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Can a Hormuz Blockade Flip GOP Farm States in 2026?

Updated 15m ago· Published Mar 24active

Current Assessment

Our causal model estimates 20% probability. Kalshi markets price the top related contract (Which countries will send warships through the Str) at 24.5¢, while our thesis implies 90¢ — a +65.5¢ edge. Across 69 tracked contracts, we see systematic mispricing.

Latest evaluation (9h ago): No material change to thesis fundamentals. The most notable signals are: CPI market prices edging up slightly (consistent with thesis direction but markets remain far below thesis prices, and sell-side depth on CPI contracts has surged 100%+ with bid/ask ratio near 0, indicating strong seller convic

Thesis

Hormuz blockade disrupts fertilizer supply chains. Fertilizer prices spike, US farm costs surge, food inflation hits rural voters. GOP farm state advantage erodes heading into 2026 midterms. Timeline: planting season → harvest → food prices → November ballots.

Confidence
20% ██░░░░░░░░
Implied Return
-5.9%
Contracts
83tracked

Track Record

Hit Rate
30%of edges moved toward thesis
Edges Tracked
83
Avg Movement
+2.0¢

Confidence Over Time

10%35%60%
Mar 24Mar 31

Implied Returns

Will the gold open price be above $4699.99 on Apr 3, 2026 at 5pm EDT?10¢→26.5¢+165%
Will Crude Oil (CL) hit__ by end of March?: ↑ $9541.5¢→98¢+136.1%
Will Crude Oil (CL) hit__ by end of March?: ↑ $10044.95¢→99¢+120.2%
Will the gold open price be above $4679.99 on Apr 3, 2026 at 5pm EDT?15¢→31.5¢+110%
Will __ ships transit the Strait of Hormuz on any day by end of April?: 20+84.5¢→70.5¢+90.3%
Will the 7-day moving average of daily vessel transit calls as reported by the IMF PortWatch be above 5 on Apr 1, 2026?49¢→10¢+76.5%
Avg. # of ships transiting Strait of Hormuz end of March?: 0-1057¢→98¢+71.9%
Will average **gas prices** be above or below $4.10 by Dec 31, 2026?11¢→17.5¢+59.1%

Causal Model

Each factor has an estimated probability. Changes propagate through the tree to update overall confidence.

n1Hormuz blockade occurs and persists85%█████████
n1.1Iran-linked military escalation triggers blockade95%██████████
n1.2Blockade persists beyond 2 weeks96%██████████
n1.3Insurance and shipping markets react severely95%██████████
n2Fertilizer supply chains are meaningfully disrupted95%██████████
n2.1Hormuz-transiting fertilizer is significant share of US supply95%██████████
n2.2Global price contagion affects US market96%██████████
n2.3No adequate substitution or restocking buffers disruption12%░░░░░░░░░
n3Fertilizer price spike translates to major US farm cost surge96%██████████
n3.1Fertilizer prices rise 50%+ from baseline97%██████████
n3.2Farmers unable to hedge or reduce application78%████████░░
n3.3Energy cost co-movement amplifies input costs82%████████░░
n4Farm cost surge causes visible food price inflation by fall 202663%██████░░░░
n4.1Crop yields decline or farmer margins compress enough to raise wholesale prices95%██████████
n4.2Food CPI increases notably (>1pp above trend) by Q3 202697%██████████
n4.3Retail food price pass-through is fast enough for election timing79%████████░░
n5Food inflation is salient to rural/farm-state voters and attributed to governing dynamics28%███░░░░░░░
n5.1Rural voters prioritize food/farm costs over other issues77%████████░░
n5.2Voters blame the party in power rather than external geopolitics34%███░░░░░░░
n5.3Media and political framing connects food prices to GOP governance54%█████░░░░░
n6GOP farm-state advantage materially erodes in 2026 midterms6%░░░░░░░░░
n6.1GOP competitive margins narrow by 5+ points in farm-state races10%░░░░░░░░░
n6.2Democrats flip at least one farm-state Senate or gubernatorial seat4%░░░░░░░░░░
n6.3Farm-state erosion is distinguishable from national trends15%██░░░░░░░░

Market Edge Analysis

Contracts where market price diverges from thesis-implied value. Positive edge = market underprices this outcome.

ContractMarketModelEdgeSpreadDepth (Bid/Ask)
PWhich countries will send warships through the Strait of Hormuz by April 30?: United StatesYES25¢90¢+66¢2K/4K
KWill the 7-day moving average of daily vessel transit calls as reported by the IMF PortWatch be above 3 on Apr 1, 2026?NO89¢25¢+64¢106/583
PUS escorts commercial ship through Hormuz by...?: April 30YES17¢70¢+54¢933/2K
PWill Crude Oil (CL) hit__ by end of March?: ↑ $110YES2¢55¢+53¢741/4K
KCPI year-over-year in Jul 2026?YES3¢55¢+53¢0/5K
KWill average **gas prices** be above or below $4.00 by Dec 31, 2026?YES14¢62¢+49¢67/309
PWill __ ships transit the Strait of Hormuz on any day in March?: 20+YES2¢50¢+48¢950/88
KWill average **gas prices** be above or below $2.30 by Dec 31, 2026?YES32¢80¢+48¢40¢208/104
KCPI year-over-year in Jul 2026?YES3¢50¢+48¢0/2K
PUS escorts commercial ship through Hormuz by...?: April 15YES9¢55¢+47¢26K/26K
KWill the 7-day moving average of transit calls through the Strait of Hormuz as reported by the IMF PortWatch be above 60 before January 1, 2027?NO77¢30¢+47¢2K/692
KCPI year-over-year in Jul 2026?YES3¢45¢+43¢0/5K
PWhich countries will send warships through the Strait of Hormuz by April 30?: United KingdomYES14¢55¢+42¢2K/7K
KWill average **gas prices** be above $6.00 by Dec 31, 2026?YES32¢72¢+41¢19¢83/696
KWill average **gas prices** be above or below $4.10 by Dec 31, 2026?YES18¢55¢+38¢4K/34

Settled Contracts

14 contracts resolved.

ContractResultModel SaidVerdict
KWill the 7-day moving average of daily vessel transit calls as reported by the IMF PortWatch be above 1 on Apr 1, 2026?YESNO @ 15¢✗ wrong
PHow many ships transit the Strait of Hormuz this week? (Mar 30-Apr 5): <10NOYES @ 55¢✗ wrong
PWill Crude Oil (CL) hit__ by end of March?: ↑ $120NOYES @ 35¢✗ wrong
PU.S. forces seize another oil tanker by March 31?NOYES @ 35¢✗ wrong
PUS escorts commercial ship through Hormuz by...?: March 31NOYES @ 30¢✗ wrong
PWill Crude Oil (CL) hit__ by end of March?: ↑ $100YESYES @ 72¢✓ correct
PWill Crude Oil (CL) hit__ by end of March?: ↑ $130NOYES @ 20¢✗ wrong
PBab el-Mandeb Strait effectively closed by...?: March 31NOYES @ 18¢✗ wrong
PWill Crude Oil (CL) hit__ by end of March?: ↑ $140NOYES @ 15¢✗ wrong
PWill Crude Oil (CL) hit__ by end of March?: ↑ $150NOYES @ 12¢✗ wrong

Recent Evaluations

Automated analysis runs every 15 minutes. Major events trigger immediate re-evaluation.

Mar 31 06:1522%(-2%)

No material change to thesis fundamentals. The most notable signals are: CPI market prices edging up slightly (consistent with thesis direction but markets remain far below thesis prices, and sell-sid

Mar 30 00:4622%(+4%)

The single most important development is Iran's IRGC commanders explicitly declaring the Strait of Hormuz closed and threatening to set any transiting ships ablaze — combined with confirmed fertilizer

Mar 29 10:4618%(-2%)

The single most important development is the mixed signal from fertilizer markets: while urea has surged 68% globally and Iran is threatening a permanent toll system, US retail fertilizer prices have

Mar 28 20:4719%(-2%)

No material new geopolitical developments, but fertilizer market data actively contradicts the thesis: DAP down 7% and MAP down 5% in early 2026, continuing a multi-year decline from 2022 peaks. This

Mar 27 14:0232%(-13%)

KILL CONDITION TRIGGERED: Iran has partially lifted the Hormuz blockade, allowing non-enemy-linked ships to transit under security agreements — this directly undermines n1 (blockade occurs and persist

Mar 26 20:1552%(+2%)

The single most important development is confirmation that fertilizer cost spikes are now actively threatening U.S. spring crop planting, with reports that some farmers cannot obtain fertilizer at any

Mar 25 18:0149%(-11%)

No material change. The single event — crude oil $90 strike price moving from 87.5 to 83.5 — is a minor 4¢ drift on a market well below the thesis-relevant price levels ($100+) and has no meaningful b

Mar 24 06:3138%(+7%)

The blockade is confirmed real and in its third week — this is the most material development and fundamentally validates the thesis's top-level causal chain. Confidence rises from 0.315 to 0.38 as n1

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