GOP senator said gas prices would decide the midterms. Now they’re threatening his reelection

Kansas Republican Sen. Roger Marshall said in July that October fuel costs would settle the midterms, and his own reelection bid now looks vulnerable to exactly that. Pump prices have jumped nationwide since the Iran war started in late February, and Marshall has been among the conflict's firmest defenders. Kansas, which has not sent a Democrat to the Senate since 1932, now features a tight race against Democratic nominee Adam Hamilton, a pastor who founded the country's largest Methodist congregation, according to CNN.

GOP super PACs are shifting millions into Kansas, much of it originally meant for North Carolina, where Republican nominee Michael Whatley has trailed in polls. AdImpact data shows Senate Leadership Fund alone has put close to $10 million toward Kansas advertising.

AAA figures put Kansas gasoline near $4.01 a gallon and diesel near $6.01, increases of about 57.5% and 77.6% from before the war. That hits farmers hard during harvest and wheat planting. Months of Marshall's remarks, reviewed by CNN's KFile, cast the costs as a worthwhile sacrifice for national security, and in June he called gas prices the election's "barometer." His campaign did not respond to CNN's request for comment.

Summarized by PolitiKool from CNN’s reporting. Read the full story at CNN →