When the Iran conflict began last spring, many were predicting the election would come down to only a narrow set of congressional districts. But every day that we get closer to Nov. 3, the already large playing field continues to expand. They should have seen this reality, driven by high gas prices, coming. 

According to the Energy Information Administration, for the week ending Oct. 5, gas was at $4.50, all grades and all formulations. When President Trump took office, the price of a gallon of gas was $3.23. One year later (Jan. 12, 2026), Trump administration policies had brought gas prices down 10 percent to $2.91. Since then, gas prices have gone up 55 percent, leaving congressional Republicans climbing a steep hill to maintain their majority this fall.

Anyone who is surprised that economic concerns are the electorate’s top issue has been living in an alternate universe for the past year and a half. Continuing increases in the cost of food and electricity have also heightened voter impatience with what they see as a lack of focus from the Trump administration on kitchen-table issues.

From the recent Winning the Issues survey (Sept. 12-16), an alarming 67 percent believe that inflation is getting worse, and 73 percent say the cost of living is increasing faster than their wages. Overall, only 28 percent think the economy is headed in the right direction, while 64 percent say it is seriously heading off on the wrong track. 

Claiming otherwise, giving the economy an A and calling inflation great without context, does little but further irritate already irritable voters. That explains, at least in part, Trump’s awful overall job approval along with his handling of the economy,........

© Roll Call