Republicans are rolling out a string of new voter registration sites at gas stations across the country, seeking to capitalize on the recent spike in prices, which pose a major political liability for President Joe Biden and Democrats in this year’s midterm elections.
The initiative is coordinated by the Republican National Committee and began this weekend with voter registration drives in Arizona and North Carolina.
Party officials are also planning to expand the gas station voter drives to other states, including California, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Ohio, Texas, and Wisconsin.
The RNC push comes as gas prices in the United States have soared to their highest point in 14 years, putting Democrats on the defensive even as they maintain the costs are largely outside their control. National averages skyrocketed this month following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The national average currently sits at $4.24 a gallon, according to AAA.
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Though analysts contend the spike in fuel costs is due to a myriad of factors, including global supply chain issues, Republicans have sought to cast blame squarely on the Biden administration’s policies.
“This isn’t just due to what’s happening in Ukraine,” Sen. Deb Fischer of Nebraska told reporters in a news conference earlier this month. “It’s due to the administration’s policies.”
In a statement announcing the plan, RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel dubbed the increase in prices the “Biden Gas Hike.”
“The RNC is mobilizing at gas stations across the country to register voters and remind folks that the anti-American energy of Biden and the Democrats is costing them more,” McDaniel said. “The Biden Gas Hike is a product of his own doing, and Americans have faced record high gas prices as a result.”
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Speaking to Arizona Central this weekend, Arizona RNC spokesman Ben Petersen cited internal party data that found more than 80% of newly registered Republicans cast a ballot in the first election following their registration to vote.
“Registering someone as a Republican voter is one of the most high-impact things we can do with our ground program,” he said.
