Pain at Pumps May Be Felt at Polls

At the pumps, it was clear that incumbents had something to worry about.

Thomas Fortino said of Shaw: "I voted for him before, but now I want change -- but not just because of gas prices." The retired picture-framing-store owner was filling up in Fort Lauderdale.

Florida's 22nd District stretches across coastal communities from Fort Lauderdale through Boca Raton and Palm Beach. Shaw is being challenged by state Sen. Ron Klein, who is well financed and also focused now on energy issues.

This week, Klein proposed suspending Florida's sales tax on gasoline during August, noting that "there is a lot of frustration out there -- Congress has done nothing."

In criticizing Shaw for "generally voting with the Republican leadership to prop up the oil companies," he echoed other Democratic candidates whose national leaders have advised them to depict the problem, at least partly, as a product of Republican coziness with the oil industry. At least among motorists filling up here, suspicion regarding the oil companies was rife, with several citing the record profits recorded by Exxon Mobil Corp.

"I'm boycotting Exxon Mobil right now," said Deborah Shuart, a 53-year-old Republican who was putting $41.70 worth of gas into her car. The entrepreneur said her family of five is considering carpooling for the first time. "It's been tough."

Shaw said he anticipates being the target of some of the anger.

In a letter to constituents who ask about the issue, Shaw reminds them that he voted in favor of a measure to increase fuel-efficiency standards, which failed. In August, he sent a letter to Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, calling for scrutiny of potential profiteering and price gouging.

Noting that any "challenger will blame the incumbent" for the economic situation, he said he expects that gas prices, if they continue to rise, "will have some effect" on the election.

At the pumps here, the oil companies may have been the most commonly cited target of consumer ire, but not the only one.

Many said they blamed the government and car manufacturers for failing to develop alternative sources of energy -- particularly after the oil crisis in the 1970s.

"The government is definitely to blame for making oil our number one energy source," said Inna Shapovalov, 35, an immigration lawyer who was putting $35 into her Hyundai Santa Fe. "I wish we could all drive electric cars."

In a district that contains some of the most affluent portions of the state and large numbers of gas-guzzling luxury vehicles, none blamed motorists themselves for buying cars that use so much gas. National figures show that though the average vehicle mileage improved dramatically through much of the '80s, it has since dipped or held constant.

John Holzberg, 64, a Republican banker from Boca Raton, put gas into a Cadillac and cursed when the total of $43 came into view.

"I can't seem to figure out who's responsible," said Holzberg, who "doesn't like George Bush anymore." But he was sure it was making the electorate grumpy. "The economy is humming along, but nobody cares because everyone is focused -- like I am -- on Iraq and oil prices."

Staff writers Catharine Skipp in Miami, Matthew Mosk in Annapolis and Michael D. Shear in Richmond contributed to this report.