President Donald Trump’s war in the Middle East for months has thwarted GOP plans to run on pocketbook issues this fall.

Now, with the midterm elections mere weeks away, it’s likely too late to stem the political fallout from the sustained grind of expensive energy bills that threaten to spread to other consumer prices.

More than six months into the war, the White House has no clear way to tame crude prices — which topped $100 a barrel Wednesday for the global Brent benchmark — or the diesel prices that started breaking national records last week, analysts said. While prices for gasoline and oil hit higher peaks in 2022, the pain from energy costs has become a persistent drain on voters’ wallets and could soon lead to an increase in their borrowing costs.

In the meantime, higher energy prices and tariffs are hitting GOP candidates in Michigan, Maine and Iowa particularly hard, said Republican campaign strategist Alfredo Rodriguez. Voters tend to have short-term memories, but gas station signs offer plenty of reminders, he said.