Sarah Steelman has a new ad out highlighting her fresh opposition to the state’s “ethanol mandate” on gasoline.

Earlier this year, Steelman offered tenative support for a state law, passed in January, that requires filling stations to sell fuel with 10 percent ethanol, provided it is not more expensive than traditional gas.

Now, Steelman believes that ethanol, which is dervied from corn, is part of the reason for surging gas and food prices.

Steelman’s ad tells us she has a plan to fight the rising costs, and takes the de rigueur swipe at party rival Kenny Hulshof as a Washington outsider.

Earlier, Hulshof criticized Steelman’s “newfound commitment” to repealing the ethanol requirement at a time when Missouri’s gas prices are among the cheapest in the nation.