Washington. Nur Dubo usually votes for the Republican Party candidates in the US elections. The state of Ohio where he lives is the Republican Party’s area of influence.
He said that his ideas are compatible with the economic policy of the party. However, he has never been a supporter of President Donald Trump. He doesn’t like Trump’s harsh and limitless words about immigrants.
The parliamentary elections this time will be held on November 3. However, some polling stations in various states are already open for early voting. Similarly, some people have also voted through mail-in, i.e. by post. Out of nearly 210 million voters in the United States, more than 30 million have already voted through early voting and mail-in.
Dubo, 44, said he voted for the Democratic Party this time. The major factor behind his change of opinion is his strong dissatisfaction with Trump’s decision to go to war with Iran. “Where are the Republican lawmakers?” Dubo, who works at a shipping company in Columbus, asked, “Why aren’t the Republicans holding Trump accountable?”
Trump has claimed that the Iran war is a minor issue. But this is becoming a very big political challenge for his Republican Party in the upcoming elections. During the presidential election campaign in 2024, Trump promised to keep America away from foreign wars. He repeated the same promise in the election victory rally. However, over time, he himself went to war.
After the United States attacked Iran on February 28, along with Israel, Iran is also creating obstacles in the shipping routes of West Asia, including the Hormuz waterway. A large number of people have been killed in Iran in this war. America has already spent a lot of money.
The Iran war, which was initially claimed to last only a few weeks, is about to reach eight months, but there is no end in sight. Due to the skyrocketing price of fuel and the protracted conflict, voters are disappointed. Its direct impact is on the Republican candidates in the election.
According to an AP-NORC poll released last week, most voters in the United States want the Iran war to end. They believe that only after the end of the war will the price control and the negative impact on the world economy be reduced.
The situation is getting more complicated for Republicans to get their agenda to the voters. The conflict is intensifying after Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen launched a series of attacks on oil refineries and airports in Saudi Arabia. In Jaffa, the Saudi-led coalition has also continued deadly attacks on Houthi-controlled areas.
Meanwhile, US intelligence has given information that Iran may target US personnel in West Asia and other regions. After this, the US Department of State has announced that the number of its employees will be reduced from four embassies in West Asia.
Trump underestimates the effects of war
Fuel prices in the US are near record highs. Since last June, the price of gasoline here has been above $4 per gallon. There is no sign of a decline. As a result, it is becoming a situation where the candidates of the Democratic Party can give a strong challenge in the areas of influence of the Republican Party such as Iowa, Kansas, Ohio and Texas.
At this time, Trump is making ambiguous statements. He claims that the war is about to end. Sometimes they warn of more bomb attacks on Iran after the election. He claims that the attack was made to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. He has been arguing that even though this war will increase the price immediately, it will stop Iran from building nuclear weapons.
At a campaign rally in Michigan, Trump said he had no regrets about starting the war. He claimed that the economic impact of the war was much less than expected. I thought the price of petrol would double or triple. We have to pay any price to remove nuclear weapons from the hands of Sankahas. It is a small price.
According to Lehigh University professor and public opinion expert Christopher Borik, Trump’s double and contradictory message about Iran has put the Republican candidates in a very difficult position. “The number of voters who are influenced by Trump’s messages and claims about war is decreasing rapidly,” Borik said, “such claims cannot change the negative view of voters who are disappointed by the impact of the conflict.”
The price of gasoline oil, which rose sharply last May, decreased somewhat after the signing of a cease-fire agreement with Iran in June. However, this agreement did not last long. War broke out again and prices rose again in September.
Political analysts, citing various internal polls, have said that voters are beginning to view the Iran war as linked to rising food prices and car fares. Trump has not accepted the allegation that it is difficult for the common people to live due to the war. He is claiming that the Democratic Party has spread such illusions or rumours.
However, the voters are saying that the dam of patience is about to break due to high prices. 59-year-old Clay Coe thinks the attack on Iran is justified. Because, he considers Iran as a security challenge for America. He thinks that Iran should be defeated even if it costs him some time. However, he narrated the experience of sometimes getting jittery when filling petrol in the car. ‘Do I like the price increase? Of course not. “I drive this old car,” said Coe, who lives in DeWitt, Michigan, “but there are times in life where you have to lose something to gain something.”
Some pro-Republican voters say Trump made a grave mistake by claiming the war would be over in a matter of weeks. Elizabeth Marlette, 61, of Iowa, said it would have been better if Trump had not set a specific time limit for the war in the past. She also expressed the opinion that the American army should be ordered to present itself more forcefully to make Iran surrender. Despite all this, she is on Trump’s side.
“Even if the war takes longer than expected, we must support our commander-in-chief,” said Marlette, a cattle rancher in Iowa’s Republican-dominated northwest region. “That’s life, and we can’t back down from what we’ve started.”
Few Republican lawmakers have opposed Trump regarding the Iran conflict. However, it is not easy for them to justify the war in front of voters who are worried about the cost. Likewise, it is not clear when the war will end.
Saying that the Iran war is a minor issue, Trump is insisting that the war will have no effect on this election. Similarly, he claims that the result of this election will not affect his strategy towards the conflict.
However, some strategists of the party have been warning about the impact of the war on the elections for the past few months. Five strategists who have been advising the leadership of the Republican Party while talking to the Associated Press (AP) indicated that because of the war, the candidates of the party may face a big loss in the election.
Trump and White House officials appeared somewhat confident after Trump struck a temporary ceasefire deal with Tehran last June. However, that deal fell apart within weeks.
Some of his supporters have taken Trump’s decision to start the Iran war as a betrayal of the main principle of the “America First” campaign. Trump promised not to drag America into endless wars like previous presidents.
Sean O’Brien, a 21-year-old student at Auburn University in Alabama, said that Trump’s decision on Iran made him very disappointed. At the beginning of this year, O’Brien, who participated in the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), a large gathering of conservative political forces, is now rethinking his political thinking. Ap