Gas prices are continuing to drop across the country, with drivers seeing double-digit dips in some states.
AAA Mid-Atlantic says the average price of a gallon of regular gas in New Jersey on Friday was $4.51, down 12 cents from last week. Drivers were paying $3.17 a gallon on average a year ago at this time.
The national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline was $4.41, down 16 cents from last week. Drivers were paying $3.15 a gallon on average a year ago at this time.
DIP IN GAS PRICES COULD BE TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE FOR BIDEN AND DEMOCRATS
Analysts say “global economic headwinds” are pushing oil prices down and U.S. drivers “are fueling up less despite this being the height of the traditional summer driving season.”
However, the dip in prices may come too late to help President Joe Biden and Democrats ahead of the midterm elections.
Republican pollster Ed Goeas has advised candidates about the time horizon for voters to conclude the economy is “getting better” despite gas prices dipping 50 cents per gallon since June on top of solid jobs and unemployment numbers.
BIDEN’S STALLED AGENDA CREATES HURDLES FOR DEMOCRATS BEFORE MIDTERM ELECTIONS
“We’ve now passed that point, and so the economy is going to continue to be the No. 1 issue through the election, and that’s not where the progressives necessarily want him talking,” Tarrance Group’s Goeas told the Washington Examiner of Biden. “But quite frankly, if they don’t all get on that issue more, the Democrats are going to be in deep trouble in the 2022 election.”
Presidential historian David Pietrusza cited former President George H.W. Bush’s unsuccessful 1992 reelection cycle as an example of an incumbent notching “not enough” economic improvement.
“Improvement in one category may not necessarily be enough for Biden,” he said. “Gas prices may be declining, though still very high, but there is tremendous angst regarding the market.”
