The Hill’s Campaign Report: GOP hits Dems over rising prices at the pump

Welcome to The Hill’s Campaign Report, where we’ll be tracking all things related to the 2022 midterm elections. You can expect this newsletter in your inbox each week leading up to November’s election. 

Today we’re looking at the mushrooming political fight over rising gas prices — a battle likely to be amplified as a U.S. halt in energy purchases from Russia could send prices at the pump soaring even higher. 

Email us tips and feedback: Max Greenwood (mgreenwood@digital-release.thehill.com), Julia Manchester (jmanchester@digital-release.thehill.com), Tal Axelrod (taxelrod@digital-release.thehill.com) and Mychael Schnell (mschnell@digital-release.thehill.com).  

Republicans target Democrats on rising gas prices

Republicans are going on the offensive against Democrats as gas prices skyrocket, putting a number of already vulnerable Democratic incumbents and candidates in a tricky position ahead of the midterms.  

Broad support: And the move is something that Americans appear to be on board with. A Quinnipiac University national poll released this week showed that 71 percent of Americans would support a ban on Russian oil even if it meant higher gas prices here in the U.S. Among partisan groups, 82 percent of Democrats, 70 percent of independents and 66 percent of Republicans said they would support the ban.  

Biden, when asked during a visit to Texas on Tuesday whether he had a message for Americans on higher gas prices, responded: “They’re going to go up.”  

“Can’t do much right now. Russia is responsible,” he added.

GOP on the attack: Republicans, however, disagree. The GOP has already pivoted to hitting Biden over what they say is a lack of energy independence and point to the fact that gas prices and inflation were high before the Russian invasion.  

“We need American energy now,” Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel said in a statement on Tuesday. “Families know Biden’s agenda is to blame for the pain at the pump, and no series of lies will change the reality of his failures.” 

GOP candidates are echoing this messaging on the campaign trail.

“Joe Biden’s decision to shut down Keystone XL on his first day in office only made Putin’s war machine richer,” Ohio Senate candidate Mike Gibbons said in a statement on Tuesday. “I support sanctions on Russian oil exports, but we need to make America energy independent again.” 

No easy answers: Democrats, on the other hand, are scrambling to look for ways to lower gas prices, but as The Hill’s Jordain Carney’s reports, Democrats are “in an acknowledgment that there are few easy answers for the party that could create immediate relief for consumers.”  

THE COUNTDOWN

244 days until the 2022 midterm elections

Democrats go on offense against GOP rift over agenda

Democrats are forecasting that they’ll go on offense against the GOP over a growing debate among Senate Republicans on whether to put forward an agenda should they win back the upper chamber this year. 

The debate has caused high-profile divisions among Senate Republicans, including rare squabbling among the party’s leadership in the chamber. 

Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has kept his cards close to the vest regarding any legislative plans for after the midterms, telling reporters he would wait to unveil any agenda until he sees if Republicans can claw their way out of the minority. 

Scott splinters Senate: But Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), the chair of the Senate GOP’s campaign arm, in late February released a sprawling agenda, including making every American pay income taxes and naming a border wall after former President Trump. Scott insisted he released the plan in his personal capacity and not as the leader of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC). 

The intraparty debate was kicked into hyperdrive this week when Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said he agreed with parts of Scott’s agenda, adding that Republicans should “actually make good on what we established as our priorities.” 

Johnson went on to cite the GOP’s failed efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare, stepping back into a legislative dogfight Republicans abandoned after 2018. 

Johnson later backtracked, clarifying that he was using the failed effort as an example of Republicans not living up to their promises and was not suggesting trying to scrap ObamaCare. But the stumble gave Democrats an opening to pound Republicans on healthcare, a message that proved effective in 2018. 

Democrats seize opportunity: The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, charged with protecting Democrats’ wafer-thin House majority, launched a press release blitz Tuesday, tying vulnerable GOP lawmakers and Republican challengers to plans to “repeal Americans’ health care and raise their taxes.”

Such attacks are anticipated to escalate given Democrats’ success in the past pushing the GOP on healthcare. Democrats made Republicans’ attempts to repeal ObamaCare a centerpiece of their 2018 messaging — and they ultimately took back the House in a blue wave. 

But, but, but: Democrats are still on their back foot this midterm cycle. Any arguments over healthcare or GOP divisions would likely be used by Democrats to staunch the expected bleeding this year — not to turn a likely red wave into a good blue year. 

AD WATCH

In addition to helping the GOP secure majority control of the Senate this November, Johnson is also focused on defending his seat in the upper chamber in what may shape up to be a competitive reelection race. 

Johnson’s campaign released two new ads this week that highlight the senator’s work with the Joseph Project, a Milwaukee faith-based organization that connects individuals in the state with job opportunities. The two 30-second spots feature comments from Markeitha Smith — the widow of Pastor Jerome Smith Sr., who co-founded the group with Johnson — lauding the senator for his participation with the initiative. 

“I never would have thought that Ron Johnson would have ever been somebody that I can say is family,” Smith says in one of the ads. “I remember thinking, ‘Wow he actually came here.’ But he actually took the time to step in the door and support my husband and the program and the vision and the dream.” 

Putin on the pressure: Meanwhile in North Carolina, former Gov. Pat McCrory (R) released his first television ad of the race, knocking Trump-endorsed Rep. Ted Budd (R) as seemingly supportive of Russian President Vladimir Putin.  

“He’s a very intelligent actor,” the ad quotes Budd as saying of Putin in a recent interview. “There are strategic reasons why he would want to protect his southern and western flank.” 

“These are serious times and we need serious senators,” McCrory says in the ad. “I don’t compliment our enemies. I stand for truth and freedom.” 

The ad, however, cherrypicks comments from Budd, who in that same interview also called Putin “evil” and a “thug.” 

But the ad indicates that attitudes toward Russia will be featured in campaign broadsides both against the opposing party and intraparty rivals.

POLL WATCH

Republican primary poll-a-palooza

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Fox News on Tuesday released a heap of new polling data that takes a close look at the highly anticipated Republican primaries for senate in Ohio and Pennsylvania and for governor in Georgia. The three races are competitive, and data shows that a large chunk of GOP primary voters remain undecided in two out of three contests — leaving the GOP nod up for grabs months before the May primaries. 

Ohio: Investment banker Mike Gibbons leads the pack among Republican primary voters with 22 percent support in the state’s Senate election. Former state treasurer Josh Mandel trails by two points with 20 percent, a difference that falls within the poll’s margin of error. “Hillbilly Elegy” author JD Vance came in third with 11 percent support, followed by former Ohio GOP Chair Jane Timken with 9 percent and state Sen. Matt Dolan at 7 percent. Roughly one-fourth of the state’s primary voters, however, remain undecided, proving that the hotly contested race is still anyone’s game as the Buckeye State inches closer to the May 3 primary. 

Pennsylvania: Former hedge fund executive David McCormick is leading celebrity cardiothoracic surgeon Mehmet Oz among GOP primary voters in the state’s senate race, 24 percent to 15 percent. 2018 lieutenant governor candidate Jeff Bartos and commentator Kathy Barnette are tied for third with 9 percent support, followed by former ambassador to Denmark Carla Sands with 6 percent. A whopping 31 percent of respondents, however, said they do not know who they will support in the race, leaving the GOP nomination open for any of the candidates to secure in the May 17 race. 

Georgia: Incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp is maintaining a strong lead over former Sen. David Perdue in the state’s gubernatorial primary, 50 percent to 39 percent. Unlike in Ohio and Pennsylvania, however, GOP primary voters in the Peach State seem to have their minds made up months before the May 24 contest — only six percent said they remain undecided. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for reading and check out The Hill’s Campaign page for the latest news and coverage. See you next week.