WELD COUNTY, Colorado — Oil market disruptions created by the Iran war have left drivers across the United States shelling out dozens more dollars every time they pump their gas, and many in Republican districts are placing blame on the federal government and President Donald Trump.
In Colorado, the fourth-largest oil-producing state, the average price of gasoline sat at around $3.77 a gallon as of Monday, up from around $2.72 in early February.
The sharp price hikes are straining drivers’ wallets, causing some to rethink how often they hit the roads or even change their lifestyles.
“I’m just, unfortunately, just paying more for gas, for day to day,” Austin M., 28, from Loveland, Colorado, told the Washington Examiner while filling his truck with gas just off Interstate 25. “It sucks.”
He said that higher fuel costs were one significant reason that he decided to shut down his own trucking company in recent weeks.
At another gas station off the interstate, Kristy Hutson, 41, from Aurora, Colorado, said she is paying $70 more to fill up her work and personal vehicles.
Hutson, who works for a construction services company, said it previously cost $70 to fill up her work truck’s tank every day. It is now around $110. It also costs Hutson roughly $70 to fill her personal car, up from around $40.
As prices have surged, Christina Forman, a truck driver and Trump supporter from Boulder County, has cut back on her personal driving. As a result, though, her online shopping and delivery service use has increased.
“It was cheaper for me to pay delivery fees than it was for me to get in my car and drive,” Forman said.
Who’s to blame?
Higher gasoline prices can be directly traced back to major oil disruptions in the Middle East, brought on by the war in Iran, and some motorists have directed their ire at Trump.
“I blame Trump,” said Ayla T., 22, from Greeley, Colorado.
Others broadly blamed the war in Iran and the gasoline industry, with Austin M. accusing officials of “playing games” with the public.
“Everybody says it’s the Iran wars and whatnot, and tariffs and all this, I don’t know,” he said. “I just really think it’s just … them playing games with everybody. Just because they can charge whatever they really want, and you have to pay it.”
“If you want to get political, when it was the Democrats, it’s because they opened the borders and all these people were coming in, now it’s because of the f***ing war,” said Ricky Castro, 35, a Trump voter who lives in Denver. Who knows what it is?”
When Forman was asked who she believed should be held responsible for the higher prices, she said, “The government.”
Iran effectively shut down the Strait of Hormuz at the end of February, blocking thousands of tankers from entering or exiting the Persian Gulf, preventing tens of millions of barrels of crude and other products from passing through each day.
Before the war began, roughly 20 million barrels passed through the waterway each day, equivalent to around one-fifth of global demand.
Crude oil is the largest component of the retail price of gasoline, making up around 50% of the final price.
Oil- and gas-producing regions such as Weld County, Colorado, where Chevron operates more than 4,000 wells, have not been insulated from soaring prices, with the average price of gas in the region sitting at $3.675 per gallon as of Tuesday.
As of Tuesday, the average price of gas nationwide is at $4.14 per gallon. The average price of diesel also sat at $5.646, just 20 cents below the all-time record set in 2022.
Western states such as Colorado have minimal regional public transportation systems, forcing residents to rely on their own vehicles to get to and from work, doctors’ appointments, grocery stores, and so much more.
There seems to be a consensus among motorists that there is not much they can do to alleviate the pain.
“Nobody’s really taking vacations or doing road trips because it’s not warm enough yet,” said Patrick De Haan, the head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “So there’s not an opportunity to reduce demand right now like there might be in summer.”
Until consumption slows, De Haan said, prices will only continue to increase, with gasoline possibly exceeding 2022 levels in just a matter of weeks.
Is it worth it?
Higher gasoline prices could complicate the Republican Party’s efforts to keep control of the majority in the House, as some voters in swing districts such as Colorado’s 8th, which encompasses Weld County, say the premiums will influence how they cast their ballot.
“I think it’s like, one of the biggest things I spend my money on right now,” Ayla T. told the Washington Examiner. “It’s really important to me because if I don’t have my car, I have no lifeline.”
Some conservatives, however, appear more willing to pay the higher prices.
“I’m not going to be happy if they escalate,” Forman said. “It’s not going to change the way I vote, absolutely not. It might change my day-to-day routine.”
Forman told the Washington Examiner that the high prices were “absolutely” worth it for Trump’s overall agenda, saying she would pay double.
“I understand that our fuel prices have escalated. But guess what didn’t escalate? My interest rate on my mortgage went down 2.5% this year,” she said.
“I’m a single mother with a special needs child. I need these things to come back to an affordable, you know, cost of living,” Forman said, adding, “If I am to pay escalated gas prices in order to save $250 on my mortgage every month, damn right I’m going to do it because I can adjust my schedule, adjust my driving to make that more accommodating, but there aren’t a damn thing I can do with the mortgage company.”
But as prices at the pump tick up, not all Trump voters agree.
As a medical courier, Castro explained that he is now paying approximately $1,200 a month on gasoline, up from around $800 each month.
FOUR WEEKS OF IRAN WAR: HERE’S WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO OIL MARKETS
He said he is not happy with Trump and remains frustrated with both Republicans and Democrats for failing to agree on how to address the high cost of living.
“The question that people should ask right now is, ‘What is it that our government is doing for us to better the economy?’” he said. “Because right now, it doesn’t matter who’s in office, it keeps getting worse and worse.”
