Days before a neck-and-neck presidential race, pump prices — one of the most salient data points consumers use to gauge inflation — are tumbling in key swing states.
In Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada and Arizona, retail fuel prices have fallen at least 20% since the 2022 midterm election, according to the four-week averages of data from AAA. Nationwide, prices are down 17% while, in the battleground states of Georgia and Pennsylvania, they’ve fallen 11% and 16%, respectively.
In Nevada, drivers are paying roughly $3.80 a gallon compared to more than $5 before the midterm elections. In Arizona, where prices have fallen more than a dollar per gallon since the midterms, Republicans flipped two congressional seats in 2022.
The cost of gasoline can, at times, prove a decisive data point for some voters, with a May Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll showing that three out of 10 voters in seven critical swing states consider pump prices to be the most crucial economic factor for them. Yet, despite the pace of inflation moderating, many consumers are still feeling the pressure of higher prices.
Retail fuel prices typically slide in the autumn months as demand cools from its summer driving peak. At the end of September, they dipped to a three-year seasonal low.
