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Newsom celebrates political victory on gas price spike bill, but concerns remain about policy

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Newsom celebrates political victory on gas price spike bill, but concerns remain about policy

At a campaign rally in the Coachella Valley, former President Trump on Saturday called out California’s cost of living and nation-leading gas prices as an example of Vice President Kamala Harris and other “radical Democrats” destroying the state.

“Today California has the highest inflation, the highest taxes, the highest gas prices, the highest cost of living, the most regulations,” he said. “We’re not going to let Kamala Harris do to America what she did to California.”

Two days later at the state Capitol, Gov. Gavin Newsom celebrated the passage of a new state law that could lower gasoline price spikes by giving regulators the authority to require that California oil refiners store more inventory.

Newsom and Democratic lawmakers cast the bill as a solution to high gas prices. With less than three weeks until the Nov. 5 election, affordability has become a major political issue and a potential vulnerability for Harris’ presidential campaign.

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“It’s about time we stood up,” Newsom said after he signed the bill on Monday. “This is the fourth largest market in the world. This is a big damn deal.”

The newly passed law gives Newsom a win in his political battle with the oil industry, but whether Harris or other Democratic candidates will benefit from the governor’s victory remains unclear.

Newsom’s law will not immediately lower the cost of gasoline in California. While experts say it could ultimately offer reductions of future price spikes, regulators will have to complete a thorough review process to enact the new controls.

Governors in Arizona and Nevada wrote letters warning that the legislation could drive up costs for their constituents, potentially bolstering concerns in pivotal swing states about California’s policies.

Newsom called lawmakers back to Sacramento for a special session to pass the policy. At the same time, however, his administration is expected to adopt stricter limits on carbon fuels that could drive up per-gallon costs by almost half a dollar or more just days after the election.

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The governor declined to answer a question at a news conference about whether he thought the new law would affect Democrats in the election, arguing that the effort wasn’t about politics. In a video posted to social media minutes before he signed the bill into law on Monday, Newsom accused the industry of being in “cahoots” with Trump by intentionally pushing prices higher to scare voters during election season.

Opponents have cast his push to address gas prices as an example of “political theatrics.”

“This is politics, not policy,” said Catherine Reheis-Boyd, chief executive of the Western States Petroleum Assn. “This is a show. This is anything but good policy.”

Newsom and the petroleum trade group have been locked in a political battle over gas prices since the summer of 2022. The governor ran ads in Florida calling out Gov. Ron DeSantis’ conservative policies, which prompted a response from the petroleum group blaming Newsom for California’s highest-in-the-nation gas prices.

Since then the governor has repeatedly accused the industry of intentionally gouging consumers.

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His administration has pointed out that prices spike when refineries experience unplanned maintenance problems with their equipment, which limits the amount of gasoline available in the state and drives up prices. Requiring the refineries to increase fuel reserves, his administration says, will help prevent those shortages.

Reheis-Boyd has argued that requiring refineries to store more gasoline will increase costs for the companies and drive up prices at the pump. The industry contends that California’s nation-leading gasoline costs are a supply and demand problem in a state that has adopted environmental policies to limit oil drilling and production.

The cheapest way to lower gas prices is to allow oil companies to increase crude oil production in California and rely less on supply from overseas, Reheis-Boyd said.

The state should be working closely with California’s small number of refineries to ensure the state has enough gasoline, instead of adopting new regulations that restrict profits and pushing the companies out of business, she said.

“We have a governor who isn’t interested in the conversation,” Reheis-Boyd said. “He’s the only governor I’ve never met with, because he won’t meet.”

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This year marks the second time in two years that Newsom has pushed lawmakers to adopt new oil regulations, an issue that divides Democrats as they navigate desires to fight climate change and lower gas prices.

In 2023, lawmakers balked at passing Newsom’s proposal to penalize oil companies that earn excessive profits. Instead lawmakers adopted new oversight of the industry and gave regulators the ability to cap profits through a rule-making process that has yet to result in any new restrictions.

Democrats in the Legislature were reluctant to pass Newsom’s new oil bill again this year.

Two weeks before the regular session concluded at the end of August, Newsom announced a proposal to require that petroleum refiners maintain a stable inventory in order to prevent fuel shortages and price spikes when refinery equipment is taken offline for maintenance.

Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Hollister) refused to take up the bill for a floor vote at the end of session, arguing that his caucus did not want to rush legislation through without properly vetting the policy. He agreed to work on the proposal in a special session.

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Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg) took the opposite approach. His caucus was ready to pass the bill at the end of session, he said, and he initially refused to participate in a special session before giving in to the governor’s demands.

During the special session, the Assembly held a series of hearings before passing the bill earlier this month. The Senate quickly signed off on the proposal the following week.

While some liberal Democrats quietly fumed as the governor forced them to vote on another one of his political proposals, many felt the policy could ultimately reduce price spikes that hurt consumers.

“The data is clear: Price spikes happen when refineries fail to plan for supply during scheduled maintenance,” said Assemblymember Gregg Hart (D-Santa Barbara). “This bill will hold oil companies accountable for resupply plans when refineries’ shutdowns occur, ultimately saving Californians billions at the pump.”

Several Democratic legislators competing for swing-district seats in November did not vote, or opposed the bill.

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State Sen. Dave Min (D-Irvine), who declined to vote on the proposal, said he supported the goal to address the problem of high gas prices in the state but did not agree with the approach. Min is locked in a tight race for Congress against Republican Scott Baugh in Orange County.

Min said opponents to Newsom’s proposal “raised serious concerns” about whether it would be effective in lowering gas prices or even be counterproductive.

“These concerns deserve a fair and full vetting, which is difficult to do in a special session conducted just weeks before many of the current legislators will be leaving office,” Min said in a statement.

Republicans said Democrats would reduce gas taxes if they were serious about the problem of affordability.

“So, who’s making the money?” asked state Sen. Brian Dahle (R-Bieber). “Who’s gouging Californians for every gallon of gas? It’s the government. $1.42 for every single gallon of gas goes to taxes, whether it’s state, local or federal.”

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Opposition to the proposal from labor unions representing workers in the industry added to the pressures on Democrats.

Tom Baca, the international vice president for western states of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, said giving regulators control over maintenance schedules, instead of relying on the insight of the workers with deep knowledge of the equipment, could put his members in dangerous conditions if work is delayed.

David Sikorski, business manager for the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 12, called the special session “unnecessary.”

His union represents 21,000 workers in California, Arizona and Nevada. He said Newsom’s policy could prove to be a liability to Harris in the neighboring swing states of Arizona and Nevada.

“We’ve made some real momentum, hit the ground running in Arizona, and we put a lot of resources into getting friendly politicians, and Kamala Harris, elected in that state,” he said. “This is just one more hurdle that we have to overcome with our membership and working people in general.”

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Trump stirs GOP primary drama with visit to Massie’s Kentucky home turf

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Trump stirs GOP primary drama with visit to Massie’s Kentucky home turf

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President Donald Trump is taking his feud with Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., to the libertarian lawmaker’s home turf on Wednesday.

Trump is expected to hold an event in Hebron, Kentucky, on Wednesday, the Republican Party of Kentucky announced on social media Monday. It’s located in the northern part of the state’s 4th Congressional District, which Massie represents.

Massie’s primary rival, Ed Gallrein, will attend the Hebron event, his campaign confirmed to Fox News Digital on Tuesday, while deferring all other questions on the matter to the White House.

Massie himself will miss the event due to a previously scheduled official engagement, his spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

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KHANNA AND MASSIE THREATEN TO FORCE A VOTE ON IRAN AS PROSPECT OF US ATTACK LOOMS

President Donald Trump will be visiting Rep. Thomas Massie’s congressional district on Wednesday. (Win McNamee/Getty Images; Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)

When asked about the visit, White House spokeswoman Liz Huston told Fox News Digital, “President Trump will visit the great states of Ohio and Kentucky on Wednesday to tout his economic victories and detail his Administration’s aggressive, ongoing efforts to lower prices and make America more affordable.”

The president has thrown his considerable influence behind Gallrein to unseat Massie after the GOP lawmaker publicly defied Trump on multiple occasions.

MASSIE, KHANNA TO VISIT DOJ TO REVIEW UNREDACTED EPSTEIN FILES

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Massie most recently was one of two House Republicans to vote to stop Trump’s joint operation in Iran with Israel, though the legislation was successfully blocked by the majority of GOP lawmakers and a handful of Democrats.

Ed Gallrein, left, seen with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House. (Ed Gallrein congressional campaign)

He was also one of two Republicans to vote against Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” last year.

Trump in turn has hurled a slew of personal attacks against Massie, including calling him “weak and pathetic” in a statement endorsing Gallrein in October.

“He only votes against the Republican Party, making life very easy for the Radical Left. Unlike ‘lightweight’ Massie, a totally ineffective LOSER who has failed us so badly, CAPTAIN ED GALLREIN IS A WINNER WHO WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN,” Trump posted on Truth Social at the time, one of numerous criticisms targeting the Kentucky Republican through the years.

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He called Massie the “worst Republican congressman” in July amid Massie’s bipartisan push to force the Department of Justice (DOJ) to release its files on Jeffrey Epstein.

Then-Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican from Georgia, Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, and Rep. Ro Khanna, a Democrat from California, during a news conference outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

But Massie has so far appeared to defy political gravity despite making political enemies out of both Trump and House GOP leaders.

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He handily defeated multiple primary challengers in 2024 and 2022, despite public feuds with Trump, and has served his district since 2012.

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Gallrein is a retired Navy SEAL and farmer who launched his campaign days after Trump made his endorsement. Their primary election day is May 19.

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California Democrats launch pricey polling effort to winnow crowded gubernatorial field

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California Democrats launch pricey polling effort to winnow crowded gubernatorial field

As anxiety mounts among California Democrats about the potential of a Republican being elected governor, the state party will spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on polling to assess the viability of the sprawling field of candidates hoping to replace termed-out Gov. Gavin Newsom, according to plans released Tuesday.

The move comes after nearly every Democratic candidate refused party leaders’ call last week to withdraw from the race to avoid splitting the vote in the June primary — an outcome that could lead to a Republican being elected to statewide office for the first time in two decades.

“Candidates have filed, and now they’ve got the opportunity to showcase their viability, their path to win. I want to simply ensure that everybody has information to fully understand the current state of the race,” said Rusty Hicks, the leader of the California Democratic Party.

As campaign season ramps up, the series of six polls will allow “candidates, supporters, the media, voters, anyone and everyone to have a clear understanding of what is or is not happening in this particular race,” he said.

The filing deadline to appear on the June 2 ballot was Friday. Three days earlier, Hicks released an open letter urging candidates who did not have a path to victory to withdraw from the race. Of the nine prominent Democrats who had announced runs for governor, only one heeded his call: former state Assembly Majority Leader Ian Calderon.

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That means the eight other candidates’ names will appear on the ballot, regardless of whether they decide to later drop out. And that creates the possibility of a Republican winning the race because of how California elections are decided.

The state has a voter-approved top-two primary system, under which the two candidates who receive the most votes in the June primary advance to the November general election, regardless of party.

Two prominent Republicans will appear on the ballot: former conservative commentator Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco. Even though Democratic voters outnumber Republicans nearly 2 to 1, and the state’s electorate last elevated Republicans to statewide office in 2006, it is mathematically possible for Democrats to splinter the vote, allowing the two GOP candidates to advance.

Under such a scenario, not only would Republicans be guaranteed the leadership of the nation’s most-populous state, but Democratic voter turnout also would probably be depressed in November, potentially affecting down-ballot races such as those that could determine control of Congress.

Hicks’ call last week prompted concerns among candidates of color, including former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and state Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, that the effort was aimed at every nonwhite candidate in the race.

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The state party chairman responded that his letter was not aimed at any specific candidate.

“It’s not something I lose sleep over,” Hicks said when asked about the racial claims. But he added that the voter surveys will be conducted by Los Angeles-based Evitarus, the state’s only Black- and Latino-led full-service polling firm, and will oversample historically underrepresented communities: Latino, Black and Asian American voters.

Hicks said the polling will cost “multiple six figures” but did not specify the exact amount.

The first poll will be released on March 24, and then five additional surveys will come out every seven to 10 days until voters start receiving mail ballots in early May.

“We’re putting this forward to ensure everyone is armed with the information they need to clearly have an eyes-wide-open assessment of where the state of the race currently is between now and when ballots land in the mailboxes of voters,” Hicks said.

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Trump reveals top issues GOP should focus on to secure midterms victory: ‘I’ve never been more confident’

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Trump reveals top issues GOP should focus on to secure midterms victory: ‘I’ve never been more confident’

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President Donald Trump outlined five key items he believes will tip the upcoming midterm elections in the GOP’s favor — if Republicans can muscle them through Congress.

“No transgender mutilation surgery for our children,” Trump told an audience at the Republican Members’ Issues Conference. “Voter ID, citizenship [verification], mail-in ballots, we don’t want men playing in women’s sports.”

It’s the best of Trump. Those are the best of Trump. This is the number one priority, it should be, for the House,” Trump said.

Trump’s exhortations to Republican lawmakers come as the GOP wages an uphill campaign to hang on to a controlling majority in the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. He framed his legislative priorities as a way for Republicans to capitalize on popular demands within the GOP base that would increase their chances of preserving a Republican governing trifecta.

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President Donald Trump gestures as he boards Air Force One before departing Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida, on March 1, 2026. (Mandel Ngan / AFP via Getty Images)

HOUSE REPUBLICANS PUSH ELECTION OVERHAUL WITH VOTER ID, MAIL-IN BALLOT CHANGES AHEAD OF MIDTERMS

Currently, Republicans hold just four more seats than Democrats in the House of Representatives.

The GOP holds six more than Democrats in the Senate.

To keep the numbers in their favor, Republicans will need to beat historical trends. In the vast majority of past cases, parties that capture the White House in presidential elections face blowback in the midterms. Notably, the last time a majority party gained seats in both chambers of Congress in the midterms came under the Bush administration in 2002, following devastating attacks on the World Trade Center.

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House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, left, and President Donald Trump shake hands during an Invest America roundtable in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, District of Columbia, on June 9, 2025. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

REPUBLICANS, TRUMP RUN INTO SENATE ROADBLOCK ON VOTER ID BILL

Trump said he believes Republicans have a shot at bucking the trend come November if they focus on his list.

“It’ll guarantee the midterms,” Trump said of his legislative priorities.

Republicans have already taken strikes towards two of them through the SAVE America Act, a piece of legislation that would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and cast a ballot. That bill cleared the House last month for a second time in the 119th Congress.

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Its future is uncertain in the Senate, where Republicans would need the assistance of seven Democrats to overcome the 60-vote threshold to defeat a filibuster. Democrats, for their part, believe the legislation would disenfranchise voters who cannot readily provide documented proof of citizenship through a passport, REAL ID, or birth certificate. 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. has promised a vote on the package despite its long odds. 

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, talks with a guest during a “Only Citizens Vote Bus Tour” rally in Upper Senate Park to urge Congress to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

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Several members have introduced bills on transgender issues, although none of them have cleared either chamber.

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I’ve never been more confident that if we keep these promises and deliver on this popular agenda, the American people will stand with us in overwhelming numbers, just as they did in 2024,” Trump said.

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