WASHINGTON – Gasoline prices have been falling in recent weeks all across the country to the relief of motorists – and Republicans.

Sticker shock at the gas pump has been a hot-button election issue for Democrats, but it’s the White House and House GOP that are now trumpeting news of declining costs.

There were predictions just last month that Americans would soon be paying $4 a gallon, but the average price nationwide Wednesday for a gallon of regular was $2.60, a 40-cent drop from a month ago, according to the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report.

The price of self-serve regular gas dipped 40 cents in the Lewiston area, and at $2.58 was still below the national average, according to AAA.

To the delight of the GOP in Ohio, Missouri and Tennessee, where Republicans are defending vulnerable Senate seats, gas is selling up to 30 cents below the national average. “Falling gasoline prices effectively act like a tax cut for American families who’ve been feeling the pinch at the gas pump, lowering their cost of living and putting more money in their wallet,” said House Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio.

“The thing that really stuns me about Republicans is they think Americans are happy paying $45 instead of $50 to fill their gas tanks. It’s still a lot of money, and this Congress has done nothing to bring prices down,” said Bill Burton, a Democratic spokesman.

He is congressional campaign committee spokesman.

Democrats have repeatedly slammed the White House and the GOP for failing to counter the more than $3-a-gallon reality that many Americans had faced.

Meanwhile, a law limiting city gasoline stations to one price increase per 24 hours passed after the City Council overrode Mayor Bloomberg’s veto.

The law puts gasoline retailers on notice that “it’s not fair to raise prices willy-nilly to make more money when your costs really aren’t going up,” said City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, D-Manhattan.