‘We’re All Struggling’: Michigan Voters Head To Election Day With Winter On Their Minds

SAGINAW, Mich.—A spike in home heating costs means the upcoming winter is shaping up to be a tough one for Michigan families struggling to make ends meet in a weak economy, a grim reality that could exacerbate Democratic losses in the House.

Heating oil and natural gas across the state is projected to cost roughly 30 percent more than last year, one of the largest one-year spikes ever recorded in state history. The average Michigan family, according to the Department of Energy, can expect to pay nearly $2,500 to heat and electrify their homes this winter.

“We anticipate a really heavy utility assistance season because of inflation. It’s made it really hard for low-income families and seniors on a limited income to make their ends meet,” Stephanie Kasprzak, executive director of the Monroe County Opportunity Program, told the Washington Free Beacon. “We’re seeing a new population of people seeking assistance now, people who are employed, people who may have young children.”

Democrats in competitive districts throughout Michigan have struggled to respond to voter frustrations with energy prices, instead focusing on abortion rights or former president Donald Trump’s conduct during the Jan. 6 riots. Rising energy prices uniquely impact Michigan, which is the top residential consumer of petroleum in the entire United States. Electricity prices in the state are already nearly 17 percent higher than the nation’s average. As a result, Republicans see Michigan as a huge opportunity in their hunt for a congressional majority as statewide polling shows inflation and cost of living as the top issue on the minds of voters there.

“We’re all struggling. My mom is disabled and my dad is a truck driver, there’s just not that much income left,” said Vinnie Chesla, who was recently laid off as a roofer in Michigan’s seventh district and plans to vote Republican for the first time in November. “We’re already paying over $200 a month on gas alone.”

Republican candidates in the state say they have a solution. Republican John James, running in Michigan 10, says the White House should be doing everything in its power to “drill here.”

Other Republicans, such as John Gibbs, running in Michigan 3, and Tom Barrett, running in Michigan 7, say the United States could once again be energy independent if federal regulators got out of the way and let energy companies produce. Such policy solutions appear sensible to swing voters, such as

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