# How different would the election results have been if gas prices had been lower? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [November 7, 2026, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-different-would-the-election-results-have-been-if-gas-prices-had-been-lower/1034682 "2026-11-07T23:32:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2026, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-different-would-the-election-results-have-been-if-gas-prices-had-been-lower/1034682/1 "2026-11-07T23:32:13Z")
How much lower, I dunno. Something noticeable but reasonable, whatever that is. Absolutely nothing else about past events changes except for gas prices and any cost increases directly caused by gas prices. I ask because it seems like a basic assumption by many people that the sheer size of the wave was due to direct economic concerns—that there was a sizable number of Republican or middle of the road voters who either didn’t vote or voted for Democrats who didn’t give a damn about Iran or ICE or Gaza or trans people being oppressed… They were just mad that they had to pay more to fill up their Range Rovers. In which case, the sole metric those voters will judge the new Congress on is their pocketbook, and everything else, up to and including investigating federal corruption, will be irrelevant to them at best. If this is the case, I feel like the new majority might, unfortunately, be overly optimistic about how their priorities will be received by the public at large. TLDR: I’d love to think that these election results are a condemnation of Trump that goes beyond his economic impact, but I’m afraid it might not be. Please clarify! ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2026, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-different-would-the-election-results-have-been-if-gas-prices-had-been-lower/1034682/2 "2026-11-08T01:03:25Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > I ask because it seems like a basic assumption by many people that the sheer size of the wave was due to direct economic concerns—that there was a sizable number of Republican or middle of the road voters who either didn’t vote or voted for Democrats who didn’t give a damn about Iran or ICE or Gaza or trans people being oppressed… They were just mad that they had to pay more to fill up their Range Rovers. I “It’s the economy , stupid!”. So, still a Blue wave, but not a BIG Blue wave. Yes, they cared about the War, and ICE, but very few voters care about Gaza- but those that do are pretty vocal. . > [@Leaper](#): > > TLDR: I’d love to think that these election results are a condemnation of Trump that goes beyond his economic impact, but I’m afraid it might not be. It was. But the price of fuel- caused to a great extent by him- was the big item. Tariffs, ICE out of control, etc- > **[Voter poll: What have US voters named the top issues at the midterms?](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c39wz0970eypo)** > > A major election day survey suggests voters are the most unhappy with the economy. > Some 39% of those asked in the poll of more than 79,000 people said the economy was the most important issue, while 33% put the state of democracy top.Following that, immigration was named most important by 14% of voters while healthcare, foreign policy and crime were ranked first by a lower share. > > Around two thirds (66%) of voters surveyed say US President Donald Trump’s policies have worsened economic conditions in the country. “Foreign Policy” is Iran, not Gaza- > The voter poll also said that around six in 10 (63%) of those asked said the US made the wrong decision to take military action against Iran. Almost four in 10 (37%) said it was right. > > Separately, three-quarters of voters (74%) said the conflict was a crucial or major factor in their vote for Congress and a quarter (26%) said it was a minor factor or not a factor. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2026, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-different-would-the-election-results-have-been-if-gas-prices-had-been-lower/1034682/3 "2026-11-08T01:06:19Z")
People have had 10 years to figure out that Trump is a pedophile, rapist, traitor, incompetent, corrupt, disgrace, authoritarian, etc. If it hasn’t bothered them yet then its either because they don’t care or they’re never going to figure it out. My understanding is that a big part of what happened was people were upset that the economy wasn’t recovering enough under Biden so a lot of people (mainly gen Z and latinos) shifted to Trump. Then when Trump made the economy worse with tariffs and the effects of the war on fuel prices, people swung back away from Trump. Americans care more about gas prices than pedophilia. Its a searing indictment of how despicable our culture is, but its the reality. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2026, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-different-would-the-election-results-have-been-if-gas-prices-had-been-lower/1034682/4 "2026-11-08T01:12:38Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > My understanding is that a big part of what happened was people were upset that the economy wasn’t recovering enough under Biden so a lot of people (mainly gen Z and latinos) shifted to Trump. Then when Trump made the economy worse with tariffs and the effects of the war on fuel prices, people swung back away from Trump. > > Americans care more about gas prices than pedophilia. Its a searing indictment of how despicable our culture is, but its the reality. Well, trump has not been arrested, indicted or convicted of “pedophilia”, or rape or being a traitor. He _was_ convicted of **34 felony counts of Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree**. Hell, I saw t-shirts etc with “I am voting for the felon”. People do not care a lot about allegations, since they can just think they are political. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2026, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-different-would-the-election-results-have-been-if-gas-prices-had-been-lower/1034682/5 "2026-11-08T01:23:18Z")
He hasn’t been convicted of those things, but he has personally bragged about them, on camera. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2026, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-different-would-the-election-results-have-been-if-gas-prices-had-been-lower/1034682/6 "2026-11-08T01:25:54Z")
And of course- trump was not even on the ballot. What was on the ballot is trump’s _policies_ and who supported them- which is 90+% of the Republicans running this midterms. So, they got voted out as they _supported_ unpopular and dangerous policies. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2026, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-different-would-the-election-results-have-been-if-gas-prices-had-been-lower/1034682/7 "2026-11-08T03:58:23Z")
A lot of truth here. It’s fine to bomb the shit out of Iran if it eventually lowers gas prices (and therefore everything else) but it didn’t. They were promised that it would. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2026, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-different-would-the-election-results-have-been-if-gas-prices-had-been-lower/1034682/8 "2026-11-08T05:39:50Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Americans care more about gas prices than pedophilia. Its a searing indictment of how despicable our culture is, but its the reality. Juvenal called it almost two millennia ago: _"Give them bread and circuses and they will never revolt.”_ ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2026, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-different-would-the-election-results-have-been-if-gas-prices-had-been-lower/1034682/9 "2026-11-08T13:12:18Z")
Jesse Wells has a song about the midterms. "Donald, listen close You can threaten civilizations, kill civilians and just laugh You can exterminate races Put folks into cages But you just can’t fuck with the price of gas. " [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/168JVW7wLFs/maxresdefault.jpg "Jesse Welles - The Midterms (Lyrics)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=168JVW7wLFs&list=RD168JVW7wLFs&t=3) ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2026, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-different-would-the-election-results-have-been-if-gas-prices-had-been-lower/1034682/10 "2026-11-08T14:06:14Z")
> [@CaptMurdock](#): > > Juvenal called it almost two millennia ago: _"Give them bread and circuses and they will never revolt.”_ He didn’t do this nearly enough for his purposes. The feeble free circuses were limited to D.C. And he should have split the promised $5,000 to give half before the election, half after, so people would believe the promised money, in event the GOP won the midterms, was real. One problem with the circus approach: We do not have enough colosseums, excuse me, NFL stadiums. I just checked and there are only 18.8 million regular season seats per season. To do the circuses thing right, he needed to pour money into stadium construction in his first term so there would be enough tickets for the government to give away in the second. The other problem with co-opting the existing live entertainment venues is that season ticket holders are the kind of affluent people who skew Republican. And they would not like losing their seats to the plebians. The bread and circuses approach might work better for a left-wing dictator. Also, he needed to bring back animals to the actual Ringling Brothers Circus, while making it free. Has any modern dictator actually tried a strong bread and circuses approach as I modestly propose? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2026, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-different-would-the-election-results-have-been-if-gas-prices-had-been-lower/1034682/11 "2026-11-08T15:48:34Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > “It’s the economy , stupid!” I agree—keeping in mind that higher gas prices aren’t just about filling up Range Rovers but also about higher prices for goods that have to be transported. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2026, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-different-would-the-election-results-have-been-if-gas-prices-had-been-lower/1034682/12 "2026-11-08T16:07:23Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > One problem with the circus approach: We do not have enough colosseums, excuse me, NFL stadiums. I just checked and there are only 18.8 million regular season seats per season. To do the circuses thing right, he needed to pour money into stadium construction in his first term so there would be enough tickets for the government to give away in the second. The “circuses” part, I was being very loosely in my interpretation. FTR, I have a deep disdain for professional sports. I’m one of those geeks who watched the Superbowl for the commercials. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2026, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-different-would-the-election-results-have-been-if-gas-prices-had-been-lower/1034682/13 "2026-11-08T18:42:20Z")
If you look at his approval ratings in the second term, it’s a steady decline almost since day 1. I think Wesley Clark had the right of it in his post – people who were disappointed in the economy and blamed Biden went on to vote for Trump, but he failed them on the economy at every turn. > **[MSN](https://www.msn.com/en-us/politics/government/trump-approval-rating-tracker-how-unpopular-is-the-president/ar-AA2gB069)** There is a blogger on YouTube that I have been looking at lately and whom I recommend for a sane voice. He has a series interpreting the results of the mid-terms, plus a lot of other stuff. The channel is called “Takes by Jamelle Bouie.” ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2026, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-different-would-the-election-results-have-been-if-gas-prices-had-been-lower/1034682/14 "2026-11-08T18:55:48Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I agree—keeping in mind that higher gas prices aren’t just about filling up Range Rovers but also about higher prices for goods that have to be transported. Yes, of course. But every day when voters drive by a gas station, or later go in to fill-up, the prices are right there. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2026, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-different-would-the-election-results-have-been-if-gas-prices-had-been-lower/1034682/15 "2026-11-08T18:59:17Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > But every day when voters drive by a gas station, or later go in to fill-up, the prices are right there. And I have no doubt that it didn’t help that Trump kept publicly stating things like: - “gas prices are just a little bit higher” - “gas prices are going to go down, any day now” - “inflation/affordability isn’t a problem” - “we are making so much money on oil” He finally “found” something on which even his supporters couldn’t ignore their own personal experiences in favor of what he told them. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2026, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-different-would-the-election-results-have-been-if-gas-prices-had-been-lower/1034682/16 "2026-11-09T06:50:01Z")
The Republicans might not have gotten their asses whooped quite as badly, but you’d probably still be looking at a Democratic majority in the house, and 51, maybe 52 Democrats in the Senate. Over the past decade Trump has proven himself quite adept at telling people what they want to hear, whether it be about immigration, about stemming the decline in manufacturing jobs, about liberal wokism run amok. It’s probably his greatest strength as a politician (notice I said politician, and not leader). I’m not saying he had any real plans for addressing those issues, or even that his rhetoric had much grounding in reality. But he was selling a vision that really resonated with a good number of voters in this country. Over the past year, however, as he’s continued to sundown, he’s been talking obsessively about his big, fancy, new ball room, about taking Greenland, about other men’s asses - stuff that even most of his supporters don’t give a shit about. For crying out loud, he’s been trying to talk up AI and data centers at a time when his base is growing increasingly hostile toward those things. And on the day before the election, he held a big press conference in front of the Reflecting Pool, which served only to remind people of one of his administration’s most humiliating episodes. And other Republicans really weren’t a whole lot better, believing that the usual culture war bullshit about Trans athletes and wicked socialists was going to score them points. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a group of people misjudge the political mood in this country as badly as Trump and his acolytes did during this past election. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2026, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-different-would-the-election-results-have-been-if-gas-prices-had-been-lower/1034682/17 "2026-11-09T19:16:52Z")
> [@joebuck20](#): > > The Republicans might not have gotten their asses whooped quite as badly, but you’d probably still be looking at a Democratic majority in the house, and 51, maybe 52 Democrats in the Senate. Right. Still a blue wave, just not a BIG Blue wave. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2026, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-different-would-the-election-results-have-been-if-gas-prices-had-been-lower/1034682/18 "2026-11-09T22:03:56Z")
What about all the states? Would red states have stayed red? ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2026, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-different-would-the-election-results-have-been-if-gas-prices-had-been-lower/1034682/19 "2026-11-09T22:47:05Z")
I think a few states that went blue would have stayed red. As far as Texas, I think the Senate race was always going to go in Talarico’s favor, just because Paxton was such a crappy candidate, but it definitely would have been more of a nailbiter. Some of the other statewide offices, including possibly governor, though, would have stayed red. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2026, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-different-would-the-election-results-have-been-if-gas-prices-had-been-lower/1034682/20 "2026-11-09T23:09:40Z")
Right, I concur. And Paxton was a crook even.