Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska has a blunt message for President Donald Trump: The price of diesel is “too damn high.”
He’s not the only Republican sounding the alarm. Nearly seven months into the war with Iran, the conflict has driven diesel prices to record highs and squeezed the global oil market. Now, with the midterm elections rapidly approaching, GOP candidates in competitive races are backtracking their support and increasingly calling for it to end. Those candidates include Sen. Jon Husted of Ohio, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Rep. Ashley Hinson, Iowa’s Republican Senate nominee.
The shift comes as Trump’s standing has fallen to its lowest point of his second term. A CNN/SSRS poll conducted Sept. 16-17 found that just 33% of Americans approve of his job performance, while 67% disapprove. Seventy-three percent disapprove of his handling of the war, and the same share disapproves of his handling of the economy. That discontent has Republicans in tight Senate, House and governor’s races scrambling to put distance between themselves and the president in hopes of holding their seats in November.
Hinson posted on Monday that the war “needs to be brought to a successful and immediate end.” Husted echoed that in an interview Tuesday with Politico.
“The war needs to come to an end as quickly as possible so that we can lower gas prices,” Husted told the outlet, adding that he doesn’t know anyone who doesn’t want the war to end.
Republicans running in competitive gubernatorial races are making the same case. In Wisconsin, Rep. Tom Tiffany, the GOP candidate for governor, told reporters Tuesday that the United States should “exit Iran” and that it’s “time to move on.” In Michigan, Rep. John James, that state’s Republican nominee for governor, told reporters on Tuesday the same thing: The U.S. “needs to end this war quickly,” according to the Detroit News.
Former Rep. Mike Rogers, the Republican in a tight race for Michigan’s open Senate seat, struck a similar note in a video posted to social media Monday.
“The war with Iran needs to end, and end quickly,” Rogers said. “When it does, energy costs will plummet.”
Much of the public’s frustration is tied to the cost of fuel. According to AAA, gas averaged $4.47 a gallon nationally Wednesday morning. Diesel averaged $6.52 a gallon, a penny below Tuesday’s average of $6.53, which was the highest diesel price ever recorded.
In private, House Republicans have told MS NOW they expect Democrats will “crush” them in the midterms, citing soaring gas and grocery prices and the unpopular war. Those fears help explain the sudden change in tone.
Whether voters will buy the new message remains to be seen: It’s a departure from where some of these officials stood just weeks ago.
In late July, Husted and Sullivan voted against a war powers resolution that would have directed Trump to end his military campaign in Iran. (Collins was one of two Republicans who broke from Trump and voted to curb the war.)
In late August, Husted defended the war, telling MS NOW that Iran is the “leading sponsor of state terrorism” and “cannot be trusted,” while also conceding that voters were “right to be frustrated” that the conflict had stretched on longer than Trump initially promised.
Olivia Tripodi, a spokesperson for Husted, said Politico misrepresented his comments on Tuesday.
“He simply stated what he’s been saying over the last seven months, including in an August 2026 interview with you all, which is calling for the military operation to be brief and successful so that gas prices can go down for Ohioans,” Tripodi told MS NOW.
In the House, Hinson and James also voted against ending the war just last Tuesday in the chamber’s most recent vote on the conflict. Tiffany didn’t vote: One day earlier, he announced his involvement in a plane crash and that he was being treated for minor injuries. Tiffany voted against ending the war in the House’s July 23 vote.
Sullivan, Collins, Hinson, James and Tiffany did not immediately return MS NOW’s request for comment.
The post ‘It’s time to move on’: At-risk Republicans want Trump’s Iran war to end appeared first on MS NOW.
