(CNN) The cost of consumer goods has jumped to its highest point in four decades. But in some of the country’s most important battlegrounds, the situation is even worse for Democrats, as their voters have been hit by price increases that have been higher than the national average.
In Phoenix, Arizona — a state where Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly faces one of the toughest re-election races this fall — the cost of goods rose a staggering 12.3% from June 2021 to June 2022, according to the Labor Department. This is a good three points more than the national average, which reached 9.1%.
Meanwhile, in the metro Atlanta area, represented by vulnerable Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock, costs rose 11.5% over the same 12-month period.
The latest inflation numbers, particularly in key swing states that could determine control of the Senate, pointed to deepening political problems for President Joe Biden and his party and explained why vulnerable Democrats have publicly sounded the alarm on the issue. Democrats, desperate to keep control of Congress, are now begging the administration and their party leadership to help them fight more aggressively against rising prices — and stay in their seats while doing so.
Kelly told CNN that the Biden administration “needs to look for more opportunities to do things for less.”
“Nine percent is a pretty big number,” Kelly added. “Families struggle to afford many things and have to make some difficult decisions.”
Kelly noted that he has already called on Biden to release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. On March 31, the administration announced that it would release one million barrels of crude oil per day for six months.
“I probably don’t want to end it,” Kelly told CNN. “The price of gasoline has come down, but historically it’s still incredibly expensive and unaffordable for many families.”
And Warnock told CNN that Congress needs to suspend the federal gas tax and cap insulin prices. The first idea was rejected by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi because it is unclear whether consumers will reap the benefits, and the second could soon see action in the Senate. Warnock also called for investment in semiconductor and microchip manufacturing in the US. Warnock said some people now have to choose between buying groceries and buying prescription drugs.
“We can do something about it – and we should,” added Warnock.
Inflation has become a major political issue for Americans and worries nervous Democrats who know there is no quick fix in Washington to create more supply and less demand for products. Vulnerable Democrats say inflation has dominated conversations both at home and in Washington, where the party is tussling internally over possible solutions with the November election just over 110 days away.
“This is a grocery and gas election,” Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota, head of the National Republican Congressional Committee, told CNN. “(The Biden administration) had this stupid talk about inflation being temporary, and then it was Putin’s fault, and now it’s the Republicans’ fault. They just have to look in the mirror. And you know what , in November, so they will lose.”
For months, Democrats have offered a number of reasons why the costs have increased. Russian President Vladimir Putin has been blamed for invading Ukraine and triggering food and energy price hikes, the pandemic for disrupting supply chains and oil companies for allegedly exploiting consumers, despite protests from some prominent economists.
On Wednesday, the Biden administration issued a new defense: The latest inflation record was “outdated” because gas prices have fallen over the past few weeks.
But that response wasn’t enough for Democrats on Capitol Hill, as Republicans continued to press the issue.
Florida Sen. Rick Scott, chairman of the Republican Senate Committee, said that would be “ridiculously high” even if inflation was seven or eight percent.
“We’re going to win so many games over inflation,” Scott told CNN. “It’s terrible for the country. It will help us for the election, but think of those poor families who are being hurt.”
Some Democrats are starting to point fingers at each other. New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan, a vulnerable Democrat, criticized the Biden administration’s handling of inflation, telling CNN, “I’ve been saying for a while that I think he and the administration have been too slow to respond to this.”
The White House, which initially failed to recognize the looming inflation crisis, sent officials to Capitol Hill last month to arm Democrats with discussions about rising gas prices, inflation and other economic issues. But Democrats who attended the briefing said they left feeling underwhelmed, with one lawmaker saying the meeting got “spicy” when it got to the question-and-answer portion.
“I just don’t believe that we can try to smooth things over by talking like people don’t know their own lives, their accounts, their own minds … People aren’t stupid. There’s no point in trying to hide the ball there,” spokeswoman Elissa told CNN Slotkin of Michigan, one of the most threatened Democrats in the House of Representatives this fall. “I need a plan. I’m not looking for help with messaging.”
Slotkina called on her party’s leadership to vote weekly on bills to reduce the sky-high prices of consumer goods and gas prices. But some of the most realistic options — an economic package that would lower prescription drug prices and a proposed Chinese competition law that includes funding for semiconductor manufacturers — are both mired in uncertainty.
A Monmouth poll from earlier this summer asked Americans to name the biggest concern facing their family. The most common answer was inflation (33%), followed by a range of related economic issues, including gas prices (15%), the economy (9%) and everyday bills like groceries (6%).
Since the start of 2021, campaigns and groups have spent $92 million on inflation-related ads — more than on other top issues like immigration or guns, according to AdImpact. Republicans blamed Democrats for the economic mess and spent $54 million on the issue — more than twice what Democrats spent on defense.
“This is affecting families in Wisconsin — and I keep stressing that it didn’t just happen,” Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, a top Democrat target this fall, told CNN. “It wasn’t just bad luck. It’s the result of massive deficit spending. It’s caused by their war on fossil fuels, which has purposely driven the cost of energy, of gasoline, to record highs.”
Asked if he was concerned that price increases could hurt Democrats’ ability to hold a 50-50 Senate majority, Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, acknowledged that inflation is a “big” issue, pointing to some laws passed by Congress that he hopes will lower prescription drug prices and has turned against a Republican push to end abortion rights.
“We recognize that obviously rising prices are a problem for families, and we’re working to help families deal with those rising costs,” Peters said. “And you just compare that to the Republicans, who are completely silent on how to actually fix anything, and actually engage in extreme politics and want to take away women’s rights, and they don’t talk about the issues that the American people care about.”
Similarly, Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney of New York, who is leading the Democratic campaign in the House of Representatives, acknowledged that inflation is a “problem” and urged his members to acknowledge the suffering of Americans, while highlighting the party’s plan for consumer relief.
“We’re solving a problem. The other side is trying to gain politically from this,” Maloney, who himself is facing a competitive re-election race, told reporters. “What’s the Republican plan for inflation besides pissing people off to win elections? They have no idea what they’re going to do to fix the economy.”
Republicans have disputed that they have no plan to fight inflation.
“Stop deficit spending,” Johnson said. “Let’s use the God-given natural resources we have to lower energy costs. Let’s at least have work requirements for welfare payments.”
“Balance the budget. Start lowering taxes. Reduce the regulatory environment. And become energy independent,” Scott said. “That’s what you have to do — and do everything you can to buy American products.”
