Prices are posted at a gas station in Downtown Brooklyn on March 18, 2026, in New York, United States.
Matthew Hoen | Nurphoto | Getty Images
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee on Tuesday is launching a digital ad campaign targeting President Donald Trump and Republicans for rising gas prices amid the war in Iran.
The six-second ad, shared first with CNBC, shows the price at a gas pump going up and a final image saying “D.C. Republicans Did That!” The ads will run on Meta platforms Facebook and Instagram and are geotargeted to show up when viewers are at or near gas stations in all 44 of the DCCC’s “Districts in Play.”
“Another day, another broken promise from Trump and House Republicans,” DCCC Communications Director Courtney Rice said in a statement. “Now, when voters fill up at the pump, they’ll have yet another reminder that D.C. Republicans are squarely to blame for the price of gas, and everything else, being too damn high.”
Both Democrats and Republicans have hammered home affordability as a top priority in the lead-up to the pivotal 2026 midterm elections, as the GOP seeks to defend narrow majorities. In the House, Democrats need to net just three seats to take control of the chamber.
But the war in Iran, which Trump began on Feb. 28, has complicated the issue for Republicans, as oil prices have soared and the stock market has faltered. Democrats have pounced.
“Trump Tariffs. Health Insurance Costs. Gas Prices. ICE Brutality. Reckless War. Republicans have made America much less affordable and significantly more dangerous. How is that Golden Age thingy working out?” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., posted to X on Monday.
Trump has not articulated a clear end point for the war and as recently as Friday said he was not open to a ceasefire. On Monday, however, he announced on Truth Social that he had ordered the U.S. military to halt strikes on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for five days.
In response, U.S. stock futures rallied, the dollar fell against other major currencies, and oil prices dropped.
But gas prices remained elevated, as the Strait of Hormuz, the key shipping lane for much of the world’s oil trade, remains effectively closed. The national average gas price as of Monday was $3.96 per gallon, up from $2.94 a month earlier, according to the AAA. The Trump administration and other Republicans have urged patience.
“The goal, of course, is to get them down as quickly as possible. But my appeal to the American people is, we have had 47 years of threats from Iran, which have artificially raised energy prices for decades,” U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” on Monday. “We’re going through a short-term period of disruption right now, but the long-term benefits will be enormous.”
The ad will play in 23 states across the country where the DCCC — the political committee that works to get Democratic candidates elected in the House — has targeted districts. Those states include California, where gas is approaching $6 a gallon, and Alaska and Arizona, where it’s above $4.50 a gallon.