Can three new words save Democrats from disaster?

But how far the “Putin’s price hike” message can carry Democrats is yet to be determined.

Celinda Lake, a pollster who worked with the 2020 Biden campaign, said she believes targeting Putin can be effective, saying it “provides the villain, provides the rationale.” But there may be a ticking clock on the message as gas prices continue to remain high.

“It’s hard to know how long and how much the public has tolerance for,” she said.

Jim Kessler, executive vice president at Third Way, a moderate Democratic think tank, said the message “is effective because it’s true” and serves as a reminder of just who to blame for the current market instability.

Kessler also pointed to the rapid rise in gas prices that’s specifically come since the invasion, which has added to already heightened prices from the past year, stating, “That’s Putin. It’s nothing else but Putin.”