Biden pollster calls Russian invasion of Ukraine 'good news' for Democrats

A top Biden campaign pollster celebrated Russia's invasion of Ukraine as "good news" for the Democrat Party because Russian President Vladimir Putin can be blamed for the record-high gas prices.

U.S. gas prices hit a record high on Tuesday, and they have continued to climb ever since. As of Thursday, a gallon of regular gas costs $4.318 while diesel is at $5.058 per gallon, according to AAA. Gas prices have risen sharply since Russia invaded Ukraine last month. However, under President Joe Biden, gas prices increased by more than $1 per gallon before Putin invaded.

"The good news is we now have a very specific reason for rising gas prices and a specific villain," Lake Research Partners' Celinda Lake told the Washington Post in an article published Tuesday.

Lake is described on her firm's website as a leading Democratic political strategist and "one of two lead pollsters for the Biden campaign in 2020." 

Democrats are concerned how the increase in gas prices will affect them in the 2022 midterm elections as inflation is getting worse on all products. Democrats are blaming Putin for the exacerbation in prices, seemingly ignoring the fact that inflation was already increasing under Biden.

“Before, it was kind of ambiguous: What’s going on? Why are gas prices going up?” Lake told the Post.

Putin is "a villain that we agree on and the Republicans are divided on," she said, alluding to the Democratic talking point that some GOP members disagree on how to respond to Russia's aggression.