NEW POLL: Republicans 3 Times More Likely Than Dems to Say Gas Prices Have Caused ‘Great Deal’ of ‘Financial Hardship’

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Republican voters are 3 times more likely than Democrats to say that higher gas prices have caused “a great deal” of “financial hardship” — and twice as likely as non-Republicans.

Respondents to a new Monmouth University poll were asked “Have recent increases in gas prices caused you any financial hardship – would you say a great deal, some, not much, or not at all?”

While consistent majorities answered “some” or “a great deal,” Republicans were the only group to respond “a great deal” by a majority — a hefty 61 percent majority. Just 21 percent of Democrats and 31 percent of independents said the same.

But the poll also found that gas prices aren’t changing people’s minds about supporting sanctions:

It is also worth noting that rising pump prices have had little impact so far on the public’s support for banning Russian gas and oil imports, as Monmouth reported yesterday. Fully 72% of those who say they have suffered a great deal of financial hardship from rising gas prices support the import ban, which
is not much different from support among other Americans (82%).

That poll found support for the ban at 76% with Republicans, 75% with independents, and 86% with Democrats.

Still, the White House has made a concerted effort to ensure that Americans don’t blame President Joe Biden for the rise in gas prices.

President Biden and his staff have taken to citing a recent fact-checking article by The New York Times‘ Linda Qiu — entitled “Republicans Wrongly Blame Biden for Rising Gas Prices” — that examined a number of claims that Republicans have made about rising gas prices, including the notion that Biden’s policies are to blame. And White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki has pushed back hard at those criticisms in contentious exchanges with reporters.

And on Friday, the White House sent a statement about another recent fact-check:

A fact check released today by PolitiFact affirmed President Biden’s assessment that “the current spike in gas prices is largely the fault of Vladimir Putin.” Politifact writes that “the most recent spike in gas prices has stemmed largely from Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.”

This story joins a growing set of fact checks comprehensively debunking Republican talking points on energy prices and affirming the worldwide impact of Putin’s unprovoked assault on Ukraine.

The statement linked to, and reprinted a portion of, a Politifact article that rated this Biden statement as “Mostly True”: “Make no mistake: The current spike in gas prices is largely the fault of Vladimir Putin.”