Ashley Hinson, Mike Rogers Pitch Diesel Export Halt While Seeking Iran War's End
The Republican Senate hopefuls voted against or opposed efforts to rein in the war before turning to fuel-cost relief on the campaign trail.
Rep. Ashley Hinson of Iowa and former Rep. Mike Rogers of Michigan, both Republicans running in toss-up Senate races, are pairing calls for an end to the war in Iran with proposals to keep diesel fuel inside the United States, according to Fox News and the Daily Caller.
Hinson wrote on X that Iowans "shouldn't have to foot the bill at the pump or the checkout line for the war in Iran," and Rogers posted that Michigan families "can't afford to wait." Sen. Jon Husted of Ohio and Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Tom Tiffany have made similar appeals.
Why it matters
The candidates had defended President Donald Trump's decision to enter the conflict or voted against war powers resolutions, the Daily Caller reported. Their shift comes as gas prices have climbed and affordability remains the top issue for midterm voters, according to the outlet.
Ashley Hinson and Mike Rogers on diesel exports
Hinson said on X that the war was straining Iowans, and she called for suspending the gas tax, pausing diesel exports, expanding E-15, reinstating a $1-per-gallon biodiesel credit and creating a diesel relief program to help "our farmers and truckers being crushed by the high costs."
"These actions to lower costs are needed ASAP, and the war needs to be brought to a successful and immediate end," Hinson said, according to Fox News.
Hinson has voted against every war powers resolution offered in the House, according to Fox News, including a Sept. 16 measure backed by seven Republicans, the Daily Caller reported.
Rogers, who has been out of Congress since 2015, released an ad calling for an immediate end to the war, Fox News reported. He had earlier told Fox News Digital that he wanted to see the war end.
"The war in Iran needs to end to bring costs down — but Michigan families can't afford to wait. Here's what we can do now: place a temporary embargo on diesel exports," Rogers wrote on X.
Jon Husted and Tom Tiffany join the calls
Husted, who faces former Sen. Sherrod Brown in Ohio, told Politico the war needed to "end as quickly as possible," the Daily Caller reported. Husted said ending the war would help lower gas prices. He voted no on a war powers resolution in July — a day after he told CNN he favored ending the war, according to the outlet.
Tiffany, a Wisconsin congressman running for governor, said Tuesday it is "time to come home [and] take care of business here in America," the Daily Caller reported.
Gas prices, polling and the Senate map
Gas prices have risen about 44% since the war began and averaged $4.47 per gallon Wednesday, according to AAA figures cited by the Daily Caller. Roughly a quarter of Americans approve of how Trump has handled the war, per a CNN/SSRS poll cited by the outlet.
PolitiKool's polling average puts Trump's approval at 38.3%, with 58.7% disapproving. Democrats lead PolitiKool's generic congressional ballot average by 6.9 points.
The Senate contests are tight. PolitiKool's averages show Josh Turek ahead of Hinson by 2 points in Iowa, Abdul El-Sayed leading Rogers by 3.1 points in Michigan and Brown up 4.2 points on Husted in Ohio.
Sources
- GOP cracks widen over Iran war as vulnerable candidates break with Trump, demand its end — Hinson's relief proposals and quote, her war powers voting record, Rogers's ad and his earlier comments to Fox News Digital in Dallas, and the toss-up status of the races.
- GOP Candidates Suddenly Get Cold Feet On Iran War As Election Looms — Hinson and Rogers X posts, Husted's comments to Politico and July vote, Tiffany's remarks and non-vote, the Sept. 16 war powers vote roster, the CNN/SSRS poll and AAA gas-price figures.