At a veterans’ roundtable in Brighton on Wednesday, Rep. Gabe Evans doubled down on his support for President Donald Trump’s decision to launch strikes on Iran, arguing the move is aimed at stopping Tehran’s nuclear ambitions and will ultimately help ease fuel costs. Evans appeared alongside U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins, and his defense of the strikes landed just as Colorado pump prices continued to climb. For drivers in and around Denver’s northern suburbs, it adds up to a stark trade-off: backing a military operation that Republicans say protects American interests while swallowing higher bills at the gas station.
Evans told the room that the strikes were “necessary to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon,” according to Colorado Public Radio. Reopening the Strait of Hormuz, he argued, is the clearest path to bringing prices back down. In his view, the short-term financial pain tied to the military action would be outweighed by what he framed as long-term stability in global energy markets.
Why Prices Keep Climbing at the Pump
The Strait of Hormuz handles roughly one-fifth of the world’s seaborne oil shipments, and the waterway has been effectively closed to many commercial vessels since the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Feb. 28. That squeeze on global supply has lifted crude prices, according to AP. The ripple effect is showing up on U.S. fuel trackers.
The disruption helped push the national average on AAA’s gas-price monitor to about $4.54 per gallon on May 6, and the group notes the highest recorded U.S. average was roughly $5.02 in June 2022, according to AAA. Colorado Public Radio, citing AAA’s state data, reported Colorado’s average at about $4.41 per gallon, roughly $1.32 higher than a year earlier, with mountain counties such as Pitkin flirting with $5.80 per gallon.
What It Means at the Pump and the Ballot Box
Evans represents Colorado’s 8th Congressional District, one of the state’s true swing seats, where pocketbook issues like fuel costs can push voters off the fence. Local reporting indicates that frustration over rising prices is already creating political headaches for Republicans. As Colorado Politics reported, the spike at the pump has become a marquee talking point in swing-district campaigns and could turn into a liability for incumbents who backed the administration’s military strategy.
Evans’ full-throated defense of the White House’s approach may play well with parts of his base that want a harder line on Iran, but it also gives opponents a simple refrain about rising costs every time voters fill up. For now, Colorado drivers and political strategists are watching two things with equal intensity: whether the Strait of Hormuz reopens without further violence, and whether national fuel prices start to ease before voters head to the polls.
