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Two Republicans in tight US Senate races called on Monday \u200bfor a swift end to the war in Iran, the latest sign that vulnerable candidates are trying to put some distance between \u200cthemselves and President Donald Trump over a conflict that has pushed up fuel prices, including a surge in diesel to record highs.<\/strong><\/p>\n Both Mike Rogers, locked in a competitive race against Democrat Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, and Ashley Hinson, who is facing Democrat Josh Turek in a close contest in Iowa, struck a more dovish tone on Iran on Monday, \u200bafter previously backing Trump\u2019s authority to strike Tehran.<\/p>\n The shift was particularly notable for Hinson, a sitting member of the US House of \u200bRepresentatives, who has voted six times against House measures seeking to curb Trump\u2019s authority to continue the war, including \u2060as recently as last week.<\/p>\n \u201cIowans are being squeezed and shouldn\u2019t have to foot the bill at the pump or the checkout line for the \u200bwar in Iran,\u201d Hinson wrote on social media, while calling for a suspension of gasoline taxes, a pause in diesel exports and other measures, and \u200bfor the war \u201cto be brought to a successful and immediate end.\u201d<\/p>\n The remarks underscore growing concern among some vulnerable Republican candidates that the nearly seven-month-old conflict is becoming a political liability ahead of the November midterms, which will determine whether Republicans can hold onto narrow majorities in the House and the Senate.<\/p>\n Americans have soured on both Trump\u2019s handling of \u200bthe economy and the Iran war as inflation remains stubbornly high. Trump\u2019s approval rating has fallen to 32%, a career low, according to the latest Reuters\/Ipsos \u200bpoll released on Monday.<\/p>\n NEW ROGERS AD<\/strong><\/p>\n Rogers previously backed Trump\u2019s strikes on Iran and argued in a late-July CBS Detroit interview against curbing the president\u2019s authority to continue the \u200cconflict \u2060while he was negotiating to end it. \u201cThe war with Iran needs to end and end quickly,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen it does, energy costs will plummet. But Michigan families can\u2019t afford to wait for that to happen. We need to do something now.\u201d Diesel prices are \u200bespecially sensitive politically in Iowa, \u2060where agriculture plays an outsized role in the state\u2019s economy and farmers depend heavily on diesel-powered equipment and transportation. \u201cMike Rogers is only flip-flopping now because gas \u200bhit $5 a gallon and \u2060diesel prices hit record highs,\u201d El-Sayed, Rogers\u2019 Democratic opponent, said in a statement.<\/p>\n Hinson\u2019s opponent Turek wrote on X, \u201cIt\u2019s easy to send a tweet, but when you had the chance to vote to end this war, you chose not to.\u201d<\/p>\n Other Republicans have recently started to take steps to distance themselves from Trump over \u2060the war \u200band other issues.<\/p>\n Last week, Iowa Representatives Zach Nunn and Mariannette Miller-Meeks, two Republicans facing tough \u200bre-election bids for the House, reversed their prior stances and joined Democrats in voting to limit Trump\u2019s war powers in Iran.<\/p>\n On Thursday, Representative Maria Elvira Salazar of Florida released an ad warning \u200bthat Trump\u2019s immigration crackdown had gone too far, and that some Hispanic supporters felt betrayed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
But in a campaign ad posted on X on Monday, Rogers struck a different tone as he spoke from a grocery store.<\/p>\n
Rogers also called for suspending state and federal gasoline taxes and imposing a temporary halt \u200bon US diesel exports.<\/p>\n
Democrats argued the calls for a swift end to the war by Hinson and Rogers amounted to election-year repositioning by \u200bRepublicans who had previously supported Trump\u2019s handling of the conflict.<\/p>\n