Inflation is heating up again, driven mostly by gas prices, and it's bad news for Republicans heading into the midterms.

• Consumer prices are rising at a 3.7% annual rate, with gas up 9.1% and accounting for half the increase.
• Energy costs ripple through everything — food, heating, and transport all get more expensive.
• Vermont's popular Republican governor Phil Scott is suddenly in a tight race, and national Republican money is flooding in to save him.
• Democratic challenger Amanda Janu is running on a cost-of-living platform: more affordable housing, universal health care, and higher taxes on private equity, short-term rentals, and luxury second homes.
• Housing is the other big piece of the inflation problem, with houses treated as investments rather than homes.

Outlook: If gas and heating costs stay high through winter, Republicans look vulnerable even in seats once considered safe.