Fuel prices, tariffs weigh heavily in east Arkansas’ US House race

The spike in fuel prices since the start of the Iran war has hit the farm-heavy 1st Congressional District in east Arkansas especially hard, and Republican U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford doesn’t hold back when talking about the problem.

“I’ll be blunt about it. Gas prices suck right now,” Crawford told the Arkansas Advocate. “There’s no other way to put it. Diesel is the lifeblood of our economy.”

As Crawford seeks a ninth term in Congress representing a district spanning 31 counties against Democrat Terri Yarbrough Green and Libertarian Steve Parsons, the effect of the Iran war, fuel prices and President Donald Trump’s tariffs loom large. The three candidates split on how best to address these issues.

Crawford, who chairs the House Intelligence Committee and was first elected in 2010, said he’s focused on more support for infrastructure in the district and pursuing more domestic fertilizer production to help the region’s farmers. 

Green is a retired pathologist who said her priorities include finding relief for residents and farmers from prices on fuel and other needs, and working to curb the influence of corporate money in politics. 

Parsons, a retired economist and consultant, is running on a platform that includes cutting federal spending and eliminating international tariffs.

The race is unfolding against the backdrop of a midterm election where Trump’s low approval numbers and the Iran war have raised national Democrats’ hopes of winning back the U.S. House. Political forecasters, including the Cook Political Report and Larry Sabato, have labeled the 1st District seat as safely Republican.

Iran war, fuel prices

Green and Parsons both oppose the Iran war, which they say has hurt the district due to the rise in fuel and fertilizer prices because of the Strait of Hormuz’s closure.

Green said she would have voted for a war powers resolution that would have halted Trump’s ability to continue military action against Iran without congressional approval. Crawford and the rest of the state’s Republican House delegation have voted against such a resolution. 

“That is a thorny problem that will involve multiple players, but (ending the war) has to be a priority,” Green said. “Ending that war and getting the strait opened up, I think that will help a lot of the price issues.”

Parsons said he wants less military involvement internationally. 

“I want the United States to stop being the puppet of Israel,” Parsons said. “I want to end the war in Iran, and I would take any action that would try and reduce or end the war in Iran.”

Crawford said he understands the frustration surrounding fuel prices, but said there’s more behind the rise in prices than the Iran war and questioned whether they’re artificially inflated. Crawford also said he believes the war has made the world a safer place.

“We’re not going to have an economy left if we roll over and let Iran pursue their nuclear ambitions,” Crawford said. “And I can tell you, based on what I’ve seen and what I know, that’s a real threat for not just the next generation, but the generation after that, and I’m not even sure there’ll be a generation after that if Iran gets their way.”

Trump’s tariffs

Parsons and Green are both critical of Trump’s widespread tariffs. Parsons, who was the Libertarian Party’s nominee, is also critical of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the North American trade pact that Trump signed in his first term that the administration is renegotiating. 

The agreement, which replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement, is set to expire by 2036 and Parsons argued it hurts consumers.

“You took a mediocre trade agreement in NAFTA and you made it worse with more regulations,” Parsons said. “By definition, more regulations mean higher prices for Americans, particularly with USMCA higher prices for automobiles and automobile parts.”

Green called Trump’s tariffs, especially on allies like Canada, erratic and hurtful to the 1st District.

“Tariffs are a tool, and they need to be wielded carefully and thoughtfully, and with surgical precision, not randomly and covering whole countries,” she said. “I think a tariff war with Canada makes absolutely no sense. It’s hurting people here and in Canada, and I don’t see any particular purpose in it.”

Crawford said he believes tariffs are a good beginning for negotiating better trade deals with countries, and pointed to tariffs on steel under Trump and former President Joe Biden. 

Mississippi County, located in the district, is the largest steel-producing county in the country and industry leaders say it has surged after tariffs Trump imposed on China in his first term.

“They’re a good conversation starter, but in real terms, they have actually worked when they have been implemented and sustained over a period of years, like they have on steel,” Crawford said.

However, Crawford has split from Trump on one trade issue. He and other Arkansas Republicans have disagreed with Trump’s plan to allow more beef imports into the U.S. without triggering higher tariffs, a move that has prompted objections from cattle farmers.

Farming challenges

Crawford voted for the $390 billion House Farm Bill that reauthorizes major agriculture programs for five years. The legislation institutes cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act tax and spending cut legislation Trump signed last year.

The Senate Agriculture Committee recently advanced its version of the legislation, drafted by Republican Sen. John Boozman of Arkansas, who chairs the panel. 

Crawford said he hasn’t made a comprehensive review of the Senate legislation but said he’s hopeful Congress will approve a final version this year and is encouraged by Boozman’s work on it.

“It doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re going to agree 100% on everything,” Crawford said. “But I would say it’s probably going to come a heck of a lot closer than any Farm Bill we’ve ever had in the time that I’ve been in office.” 

Green said she doesn’t know as much about the Farm Bill as she’d like to, and said farmers need financial assistance as they struggle with higher prices.

“Farmers need immediate help before we would be able to make any lasting changes, or end the war in Iran. That’s not something that’s going to happen overnight,” she said. “So the farmers are going to need immediate relief in the form of just money, just to keep afloat.”

Parsons said he doesn’t support either version of the Farm Bill and the best way to help farmers includes ending the Iran war, stopping Trump trade wars and eliminating bureaucracy surrounding green cards and work visas.

“There is a farm worker shortage right now,” Parsons said. “Whatever the size of that shortage is now, it’s going to be way worse if you continue to make it illegal to bring workers in.”

Healthcare

Green said she supports reviving the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced tax credits for health coverage that expired earlier this year. Arkansas and other states saw a drop in people covered by the federal health overhaul after the subsidies expired.

Green said she supports universal healthcare and mentioned Medicare for all as a possible vehicle for delivering it.

“I believe healthcare should be a right and should be easily accessible,” Green said.

Arkansas’ hybrid Medicaid expansion, created under the health law, faces an uncertain future after the Trump administration rejected a request to renew the program. The state is seeking a temporary two-year extension as it works on a replacement.

Crawford said the biggest issue that needs to be addressed in Medicaid is fraud, and that changes need to be made in how they’re administered.

“How do we adjust these benefits in a way that encourages personal growth, and people can lift themselves out of the situation so that they don’t need those benefits forever, and they don’t forgo a promotion at work?” he said. “Or they don’t take the extra hours, they don’t take the overtime because they don’t want to lose their benefit package.”

Parsons said to address the rising cost of healthcare there needs to be more efforts aimed at tort reform to address the costs of litigation, an area he says the Affordable Care Act fell short.

“It promised a lot of things that never happened, and for a lot of economists and other people who are in the know, it was predictable that it was going to fall short,” he said.