Politics

GOP Candidates Suddenly Get Cold Feet On Iran War As Election Looms

Mike Rogers in 2015 (Hudson Institute / Wikimedia Commons)

Republicans running in battleground states began speaking out against the Iran war as the midterm elections inched closer.

Candidates called for an end to the war while a majority of Americans disapproved of the conflict and expressed concerns about the economy. Republican Iowa Rep. Ashley Hinson, Republican Ohio Sen. Jon Husted, Republican Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Tom Tiffany and Michigan Senate candidate Mike Rogers defended President Donald Trump entering the conflict or have voted against war powers resolutions to rein in the conflict, but have since begun speaking out.

“I just believe that we should be exiting Iran, that it’s time to move on, we’ve degraded their nuclear facilities, we’ve degraded their military, most of their ships are in the bottom of the ocean. Time to come home [and] take care of business here in America,” Republican Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Tom Tiffany said Tuesday. “But that business in America is really important, that we take care of and it’s important that this governor do the things that he can to reduce costs for people here in Wisconsin and that is reducing taxes and the 400-year property tax increase, give all the budget surplus back to the people of Wisconsin, end taxes on tips and overtime, ten percent income tax cut for the middle class.”

Republican Ohio Sen. Jon Husted told Politico Tuesday that the war needed to “end as quickly as possible.” He was running against former Democratic Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown to keep his seat in a state where rising gas prices have become a central issue.

“The war needs to come to an end as quickly as possible so that we can lower gas prices,” Husted said. Husted voted against a war powers resolution in July one day after telling CNN he wanted an end to the war.

Top congressional and Senate Republicans raised concerns about the Ohio Senate race, as well as the races in Iowa, Texas and Kansas, causing millions to be spent in states once considered safely Republican, according to Politico.

Hinson, who was running for the Senate, argued on X Monday that Americans were being “crushed” by rising costs because of the war.

“Iowans are being squeezed and shouldn’t have to foot the bill at the pump or the checkout line for the war in Iran,” Hinson said. “We need to use every option at our disposal to provide some relief from high prices. That includes suspending the gas tax, pausing diesel exports, unleashing E-15 everywhere we can, reinstating the $1/gallon biodiesel tax credit, and creating a diesel relief program to help our farmers and truckers being crushed by the high costs.”

Tiffany and Hinson voted against multiple war powers resolutions that would direct the administration to halt military hostilities in Iran.

Republican Reps. Tom Barrett of Michigan, Warren Davidson of Ohio, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Nancy Mace of South Carolina, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Zach Nunn of Iowa and Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa voted with every Democrat to support the most recent war powers resolution on Sept. 16. Hinson voted “no” and Tiffany did not vote.

Republican Michigan Senate nominee Mike Rogers said Monday that the war needed to end to bring down prices.

“The war in Iran needs to end to bring costs down — but Michigan families can’t afford to wait. Here’s what we can do now: place a temporary embargo on Diesel exports. American energy should provide relief to American families first,” Rogers said on X.

Rogers previously described Iran as an “imminent threat” and called U.S. military action a “win-win-win” for the nation. He stated he did not mind giving Trump continued authority over military action while negotiations continued.

A CNN/SSRS poll found 26% of Americans approve of Trump’s handling of the Iran war, including 60% of Republicans. Fifty-three percent of Republican or Republican-leaning voters younger than 45 disapproved of his handling of the conflict.

Affordability remained the top issue for midterm election voters. U.S. gas prices soared about 44% since the start of the Iran war, averaging $4.47 per gallon as of Wednesday, according to AAA. Grocery prices rose at an annual rate of 2.2% as of August and were poised to begin accelerating as fuel costs have exhausted suppliers and retailers.