Up, up and away: will rising prices blow Democrats’ midterms hopes off course?

Inflation hit 8.5% in March as a mix of post-pandemic demand, price gouging and the Ukraine war dragged down Biden's ratings

In the days leading up to the release of the US labor department's latest inflation report, the White House tried to deflate expectations. White House officials said they expected the March inflation rate to be extraordinarily elevated" because of rising gas prices, driven largely by war in Ukraine.

Unfortunately for Joe Biden and his fellow Democrats, they were proven right. The inflation report, released on Tuesday, showed US prices increased by 8.5% between March 2021 and March 2022 - the highest level of US inflation since 1981.