Story thread · 2 reports / 2 sources

New sleeper issue upends farm states — and it's not AI: 'We've never seen this'

rawstory.com · 13dShare

Republicans have spent months bracing for a rural backlash over AI data centers — but another issue is lurking over the horizon for voters in rural states. Diesel fuel prices are grinding toward a record just two months before the midterms, and that matters most for Republican candidates because high costs for diesel hit farmers and truckers first before spreading across suburban communities, reported Politico . "That shortage will be acutely felt by the farmers during the harvest," said Kevin Book of ClearView Energy Partners, noting the timing collides with holiday trucking demand and heating-oil season in states like Maine and Alaska. "There is a very strong history of caring about heating oil ahead of elections." The average price of a gallon of diesel hit $5.60 Monday, up roughly $1 since early July and nearly $2 higher than a year ago, closing in on the $5.816 record set in June 2022. The war in Iran, Russian production disruptions, and U.S. refining bottlenecks have pushed diese

First report: Fast-approaching shortage caused by Trump a 'sleeper issue' for rural voters — alternet.org, 13d