In late February, joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran started an ongoing war that has only made the affordability crisis worse. Because Iran harbors the Strait of Hormuz, which controls a good chunk of global oil trade, oil prices have risen so greatly that gas prices have skyrocketed–leading to higher fertilizer prices for farmers as well.
In Minnesota, gas prices have hit record highs. The current average price of gas is $4.24 per gallon, compared to just $2.95 a year ago. Diesel’s current average price is $6.21 per gallon, compared to $3.60 a year ago. A June KSTP/Survey USA poll found that only 30% of Minnesotans approve of the Iran War.
Democrats have outcried about the war since it began, even recently trying to pass a bill in the US Senate that would remove the US from Iran. It was stopped by Republicans, who hold the majority. But now, some Republicans who were supporting Trump’s war have switched sides. GOP US Senate candidates in Iowa, Ohio, Michigan, and other battleground states have called for an end to the war.
Minnesota Republican US Senate candidate Michele Tafoya wasn’t one of them. For seven months, she has been doubling down in her support for the Iran war, while other Republican candidates running for coveted Minnesota offices like state Rep. Lisa Demuth for governor have pivoted and called for an end to the conflict.
Now, in a recent exclusive interview with Alpha News, Tafoya seems to have changed her opinion. In the Oct. 2 interview, Tafoya said that “no president, Republican or Democrat, has a blank check to wage war indefinitely without the consent of Congress and the support of the American people.” This contradicts the comments she’s made in support of the war since it began.
Meanwhile, DFL Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, Tafoya’s opponent, has maintained that she is against the Iran war and is calling for an end to it. The two candidates have differed on almost everything in their campaigns, from civil rights to healthcare. You can read more about their platforms here.
Tafoya’s advice to Minnesotans
Tafoya’s comments on the Iran war began in March when she was featured in a podcast interview on the Todd Starnes Show podcast. She told Starnes, a conservative commentator, that she “know[s] it’s frustrating” and “hard for people.” Tafoya mentioned service members who have lost their lives in the war so far, which currently totals 19 officially, though the Washington Post says the actual number lies around 23.
After mentioning that hardship, Tafoya turned to Minnesotans’ frustration about affordability. She told people to “keep a stiff upper lip” and “maybe you take one less trip to Starbucks, and so that gas goes a little further.” Tafoya emphasized that support for the military is important, asking people to “just try to be patriots about this.”
In her recent interview with Alpha News, though, Tafoya has backtracked on her previous comments about the high gas prices. While she maintains the view that “Iran cannot be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon,” she has added that “we are seven months into this conflict and Americans are in pain from higher prices.”
Tafoya suggested that Trump needs to put a path forward so the war can “end quickly and strategically.”
Flanagan responded to Tafoya’s Starbucks comments in her own podcast appearance in September, joining the Star Tribune’s Essential Minnesota podcast. She called Tafoya’s comments “pretty insulting to Minnesotans who are struggling” with affording gas and other necessities. Flanagan also noted that farmers have been especially affected by high diesel prices, which is a timely concern as “it’s coming up on harvest season.”
In an Oct. 2 statement shared with Courier Minnesota in response to Tafoya’s latest remarks on the war, Flanagan reiterated that “Minnesotans are feeling the cost of Donald Trump’s war every time they fill up their tanks. We’re spending billions of dollars on bombs and Michele Tafoya thought this was a great idea.”
“As Minnesotans began struggling with gas prices, she told them to ‘keep a stiff upper lip’ and ‘take one less trip to Starbucks,’” Flanagan said. “She’s asking Minnesotans to sacrifice while her favorite president continues this senseless and illegal war. Minnesotans deserve a senator who will stand up to him—Tafoya will just do his bidding.”
High gas prices
In September during the Minnesota State Fair, Tafoya joined another podcast commenting on the war, Drivetime with DeRusha with WCCO’s Jason DeRusha. When asked about if she supported the war, Tafoya said she initially supported the “strong actions,” but that President Donald Trump and his administration “needs to very lay out very clearly what the objective is” and “get our soldiers home.”
After DeRusha mentioned higher gas prices, Tafoya claimed that “higher prices didn’t start five months ago. Higher prices started five years ago under the Biden administration when inflation got to be 9.9%.” She reversed slightly when pushed, saying that “of course we’re having a gas price spike because of this [Iran war],” but kept pushing the narrative that the problem began under former President Joe Biden.
The Center for Economic Policy and Research lays out the timeline. When Biden entered office in 2022, the national average price of gas was around $2.40 a gallon. This was likely because the US was coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, where most people stayed indoors, unemployment was high, and many of those with jobs worked from home.
At the end of his presidency, the average gas price hovered around $3.20 a gallon. When Trump reentered office in 2025, the average price was around $3.10 a gallon. Prices lowered throughout the year, even hitting $2.80 in January 2026. But once the Iran war began in February, prices jumped to $4 a gallon, continue to climb today, and are estimated to become worse as the war continues.
Cost of the Iran war
A report by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates the war has cost US taxpayers nearly $40 billion.
In her Essential Minnesota podcast interview in September, Flanagan was asked if she would vote to authorize to continue the war if she became a US Senator. Flanagan said, “Not at this time,” adding that Trump “needs to be held accountable.” She mentioned not only the cost of the war as her reason why, but also the cost of losing service members. Out of the 19 confirmed deaths, one of those was a Minnesotan, Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor.
Amor was killed in a drone strike on March 1 with five other service members in Kuwait. Amor’s husband, Joey, told the Associated Press she was just days from returning home. “You don’t go to Kuwait thinking something’s going to happen,” Joey said, “and for her to be one of the first–it hurts.”
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