Voting Democrat – or Staying Home – Won’t Lower Gas Prices

As November’s midterm elections approach, Democrat candidates have obsessed over rising fuel costs, making the price at the pump the central issue in their closing message to voters as they lambast the so-called “war of choice” in Iran.

With the national average approaching $4.50 per gallon, the cost of gas is indeed a real problem for American families – and the war with Iran is indeed the primary reason for it. The Trump administration has made the case that the war and its costs are necessary to prevent the terrorist Iranian regime from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Republican candidates have sought to largely avoid the issue entirely, instead focusing on Democrats’ radical policies and the socialist surge within the party.

But there is another, more compelling argument Republicans have in their favor on this front: voting Democrat won’t lower the price of gas – or anything else, for that matter.

Americans have every right to be upset about the cost of living and the fact that the American Dream seems to be slipping further out of reach. But they should actually look at Democrats’ record on energy policy rather than just blindly assuming that voting for the out-of-power party will lead to a reversal of what they’re frustrated about.

Sometimes, as is the case here, the alternative is worse than the current situation, as undesirable as it may be. Republicans who feel discouraged or unmotivated to turn out in November should remember how bad things were just a few years ago and have the same sense of urgency that they had in 2024 to prevent a return to Democrat rule this year.

But more importantly, it wasn’t too long ago when gas was even more expensive than it is now – above $5 per gallon in 2022, when Democrats controlled the White House and both chambers of Congress. Biden blamed much of the increase on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The war certainly aggravated an already tight global oil market, but the price increases began well before Russian troops crossed the Ukrainian border.

According to the Energy Information Administration, regular gasoline averaged approximately $2.38 per gallon immediately before Biden took office in January 2021. By February 21, 2022, three days before the invasion, it had climbed to $3.53.

In inflation-adjusted dollars, gas averaged $4.69 per gallon in 2022 and $4.02 per gallon in 2023, compared to $3.95 per gallon so far this year. That’s cold comfort for families shelling out more than they feel they should be at the pump, but it does provide some context for the current crisis – and a reminder that Democrats’ record was even worse.

Biden entered office determined to transform American energy policy, and congressional Democrats were all too eager to assist.

On his first day as president, Biden revoked the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline, effectively terminating a project designed to transport approximately 830,000 barrels of Canadian crude oil daily. That would’ve reduced prices at the pump dramatically.

A week later, he ordered a pause on new federal oil and gas leasing. A federal judge blocked that decision in June 2021, but the message had been sent that his administration would be no friend to oil and gas producers. Biden also pursued additional restrictions on fossil-fuel development and regulations intended to gut the industry.

Contrast that approach with a milestone achieved during Trump’s first administration when, in 2019, the United States became a net energy exporter for the first time in 67 years.

Americans should also look to current liberal strongholds to see what a vote for Democrats actually looks like in practice. Perhaps the clearest example is California.

On September 25, motorists in the Democrat-governed state were paying an average of $6.24 per gallon, compared with $4.49 nationally. California’s higher fuel taxes, environmental programs, and specialized gasoline requirements have all contributed to its unusually expensive fuel market.

Compounding those costs is the complete collapse of the state’s refining facilities as a result of Governor Gavin Newsom’s regulatory assault on the industry. Phillips 66 began shutting down its Los Angeles-area refinery in 2025. Valero subsequently idled its Benicia refinery, completing the process in April 2026. Together, the facilities had accounted for approximately 20 percent of California’s refining capacity.

These developments are especially significant given California Democrats’ longstanding ambition to phase out gasoline-powered automobiles. That ambition that has now become popular at the federal level as well, with Biden signing an order that would have required half of all new vehicles to be electric by 2030. (Trump quickly reversed that order after taking office.)

Democrats’ EV mandates have not only made fuel more expensive, but cars as well. Everywhere Democrats are in charge, taxes and regulations are hammering working families.

The broader affordability debate should raise similar red flags for voters about Democrats’ economic record.

Inflation reached 9.1 percent in June 2022, its highest annual rate in more than four decades. Americans experienced substantial increases in prices for gasoline, groceries, housing, and other household necessities.

Republicans subsequently passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, making major provisions of Trump’s 2017 tax cuts permanent and introducing additional tax deductions. Passage of the bill prevented what would have been the largest tax hike in American history. Yet every congressional Democrat opposed the legislation. When Democrats had the chance to actually put more money back in the pockets of working Americans, they voted “no.”

Moreover, the data isn’t all bad now, despite some persistent pain points in the economy. Inflation-adjusted household income hit a record high in 2025. Stock indexes have touched multiple record highs in recent weeks. The most recent jobs report was exceptionally strong, well above expectations. Unemployment remains low.

The central question voters should ask candidates campaigning on affordability is straightforward: Beyond criticizing today’s prices, what specific policies would you implement to bring down the cost of gas or anything else? And, just as importantly, what have you actually done to implement those policies?

Democrat candidates have now conveniently decided that affordability is worth talking about after ignoring it for four years when the cost-of-living crisis was even worse under their watch. Voters should view their newfound concern with skepticism.