Former Vice President Mike Pence blamed Democrats for high gas prices during a visit to northwest Indiana Tuesday.
Pence stopped at a gas station in Hobart, where conservative advocacy group Americans for Prosperity had temporarily rolled gas prices back to $2.38 — the price when President Joe Biden took office.
Hobart is in Indiana’s 1st Congressional district, which Republicans hope to flip in November. The district has been held by Democrats for the last 90 years and is currently represented by U.S. Congressman Frank Mrvan.
Multiple GOP campaign ads have blamed Mrvan and other Democrats in Washington, D.C.,for high gas prices. Pence echoed that message Tuesday, and said high prices are the result of bad energy policies from the current White House.
“From the very first day of this administration , one policy after another set into motion the inevitable result of skyrocketing gasoline prices,” Pence said.
Gas prices peaked at nearly $5 last month, but have been falling ever since. Economists say the war in Ukraine and crude oil infrastructure are mostly to blame.
In a statement, the Indiana Democratic Party pointed the finger at GOP leaders for high gas prices. Republicans at the Statehouse repeatedly denied calls to suspend the state’s gas tax earlier this year, despite a multi-billion-dollar budget surplus.
Pence also introduced Jennifer-Ruth Green, the Republican candidate for the District 1 Congressional seat. The two spoke to people who had lined up to pump gas while the price was temporarily reduced.
“It’s an honor to be here today just to hear more and learn more about the realities that the current economic situation causes our people,” Green said.
An emailed statement from Mrvan’s campaign said “companies must be prevented from taking advantage of global events and the pandemic to exploit American consumers at the gas pump and in the grocery stores.”
Contact WVPE's Gemma at gdicarlo@wvpe.org or follow her on Twitter at @gemma_dicarlo.
