How Trump’s Energy Policies Helped Trigger Midterm Rout

President Trump spent much of the past two years promising to bring down energy prices. Instead, his war with Iran, as well as other policies, drove up the cost of gasoline, diesel and electricity. At the same time his administration worked to thwart efforts to fight climate change, blocking renewable energy investments that could have reduced the country’s reliance on fossil fuels or brought down costs. On Tuesday, voters’ frustration with soaring energy prices helped propel Democrats to a blowout, with Republicans losing control of the House and the Senate , as well as the governorships of many historically conservative states.

“It’s quite clear that energy and energy affordability in particular played a big role in the electorate’s decision-making last night,” said Hasan Nazar, head of policy at Crux, a clean energy finance company. Many Americans said concerns about the cost of gas and electricity informed their voting choices, according to polling from The Associated Press . Gasoline prices across the country were at a record high for an Election Day, according to AAA .

No single action had a bigger effect on energy costs than Mr. Trump’s decision to go to war with Iran. With the Strait of Hormuz closed and global flows of oil disrupted, gasoline prices in the United States have jumped more than 40 percent since the war began. Diesel prices are up nearly 70 percent. Catherine Wolfram, a professor of energy economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management, said that launching the war was among the worst decisions Mr. Trump could have made if he was trying to bring down energy costs.

“It’s Econ 101 that invading Iran when they control the Strait of Hormuz is going to impact gas prices,” she said. We are having trouble retrieving the article content. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber?

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