Inflation, high gas prices put Warnock on defense

Georgia Democrat aims to combat high prices amid GOP attacks

Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA)

State Rep. David Dreyer represents a liberal district that stretches from Southwest Atlanta into Downtown. With a voting population that is nearly three-quarters African-American, Dreyer’s district has backed Democrats with more than 90% of the vote in recent statewide elections.

Among the thousands of liberals that live in Dreyer’s district are two of the state’s most prominent Democratic leaders: U.S. Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, the winners of two blockbuster January 2021 runoff elections.

Ossoff’s race was for a six-year term, while Warnock’s victory was a special election to complete the remainder of an unexpired term. He must face Georgia voters again in November to ask for a six-year term.

And as Democrats across the country face growing concerns about inflation and high gas prices, Warnock and other vulnerable Senate Democrats are aiming to chart a new path to steer clear of incoming attacks from national Republicans, who blame the Biden administration’s spending policies for the rise in consumer prices.

Let’s face it: almost every single one of us has been impacted by the increase in prices in one way or another. We are paying more for gas, groceries, prescriptions, rent and home utilities. A recent study has found that inflation is at its highest point in four decades, with no relief in sight.

Sen. Warnock is supporting a series of bills to try and combat these high prices. One proposal would suspend collection of the federal gas tax until the end of the year. Gas prices in Georgia include an 18-cent federal tax as well as a 29-cent state tax (Gov. Brian Kemp recently suspended the state gas tax through May). As of Sunday night, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas in Georgia is $4.12, according to AAA. That’s a huge increase from a year ago, when the average price was $2.74.

A second bill takes aim at the growing costs of insulin by limiting co-pays to $35 a month under all insurance plans. Warnock believes that this has bipartisan support, noting that several Republican-led states have made similar moves in recent years.

Warnock explained that more than 12% of Georgia adults have diabetes, while diabetes patients account for $1 of every $4 spent on health care in the U.S.

The Georgia Democrat has also co-sponsored the Relief for Families Act of 2022, which would use funds from the American Rescue Plan to allow states to have a sales tax holiday. “The thing I like about this tax cut is that it helps ordinary people,” the Senator said. “We’ve already provided this money and here’s an opportunity to put it to good use.”

These moves by Warnock come as Democrats in Georgia and across the country grow uneasy about their economic message, with an energized Republican Party eager tie Warnock and other battleground Democrats to what they believe are the failed economic policies of the Biden administration. A Republican SuperPAC is targeting Warnock with a billboard campaign.

The PAC, called 34N22, after [Herschel] Walker's number 34 from his playing days at the University of Georgia and in the NFL, says the billboards will appear in the major cities of Atlanta, Augusta, Macon and Savannah. 

The two economically-focused billboards say "Inflation hurts families" and "Gas prices are insane." Each includes the hashtag "#WarnockIsn’tWorking." 

Nevertheless, many Georgia Democrats have praised Warnock’s push to lower prices. Dreyer believes that Warnock is the most important Senator in the country. “Sen. Warnock is doing a great job understanding the issues that voters care about and formulating specific and tangible programs to address those,” he said. When asked about the potential political fallout, Dreyer said that Georgia is going to have close races “up and down the ballot.”

Conservative radio host Martha Zoller agrees that the polls are showing a tight race. But she believes that many of Warnock’s initial policies “were pretty far left” and that he has no choice but “to be more mainstream” as we approach the general election. “To use a baseball analogy, it is farther from left field to center field than it is from right field to center field,” she said. “He has a difficult task ahead of him.”

National polls have identified inflation and the economy as one of the biggest issues on voters’ minds. Georgia is no exception. According to a January survey from Quinnipiac University, 23% of Georgia voters believe that inflation is the most urgent issue. An AJC survey found that the economy is the top issue for 20% of voters.

Jessica Taylor, who analyzes Senate elections for the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, believes that kitchen table issues will dominate the midterm elections and that Warnock understands what is driving voter concerns. But she warned that the race will ultimately come down to the national environment. “Unless these consumer concerns dissipate, it’s Democrats overall that are on a path to pay a political price,” Taylor said.

As the Biden administration struggles to provide a clear counter to GOP attacks, Sen. Warnock is taking matters into his own hands. Whenever voters face any economic pain, they are likely to place the blame directly at the feet of the party in power. Whether these bills pass or fail, Warnock will not be able to escape attacks from his Republican rivals. But he is aware that these attacks are inevitable and is doing the best he can to create a clear contrast between himself and the national Democratic Party.