Poll: Republicans’ gas price problem is even worse than it seems

By Jessie Blaeser | 07/24/2026 06:09 AM EDT

Three in five Americans believe gas prices in their area have risen by more than they actually have, according to a POLITICO analysis.

An image of an oil spill collaged with oil rigs, a gas price display and Benjamin Franklin on the one hundred dollar bill.

Illustration by Anna Wiederkehr/POLITICO (source images via AP)

Gas prices are high. Americans think they’re even higher.

Three in five Americans believe gas prices in their area have risen by more than they actually have, according to an analysis of new results from The POLITICO Poll. It’s those perceptions that candidates will be running against this fall.

Voters’ anxieties about fuel prices could give Democrats a boost ahead of the midterms, further strengthening the Democratic voting base and putting strains on the MAGA coalition as the increasingly unpopular war in Iran drags on. A plurality of Americans — 46 percent — say the change in gas prices will impact how they plan to vote come November.

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