'Beware': Expert flags 'hallmark' sign of huge energy shock in key midterm states

Patrick De Haan, an oil industry expert who runs Gas Buddy, had an ominous message for people in the Midwest: prepare to pay more at the pump — just before the election begins.

"We've got the hallmark of a refinery issue in the Great Lakes — looking to discover what's cooking, but for now, wholesale gasoline up nearly 15c/gal while diesel up nearly 27c/gal," wrote De Haan on X.

"Beware in IL, WI, OH, IN, MI," he warned.

Many of these states are key battlegrounds in the November midterm elections. For example, Democrats are fighting to keep control of the governor's mansion in Wisconsin, and have competitive Senate and governor races in both Michigan and Ohio. Even Indiana, a typically solid Republican state, has a potentially close contest in the secretary of state race.

Voter anger around the country this year has been inflamed by high gas prices, which have been exacerbated by President Donald Trump's open-ended war in Iran and the ensuing closure of the Strait of Hormuz to global shipping traffic.

The situation has gotten so bad that even several Republicans who have backed the war are now begging their donors for gas money in fundraising pitches.