California Democrats wonder if they are the problem with gas prices

California Democrats in the state legislature are discovering that they may not have been running the state very well in recent years.

They questioned state regulators about California’s brewing oil crisis. In the past year, Phillips 66 and Valero have both announced they will be closing a refinery in California, leading to a 21% decline in the state’s refining output over three years. These closures have led to an estimate that gasoline in California could hit prices as high as $8.435 per gallon by the end of 2026.