Democrats tie Iran war to $4.27 gasoline in midterm races

Democrats are tying the US-Israel war on Iran to gasoline above $4.27 a gallon in 2026 midterm races, Al Jazeera reported Oct. 23 from Michigan.

The argument turns foreign policy into an affordability attack: AAA data cited by Al Jazeera put average gasoline below $3 a gallon before the war.

In a Michigan Senate debate on Wednesday, Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed used the economy question to challenge Republican rival Mike Rogers, who is backed by President Donald Trump. “Right now, the cost of gas, the cost of groceries, it all really goes back to this war in Iran,” El-Sayed said.

El-Sayed called for a War Powers Resolution, a congressional tool to limit presidential military action, “rather than a senator who wants to stand hip-to-hip with Donald Trump on this war that made no sense when it started and certainly makes no sense now.”

Jonathan Guyer, programme director at the Institute for Global Affairs, told Al Jazeera the conflict had moved into domestic economic politics. “Voters don’t often rank foreign policy as their top issue, but I think it’s so interwoven with the economy right now that essentially foreign policy is the economy,” he said.

An IGA survey released last month found 60 percent of potential voters disapproved of Trump’s handling of the war, according to Al Jazeera. The same survey found 81 percent of respondents agreed the conflict had increased living costs.

Al Jazeera reported that after Israel and the US began attacking Iran on Feb. 28, Tehran disrupted energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz. It said diesel prices in the US had reached record highs in recent weeks, while higher fuel and transport costs fed into broader inflation.

Trump and his allies have argued the war was needed to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Al Jazeera also reported that Trump had previously said Iran’s nuclear programme was “obliterated” by US strikes in June 2025, and that US intelligence officials told Congress they had no evidence Iran was building a nuclear bomb.

Rogers defended the conflict during the debate. “You want to pay $8 [for] a gallon of gas, let Iran get a nuclear weapon. You lose control of that whole region,” he said.

In a campaign advertisement filmed in a grocery store, Rogers also said the war “needs to end, and end quickly.”

Other Republicans in competitive races have taken similar positions, according to Al Jazeera. Ohio Senator Jon Husted called for a “quick” end to the war, Iowa Senate candidate Ashley Hinson said it should reach an “immediate and successful end”, and Maine Senator Susan Collins pointed to her votes for War Powers Resolutions.

Republican voters still largely back Trump’s conduct of the war. A Pew Research Center poll released earlier this month found 63 percent of Republican respondents approved, while an IGA survey taken in August put Republican approval at 74 percent, though strong approval fell to 34 percent from 40 percent in April.

Trump defended the war on Wednesday, telling reporters: “I think it’s one of the greatest things we’ve done. We’ve stopped Iran from having a nuclear weapon.” Al Jazeera reported that he has suggested he may renew all-out fighting with Iran after the midterm vote next month.