# Cold weather and high prices could flip the Senate

> Rising fuel costs in Maine and Alaska could swing two Republican Senate seats as voters punish the GOP for inflation.
- Title: Cold weather and high prices could flip the Senate · Vox
- Summary: Rising fuel costs in Maine and Alaska could swing two Republican Senate seats as voters punish the GOP for inflation. Soaring heating oil and fuel prices in…
- Keywords: susan collins, maine senate race, dan sullivan, alaska senate race, inflation, heating oil prices, midterm elections 2026, republican senate control, news, culture, Cold, weather
- Source: Vox — https://vox.com/today-explained-newsletter/506611/midterms-prices-maine-heating-oil-collins
- Author: Eric Levitz
- Published: 2026-10-15T21:45:11+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: susan collins, maine senate race, dan sullivan, alaska senate race, inflation, heating oil prices, midterm elections 2026, republican senate control, news, culture
## Trump's inflation problem
Consumer prices rose three point seven percent in the year to September, driven by skyrocketing fuel costs. Gasoline was nine point one percent more expensive in September than in August.
## Voters blame Trump for the economy
A Pew Research survey found just twenty-one percent of Americans said economic conditions were excellent or good. Sixty-five percent said Trump's policies had made the economy worse.
## Maine's tight Senate race
Republican incumbent Susan Collins faces Democrat Troy Jackson in a dead heat. Jackson leads by just two points in a recent Suffolk University poll, despite Maine voting for Democrats nationally.
## Maine's heating oil crisis
Maine is America's second coldest state and unusually reliant on oil for home heat. A gallon of heating fuel is already nearly twice as expensive as it was one year earlier.
## Jackson attacks Collins on energy
Troy Jackson has been hitting Susan Collins on heating oil costs relentlessly as autumn advances and Mainers' energy bills are expected to soar in the campaign's final weeks.
## Alaska's diesel price battle
Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola has hammered incumbent Republican Dan Sullivan for his complicity in sky-high diesel prices, which many Alaskans use for home heat.
## Energy costs in other races
In Ohio, Democrat Sherrod Brown pins rising electricity bills on Republican Jon Husted's support for data center development. In Texas, Democrat James Talarico attacks Ken Paxton over war-driven energy costs.
## GOP's Senate control at risk
High heating oil and fuel prices across battleground states could cost Republicans Senate seats. The issue is potent enough to swing races where Republican incumbents were previously competitive.
## Key takeaway

Soaring heating oil and fuel prices in Maine and Alaska are threatening Republican Senate incumbents as voters blame the GOP for inflation ahead of the midterms.