Republicans seize on gas prices to target blue states for potential gains

Republicans are capitalizing on high prices at the pump across the country to target four states controlled by Democrats where the party believes it can make substantial political gains at the local and state levels.  

The Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC) will launch a five-figure digital ad series Thursday in Colorado, Maine, Nevada and New Mexico. The 40-second ads, which were first previewed by The Washington Times, advocate for energy independence and warn viewers they will “pay the price” if Democrats maintain control. 

The tactic illustrates the Republican Party’s confidence that concerns over pocketbook issues like inflation and energy prices will allow even their local and state candidates to prevail at the ballot box in November, underscoring another major hurdle Democrats face in an already difficult midterm election.

Republicans have sought to capitalize on record-high gasoline prices by contending it is the fault of domestic energy and climate change policies from the Biden administration and in states controlled by Democrats.

The national average for a gallon of regular gas was $4.24 as of Wednesday, down 9 cents from the all-time high of $4.33 on March 11 but up $1.36 from one year ago, according to AAA. Gasoline prices have spiked since Moscow’s war against Ukraine and a U.S. ban on Russian oil imports, but inflation was pushing energy costs upward long before the geopolitical conflict.

Nevada was the lone state among those targeted by the RSLC with prices above the national average. The western state’s average was $5.16 per gallon while the other three had averages ranging around $4 or higher. 
 
The RSLC views Maine, New Mexico and Nevada as Democratic strongholds where they can chip away at the party’s control. The GOP group, which focuses solely on electing Republicans at the local and state levels, sees far greater opportunity in Colorado with the potential for Republicans to flip the general assembly from blue to red.
 
The RSLC points to policies in each state that it argues have further exacerbated energy prices, such as a law in Nevada requiring greenhouse gas emissions tracking and plans for reaching zero or near-zero emissions by 2050. In Maine, the RSLC highlights it has passed renewable energy and climate change laws that set out to double its current renewable energy to 80% by 2030 and 100% by 2050, along with slashing emissions 80% from 1990 levels by 2050.

“Voters across the country who are furious with President Biden for crippling America’s energy independence also have Democratic legislators in blue states across the country to blame for skyrocketing prices at the pump,” said RSLC Communications Director Andrew Romeo. “Radical liberal energy policies enacted at the state level are part of the reason why the United States is at the mercy of dictators when it comes to oil production, and the American people will reject state Democrats and their war on domestic energy in November.”