GOP debate: Bidenomics, gas prices immediately vault into the crosshairs

Economic fireworks.

The first Republican debate in Milwaukee kicked off Wednesday night with a country song – Oliver Anthony's "Rich Men North of Richmond," which has topped charts despite (or perhaps because of) controversy.

A lyric from the song, as a sampler: "Lord, we got folks in the street, ain't got nothin' to eat."

Fox News moderators Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum used that as a starting point, asking the group of eight GOP candidates about Bidenomics. The conversation quickly took two turns – the first was towards mudslinging both President Biden's economy and one another.

"We must reverse Bidenomics so middle-class families have a chance to succeed again," Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said.

The second key theme that immediately emerged was energy, both the state of higher gas prices and the energy sector in the U.S. Senator Tim Scott brought together the two themes immediately.

"Bidenomics has led to the loss of $10,000 of spending power for the average family," he said. "When you see 16% inflation, your gas was up 40%, your food is up 20%, your electricity is up 20%. We can stop that by turning the spigot off in Washington."

In 2022, inflation hit its peak at slightly more than 9%.

"We need to lower your gas prices... We will be energy dominant again in this country," said DeSantis.

That broader point was one that echoed as candidates sounded off – the idea that the U.S's energy policies are fundamentally broken.

"We're paying too much for energy in our state, in our country right now," said North Dakota Governor Asa Hutchinson. "Part of the reason why is because of the Biden policies on energy. We've got a plan right now, the $1.2 trillion Green New Deal... that's something that's just subsidizing China, and if we're going to stop buying oil from the Middle East, and start buying batteries from China, we're just trading OPEC for Sinopec."

It's not surprising that energy was key in these early rounds – the U.S.'s energy industry is in a moment of major transition amid the shift to EVs.

"One of the great triumphs of American Capitalism is in its ability to speed and scale innovation," Laurence Sotsky, CEO of tax credit platform Incentify told Yahoo Finance. "In less than 9 months, the enacted IRA provisions around energy credits and incentives has moved the transition to cleaner energy in the U.S. into light speed."

One thing that's not necessarily clear is a plan, for both the economy and energy, at least among most Republican candidates.

Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, while trading barbs with former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, offered the clearest energy-economy plan so far: "This isn't that complicated, guys. Unlock American energy. Drill. Frack. Burn coal, embrace nuclear."

Notably, Ramaswamy called climate change "a hoax." Nearly all published and active scientists – 97%, according to NASA – say climate change is real and caused by humans.

Allie Garfinkle is a Senior Tech Reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter at @agarfinks and on LinkedIn.

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