In today’s edition … We ask you about gas prices … If it’s Tuesday, there are elections to talk about … but first …
‘Something that touches us all’
In February, President Donald Trump was delivering a State of the Union address in which he bragged about gas prices, zeroing in on the national price at the pump being below $2.30 a gallon in most states.
What a difference a few weeks — and a constricted Strait of Hormuz — make.
We traveled north to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, yesterday to take stock of the way rising gas prices, the result of the war in Iran, are reshaping what is expected to be one of the most competitive House races in the country.
In a key central Pennsylvania district, former local television anchor Janelle Stelson is angling for a rematch against incumbent Rep. Scott Perry (R), a veteran first elected to Congress in 2012. We joined Stelson for an event outside a nondescript Mobil gas station, where the sign behind her read $4.24 for a gallon of regular unleaded and over $6 for diesel.
“Gas prices are not just a number on a sign,” the Democrat said as a trickle of drivers passed through to fill up behind her. She lamented the small business owner who is paying more for shipped goods and the consumer who is changing their driving habits. “Gas prices are something that touches us all. It affects everybody, no matter whether you’re doing it for work or for your pleasure or whatever,” she told us in an interview after the event. “It costs a lot, especially when you’re being squeezed everywhere else.”
It’s a remarkable scene that you likely wouldn’t have seen from a Democratic candidate around that State of the Union. It highlights just how quickly issues can change in an election year.
Trump and Republicans, including Perry, won over voters in 2024 by promising to bring prices down, zeroing in on concerns about inflation under President Joe Biden. Perry ran ads in 2024 that knocked Biden over gas price increases and touted how he fought the president’s energy policies. And until recently, gas prices had been something Republicans regularly boasted about.
But Trump’s decision to begin a conflict in Iran disrupted global markets and sent oil prices climbing. The events of the past few weeks, including the rising price of gas, have left voters like Phillip Fabres feeling “screwed,” he said, as he watched the numbers on the pump at a Harrisburg Sheetz climb.
“The way I see it, no one is really concerned about John Q. Public anymore,” said Fabres, who voted for Trump in 2024 and works in the area. He seemed willing to give Trump more time on Iran and gas prices, but his sense was that he and other voters were not the priority.
Perry, in an interview with The Washington Post, argued that the price increases are temporary and defended his support for the war in Iran as necessary to prevent the nation from developing a nuclear weapon. But Perry, a strident Trump supporter, acknowledged the impact of fuel costs on his constituents.
“Look, I don’t like the high gas prices,” said Perry, noting that he often drives to and from his district from Washington. “I am not at all immune to high prices and being frustrated by them.”
When pressed on his support for the conflict, given the rising prices, Perry added, “But I can’t stop Iran from being a terrorist nation and threatening all of us.” And the Republican congressman argued that his likely Democratic opponent in November was only using the prices as a “political cudgel.”
“Even I would agree that gas prices are too high,” he concluded. “But is Janelle Stelson going to change that? No.”
Our conversations with both candidates highlighted potential vulnerabilities.
Stelson said that, if elected, she would push to end the war to lower gas prices and Trump’s tariffs on international trade to bring prices down on other items. But when asked for other moves she would make, the Democrat paused and said she didn’t “know yet what that would be.”
“I look forward to learning a lot more about how we could make that happen,” she said.
And Perry grew frustrated when asked about how his political fortunes are tied to gas prices, blaming the “mainstream media” for focusing on the issue.
“We agree with them. No one likes this,” Perry said, arguing that Iran is to blame, not “Donald Trump or Scott Perry.”
Here is the issue for Republicans, though: Rising prices put unique pressure on them, given that their party controls Washington and won that power by zeroing in on rising prices. Trump has argued that the “little glitch” of rising gas prices would be a short-term problem and necessary to ensure safety. Though in a profanity-laden social media post Sunday, he threatened Iran with “hell” if it does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the now-constricted shipping corridor affecting gas prices.
Then yesterday, Iran rejected a U.S.-backed ceasefire proposal. And that’s one reason most economists predict gas prices will keep rising.
“If there’s not a ceasefire deal soon, I would almost think that the increases could continue unabated,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “I don’t see any real improvement in the gas prices until the Strait reopens.”
Democrats have made clear they are eager to run on prices, from gas to groceries. “It will be the defining issue of the midterms and propel Democrats back in the House majority,” said Eli Cousin, a spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Mike Marinella, a spokesperson for the competing National Republican Congressional Committee, in turn, accused Democrats of spending “years pushing the very policies that drove energy costs up and made Americans pay more at the pump.”
Our full piece published this morning — Democrats see gas prices as a potent line of attack on the campaign trail — delves into why gas prices, compared with other commodities, are so politically potent.
Get ready with The Post
- Supreme Court sides with Steve Bannon in bid to dismiss Jan. 6 conviction, from Julian Mark and Jeremy Roebuck.
- Trump threatens new rampage as Iran deal deadline nears, from Isaac Arnsdorf, Sammy Westfall and Tara Copp.
- Artemis II’s crew has now flown farther than any humans. See the journey so far, from Sarah Kaplan.
- Epic winter drought creates a bleak situation for farmers — and your food, from Sarah Kaplan.
What we’re watching
Today is election day for some highly consequential local races. Here’s what we’re watching:
Wisconsinites will vote for a seat on their Supreme Court between the liberal-backed Chris Taylor and the conservative-backed Maria Lazar. (The seats are officially nonpartisan.) Billionaire Elon Musk invested heavily in the court’s races in March in an attempt to secure a conservative majority, labeling it an existential race for the conservative movement. His candidate lost spectacularly.
Why does the Wisconsin Supreme Court matter? The court could weigh in on the state’s abortion laws — and future election results. In 2020, the court rejected Trump’s attempts to overturn that year’s presidential election.
This race won’t be as critical as last year’s to the makeup of the court. It has a 4-3 liberal majority, and the open seat is to replace conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley. But the statewide race in purple Wisconsin could still reveal a lot about voter sentiment toward the conservative movement going into this year’s midterms. Read our colleague Patrick Marley’s coverage of the race.
Down in Georgia, former representative Marjorie Taylor Greene’s seat is up for grabs in a special election. On the ballot are Democrat Shawn Harris and Republican Clay Fuller. The two candidates advanced to today’s runoff from a crowded special election last month.
A Harris win would further diminish House Speaker Mike Johnson’s 217-214 seat majority (Rep. Kevin Kiley, a California independent, left the Republicans last month.) But that’s a big if. The seat is solidly Republican, with more than 64 percent of voters last cycle going for Greene in a race against Harris.
Harris is a retired Army officer who has been fiercely critical of the war in Iran. Fuller is a former district attorney running with Trump’s endorsement.
In your local paper
Texas Tribune: These Texans agree that the state’s public education system is leaving Black students behind. The question of how to address it — the state’s high-profile voucher program or greater investment in the state’s public schools— is splitting them.
Minnesota Star Tribune: Minneapolis has its own Batman. The masked vigilante NoMark has gone viral online for his crime-fighting videos. What does his rise say about the lack of faith in public safety in the city?
CalMatters (California): Rep. Darrell Issa’s decision not to run for reelection prompted Democrats to celebrate as they targeted the San Diego seat. But they now acknowledge his successor, Jim Desmond, could be a harder candidate to beat.
Send us a reply
Today, we wrote about gas prices and how they are changing some habits. What about you? Are you driving less? Traveling differently? Or do you agree with the president that the price increases are a short-term issue? Let us know!
Thanks for reading. You can follow Dan and Matthew on X: @merica and @matthewichoi.
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