Economy 4 min read By Arthur Ellington
US petrol prices surge as voters weigh cost of Iran war
The national average for a gallon of petrol has reached $4.48, up $1.27 on the year, as voters in several states describe choosing between fuel and groceries. President Trump calls the higher prices a small price to pay for the war with Iran, but Republican strategists warn the affordability crisis is damaging the party ahead of November's midterms.
Petrol prices across the United States have climbed to their highest level in more than a year, intensifying an affordability squeeze that is reshaping the political landscape seven weeks before the midterm elections. The national average for a gallon of petrol reached $4.48 on Friday, according to AAA, up roughly 17 cents over the past week, 40 cents in a month and $1.27 from a year ago. The increase is a direct consequence of the war with Iran, which has disrupted global energy markets and pushed up the cost of crude.
For working-class households, the surge has forced difficult choices. Quinten Martinez, a 28-year-old delivery driver in South Texas, described weighing whether to fill his tank or buy groceries. «Is it going to be groceries this week?» he asked as he pumped fuel under a hot sun. «Is it gonna be getting gas in our tank to go to work?» Martinez said he did not see higher prices as a fair trade-off for the conflict, adding: «I don’t feel like this is good for anyone.»
President Donald Trump has acknowledged the increase but framed it as a necessary cost of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Campaigning in North Carolina on Wednesday, he said: «You have a little higher. It’s a very inexpensive price to pay for what we’ve done. Remember that. It’s a little more. Frankly, even if it was a lot more.» The remarks have done little to ease frustration among voters, including some who supported him in 2024.
Interviews with voters in several states revealed bipartisan discontent. Dan Lloyd, a 63-year-old carpenter in Mesa, Arizona, who voted for Trump, paid $4.39 a gallon to fill his pickup truck. «He hurt himself stepping into this,» Lloyd said of the president. «Where’s all this oil from Venezuela? I thought we were flush with gas and everything, but no. The American people eat it every time, whether it’s interest rates, food, gasoline.» Lloyd still expects to vote Republican, saying he believes the Democratic Party has «lost its way».
In central Michigan, Garth Johnson, a 35-year-old who runs a deep-cleaning business with several petrol-powered vehicles and one diesel machine, paid $6.79 a gallon to fill his SUV. A Trump voter, he remains undecided about November. «I like a lot of the things he’s done,» Johnson said, but added: «I’m a little guy and I’ve got to live my life.»
Others are less forgiving. Alan Johnson, a 60-year-old engineer in Virginia, cast his ballot for Democrats on Friday, saying Trump appears to have «no empathy» for struggling Americans. «With the gas prices being what they are and continuing to grow, we’ve got to do something,» he said. In Raleigh, North Carolina, teacher Brittney Bivins said the president «really doesn’t care about everyday people. He can afford the gas, but most of us can’t.»
Republican strategists acknowledge the political danger. «Gas prices matter because they’re one of the few economic indicators voters experience and see in real time,» said veteran Republican strategist Chris Wilson. «The price is literally staring them in the face several times a week. So I wouldn’t minimize the frustration we’re seeing, particularly among working- and middle-class voters.»
Early voting is already under way in Virginia, and Republicans at all levels are contending with Trump’s weak approval ratings, an unpopular foreign conflict and an affordability crisis they had promised to fix. Historically, the party holding the White House suffers major losses in midterms. The combination of rising pump prices and persistent inflation may intensify that pattern, with the cost of a gallon of petrol emerging as one of the most tangible measures of economic strain for households across the country.
