Where do gas prices stand in key states on Election Day?
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prices → stand → Day
Fuel prices vary across the states expected to determine control of the Senate.
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prices → vary → Senate
Drivers continue to weather high gas prices as affordability remains a top concern for voters.
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affordability → continue → voters
The national average price of a gallon of gas stands at $4.14, marking an increase of $1.16, or 38%, since the outbreak of the Iran war in February, AAA data showed.
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data → stand → February
Prices vary across the country, however, meaning fuel costs differ in the key states expected to determine control of Congress.
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costs → vary → Congress
Excluding Senate races classified as solidly red or blue, ABC News lists races of varying levels of competitiveness in 16 states: Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Ohio, Texas, Nebraska, South Carolina, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Georgia, North Carolina, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi.
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News → exclude → states
Among those states, 11 have gas prices below the national average, AAA data shows.
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data → have → average
The state with the highest gas prices among the set of 16 is Alaska, which features an average price of $4.75 a gallon.
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which → feature → 4.75
By contrast, the state among that group with the lowest gas prices is North Carolina, where the average price of a gallon is $3.38, AAA data shows.
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data → show → gallon
While their prices differ, each of the 16 states has experienced a notable increase in gasoline prices over the last year, due in large part to an oil supply shortage set off by the Iran war.
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each → differ → war
The smallest change in prices among those states over the past year took hold in North Carolina, where the average price of gas jumped 23%, AAA data showed.
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data → take → gas
In Michigan, the state with the largest change, the average price soared more than 50% compared to a year earlier.
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price → soar → change
Ten of the 16 states saw a rise in gas prices of at least 40% over the past year, according to AAA.
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states → see → AAA
While gas prices nationwide remain elevated, a decline in oil prices over the past week has helped ease costs at the pump, Patrick De Haan, petroleum analyst at GasBuddy, told ABC News on Monday.
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Haan → remain → Monday
The drop in oil prices continued on Monday as the West Texas Intermediate futures price, a benchmark index for U.S. trading, registered at about $96.30 a barrel.
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price → continue → 96.30
That figure marked a decline of nearly 8% on Monday.
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figure → mark → Monday
As of Tuesday morning, U.S. oil prices remained essentially unchanged.
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prices → remain → morning
In addition to the recent drop in oil prices, seasonal fluctuations have provided price relief for drivers in the fall, De Haan said.
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Haan → provide → fall
A slowdown in travel has eased demand for gas as families have returned from summer vacation and resumed routine driving associated with work and school commutes.
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families → ease → commutes
"That's opened the door for one of the biggest declines since earlier this summer," De Haan said.
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Haan → open → declines
The national average price has dropped 12 cents over the past week, AAA data shows.
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data → drop → week
Gas prices have fallen at least 10 cents over the past week in six of the 16 states that play host to a contested Senate race.
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that → fall → race
In Michigan, the average price of a gallon of gas has dropped 30 cents over the past week, AAA data shows.
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data → drop → week
Gas prices have dropped 29 cents in Ohio over that period, while prices in Iowa have experienced a decline of 18 cents.
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prices → drop → cents
Even after the recent relief, gas prices have stayed well above their level a year ago, De Haan said.
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Haan → stay → level
"Gas prices and diesel are still very elevated," De Haan added.
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Haan → add → ?
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