Detroit, Michigan – The first question in the United States Senate debate in Michigan between Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed and his Republican rival Mike Rogers was about the issue that appears to matter most to voters – the economy. El-Sayed quickly drew a contrast between himself and Rogers, who is backed by US President Donald Trump. It was not about interest rates, taxes, or trade policy.
It was about the US-Israel war on Iran. Across Michigan, Democrats are emphasising their opposition to the war to woo voters stung by rising gas and grocery prices. More alarmingly for Republicans, an overwhelming majority of respondents – 81 percent – agreed that the conflict has raised the cost of living.
Almost immediately after Israel and the US started attacking Iran on February 28, Tehran began disrupting the flow of energy products through the Strait of Hormuz – sending oil and gas prices skyrocketing. In the US, the price of diesel – which is used to power heavy machinery, including heavy trucks that ship consumer goods across the country – has reached record highs over the past weeks. Likewise, petrol or gasoline has become less affordable.
Average Americans feel that uptick firsthand almost daily at the gas pump. The average price of one gallon (3.8 litres) of petrol has gone from less than $3 before the war to more than $4.27 as of Thursday, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA). The increased cost of energy and transportation has trickled down to the entire economy, fuelling inflation at a time when affordability had become one of the key issues in US electoral politics.
Trump and his allies have argued that the war was necessary to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. But before the war, Trump himself had said repeatedly that Iran’s nuclear programme had been “obliterated” by the June 2025 US strikes against the country’s uranium enrichment facilities. And US intelligence officials have testified to Congress that they have no evidence that Iran is building a nuclear bomb.
Rogers, the Michigan Senate candidate, pushed to defend the war during the debate on Wednesday. You lose control of that whole region,” he said. At the same time, Rogers has also called for an end to the conflict.
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