How Trump’s ‘little detour’ to Iran became a roadblock in the midterm elections

Voters are punishing Republicans over the war with Iran that President Donald Trump began nearly eight months ago, and party strategists privately admit it is jeopardizing their hold on Congress in the Nov. 3 midterms. Trump predicted a conflict of only a few weeks, yet fuel costs have pushed up prices across much of the economy. The national gas average has stayed above $4 per gallon since mid-June, and diesel is near record levels, according to ABC News.

That pressure is landing on GOP candidates in Iowa, Kansas, Ohio and Texas, usually safe territory that now features tight races. Noor Dubow, a Columbus, Ohio, trucking dispatcher who typically backs Republicans, said he leaned Democratic this year and wondered why congressional Republicans are not holding Trump accountable. Five Republican strategists told The Associated Press that internal polling shows voters increasingly linking the war to grocery and travel costs, and that some districts Trump carried easily in 2024 have become competitive. A June ceasefire collapsed within weeks.

Trump calls the cost a small price for denying Iran a nuclear weapon and labels affordability complaints a Democratic hoax. Christopher Borick of the Lehigh University Opinion Observatory says his message reaches a shrinking share of voters.

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