What has jumped to the top of the Maine Senatorial race issues list?

Is it the president? No, you won’t find his name on the ballot, but yes, he is on everyone’s mind. Is it taxes? No one likes them, but … Is it healthcare? Yes, but not the top …

Does it have to do with the goofy antics peeling off the tail of the giraffe on the Washington merry-go-round, like the reflecting (not reflecting) pool? Does it involve construction of a new White House ballroom to shore up the nation’s security? How about attempts to stick POTUS's name on stuff? Or maybe it is the White House acquisition of a fancy, hand-me-down, second-hand jumbo jet?

Is it the war with Iran? Sure, but not exactly.

Sorry, Grasshopper. Looks like it is none of the above.

According to the New York Times and my favorite local paper, the Boothbay Register/Wiscasset Newspaper, it is (drum roll) the high cost of heating oil that threatens to hammer our family budgets. And about half of Maine’s homes are heated with fuel oil.

Each week, here at the Register/Wiscasset Newspaper, we keep track of the most popular stories in each edition. As of last Thursday, the most read story, by far, described the state’s soaring fuel oil prices.

The NY Times, as part of its coverage of the Maine Senate contest, interviewed several Midcoast residents worried about this winter’s high fuel oil costs. A visit to Mr. Google will show you other instances of this topic.

To gauge how today’s high fuel costs might affect your family’s budget, I checked the costs and quantity of heating oil I bought last year. Then I compared last year's with today’s fuel oil prices.

Here is the result. The friendly oil driver pulled up my driveway five times between Oct. 25 and March 26. He squirted 698.9 gallons into the basement tank. The price varied between $3.54 and $4.95 per gallon. If I did the math right, I paid $2,727.93 for fuel oil last winter.

Projecting those numbers for this winter, and it won’t be too long before we are searching for the snow shovel we stashed in the garage last spring, the costs skyrocket.

Again, if I did the math right, the same 698.9 gallons of fuel I used last winter (@ $6.00 per gallon) will cost (gulp) $4,193.40.

Current higher oil prices are blamed on the Iran war, which choked the Strait of Hormuz. As much as 20% of the world’s oil supply must cross it to reach refiners and customers like us. No, your local fuel oil dealer can't do much about the world oil market.

Washington is trying to figure out a way to stomp down the current high fuel prices, but, well, you know, Congress is in recess, as the House and a third of the Senate are back home running for re-election. So quick action is problematic.

In April, the President’s proposed 2027 budget request proposed cutting $4 billion from the federal heating assistance program called LIHEAP. Fortunately, Congress denied it, as they did to similar requests for 2025 and 2026. This year's funding has already been allocated to the states.

Federal heating assistance is available through the Maine State Housing Authority. You apply through local community action agencies and ProsperityME. Or you can apply at mainehousing.org

The state housing agency says those who need help should apply as soon as possible.

Maine Public reports the state serves 35,000 people statewide a year, but is now getting 75,000 applications. “That's a big difference. That tells you what's going on in this state,” said Maine Public’s Carol Bousquet.

Will the November elections turn on the cost of home heating oil? Who knows.

While the Washington insiders and major press/TV/internet outlets spend time on the president’s rants and this or that polling data, back home in Maine, the idea of spending nearly twice as much for home heating oil as last year is a real “October Surprise.”