowa farmers as harvest begins, raising fuel supply fears; Iowa’s News Now: Gas prices continue to rise in Iowa, averaging $4.38/gallon
IN MAINE:
- SUSAN COLLINS:
- See also: WABI 5: Maine diesel prices hit all-time high, AAA says
IN MICHIGAN:
- MIKE ROGERS:
- Falsely claimed that the Iran War would be over in 60 days, said that it “should have happened a long time ago,” and told Michiganders struggling with rising prices that they’re “gonna be fine; we’ve got plenty of oil.”
- Told Michiganders that he “[doesn’t] mind giving the President the authority” to indefinitely continue the Iran War.
- Said Michiganders who blame Trump and Republican policies for driving up costs are “nuts” and that “Trump derangement” has caused them to “lose their mind.”
- Argued that there is no “inflation, as a matter of fact, it’s down […] and that means working families, not paying more” and has previously mocked concerns over rising costs, saying “Oh my gosh, coffee went up, you know, horror.”
- See also: Detroit Free Press: Michigan has highest average weekly gasoline price surge in the nation
IN NEW HAMPSHIRE:
- JOHN E. SUNUNU:
- Defended Donald Trump’s unauthorized war on Iran and is cashing in as the war continues to spike gas prices for New Hampshire families. New financial disclosures reveal that Sununu’s oil and gas portfolio surged as much as 24% during the war with Iran, which is driving up oil prices.
- See also: Business NH Magazine: NH Gas Prices Have Risen by a Third Over the Past Year
IN NORTH CAROLINA:
- MICHAEL WHATLEY:
- Is a Big Oil Lobbyist who defended Trump’s war with Iran and has insisted that North Carolinians “are not getting gouged” at the gas pump as he continues to profit off of his $1.39 million investments in the oil and gas industry, which grew by up to $219,660 between the start of Trump’s war in Iran and April 1.
- Told voters to “take a look at what’s happening with the economy. President Trump campaigned on bringing down gasoline prices, grocery prices, and housing prices. How are we doing?”
- See also: WRAL: Gas prices rising across the board in NC as national prices hit milestones
IN OHIO:
- JON HUSTED:
- Voted multiple times in favor of continuing the war in Iran.
- Claimed that military operations in Iran “went very well” while also admitting the war he supported “has put a strain on Americans.”
- Attempted to use the Iran War as an excuse to stay in Washington and get out of testifying in person in the FirstEnergy bribery trial – but got caught sneaking back into Ohio for a $1,000-per-plate fundraiser.
- Claimed the war was going “much better than anyone thought it would,” even though U.S. service members have died and gas prices are skyrocketing.
- Told struggling Ohioans that they are “not very experienced at navigating the real world” and that they need to “learn how to budget.”
- Argued that the solution to the affordability crisis is to “earn more,” and said that Ohioans’ work ethic is “broken.”
- See also: WLWT: Rising diesel prices putting pressure on farmers as harvest gets underway
IN TEXAS:
- KEN PAXTON:
- Has “stood by” Trump’s actions in Iran and said he was “very glad” that Trump started the attacks.
- Has “remained silent” amid calls from James Talarico to suspend the federal gas tax and said he wishes the war had happened “after the midterm elections.”
- See also: KETK: Gas prices near $4 in Texas as calls grow to suspend state gas tax
See also: DSCC: NEW DATA: GOP-Backed Iran War Costs Voters $56 Billion at the Pump as Republican Senate Candidates Tell Them to “Be Patriots” & “Learn How to Budget”; DSCC: ICYMI: New Reports Expose GOP Cashing In on Big Oil Donations as Iran War Spikes Gas Prices; DSCC: ICYMI: Dan Sullivan “Begs Donors to Help Him ‘Pay for Gas’ after Voting to Continue Trump’s War”; DSCC: New Ad Campaign Slams Price Hike Mike Rogers for Dismissing Skyrocketing Michigan Gas Prices; DSCC: IN THE STATES: GOP Senate Candidates’ Cost-Raising Agenda Continues Driving Up Gas Prices Across the U.S.; DSCC: QUICK CLIPS: Tafoya Tells Minnesotans to “Take One Less Trip to Starbucks” and to “Just Try to be Patriots” as Gas Prices Skyrocket
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