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As California voters hole to take their adjacent politician successful 2026, vigor argumentation — peculiarly the aboriginal of lipid production, refineries and state prices — has remained a cardinal and analyzable contented successful the race.
California state prices are the highest successful the nation and are projected to emergence arsenic lipid refineries permission the state. For years, authorities leaders accused lipid companies of terms gouging, but a two-year authorities probe recovered nary grounds of that. Meanwhile, the lipid manufacture blames California's progressive policies for driving them out.
The 10 candidates successful the governor's contention are Xavier Becerra, Chad Bianco, Steve Hilton, Matt Mahan, Katie Porter, Tom Steyer, Eric Swalwell, Tony Thurmond, Antonio Villaraigosa, and Betty Yee.
CBS News California Investigates analogous Julie Watts sat down with candidates, who weighed successful connected the relation of authorities policy, planetary proviso risks, and refinery closures, and however each would code rising state prices.
California governor's contention candidates connected state prices and biology policies by CBS LA on YouTube
How should California equilibrium biology argumentation and state prices?
Republican campaigner Steve Hilton placed the blasted for precocious state prices squarely connected authorities clime policies and regulations.
"The crushed that we person the highest state prices successful the country… it is the nonstop effect of what the Democrats telephone their clime agenda," Hilton said.
He pointed to policies similar the state's state tax, cap-and-trade and the debased c substance modular arsenic cardinal outgo drivers.
"My program is to repeal the low-carbon substance standard, to alteration the mode cap-and-trade taxes are levied, to alteration the refinery regulations, to unfastened up lipid and state accumulation successful California," Hilton said. "All of that together, alternatively of what we've got now, which is $5 state heading to $6 oregon adjacent higher, my program is for $3 state successful California, and I tin bash that done changes to the regulatory situation without legislation."
Hilton added helium supports the lipid and state manufacture politically.
"Oh, arsenic overmuch arsenic possible. I mean, I enactment that manufacture wholeheartedly," helium said erstwhile asked astir run contributions from wrong the industry.
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, besides a Republican, likewise argued that precocious state prices are the superior operator of California's wide outgo of surviving and are mostly policy-driven.
"The fig 1 crushed we person the highest outgo of surviving is due to the fact that of gas... No substance what we do, nary substance what we buy, nary substance what we consume, everything has to beryllium transported in, Bianco said. "So the outgo of proscription is the large operator of the costs of goods, and California suffers from the highest terms of gasoline successful the state by design."
Bianco criticized biology regulations arsenic excessive and said they should beryllium rolled back. On however helium would instantly determination to little state prices if helium were elected governor, Bianco said, "Gasoline, the regulations that summation it astir $2 a gallon, that volition beryllium instantly reduced."
The Southern California sheriff besides called for expanding drilling and reducing reliance connected imported oil.
"The regulations person to spell away. We person to let drilling to occur... We're buying each of our lipid from countries that couldn't attraction little astir redeeming the planet, and the full c footprint of shipping each the lipid into our state — it's astronomical," Bianco said. "It doesn't marque sense."
The remaining candidates, each Democrats, acknowledged the request to equilibrium biology goals with affordability, portion maintaining California's semipermanent clime commitments.
Former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, who besides served arsenic California lawyer general, emphasized stabilizing proviso and avoiding terms spikes.
"The astir important happening we tin bash is stabilize… not conscionable the price, but stabilize the proviso and stabilize the organisation of gas," Becerra said. "Because if you tin supply immoderate predictability, you won't spot the spikes successful the terms of state the mode you spot now."
He said California should support refinery capableness portion continuing its modulation to cleaner energy.
"We're ne'er going backwards erstwhile it comes to what we cognize we request to do," Becerra said.
Congressman Eric Swalwell supported maintaining beardown biology standards portion diversifying vigor sources.
"I judge we tin beryllium a authorities with the highest biology standards — not let offshore drilling, arsenic the president is trying to bash — but besides instrumentality an all-of-the-above vigor approach," Swalwell said.
If elected, Swalwell said his relation would beryllium focused connected affordability.
"My occupation is to beryllium the CEO of lowering costs," helium said. "And truthful that means having an all-of-the-above vigor policy, and I'm going to enactment with the legislature."
Businessman Tom Steyer focused connected accelerating the displacement distant from fossil fuels and criticized lipid companies' pricing practices.
"They are overcharging america dramatically... The information is they're charging america overmuch more, and the contented is they are saying they request to complaint america much due to the fact that of short-term needs," Steyer said.
Steyer argued that California should restructure the marketplace and grow alternate substance sources, including importing refined substance if necessary.
"We request to make alternate sources of gasoline successful the authorities of California. We've had 10 years to bash it," helium said. "That means we either get it shipped successful from Asia, we get it from section states — that is wherever we person to go."
Steyer emphasized that California looking to extracurricular sources would lucifer what overmuch of the remainder of the satellite already does and would beryllium a short-term solution to lowering prices for the consumer.
When asked for immoderate information points oregon projections connected however this would impact the costs for consumers, Steyer said, "Oil and state get shipped astir the satellite each azygous time successful immense size. This is not thing that's unheard of."
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan emphasized innovation and grid modernization arsenic cardinal to lowering costs.
"We person to beryllium astute astir the transition. We person a batch of large promises. We're going to beryllium c neutral by immoderate day without a program to bash it oregon the mathematics astir what it volition outgo people," Mahan said. "The modulation we request has to beryllium led by what we are champion astatine successful California, which is innovation."
He pointed to technologies similar vigor retention and "virtual powerfulness plants" arsenic ways to amended ratio and trim costs.
"The modulation has to beryllium driven by innovation and amended alternatives... we should beryllium utilizing exertion to person a smarter grid that amended balances proviso and demand," Mahan said.
Rep. Katie Porter stressed a transitional approach, noting that California is not yet acceptable to afloat determination distant from fossil fuels.
"California's aboriginal is going to beryllium greenish energy, but we besides person to beryllium realistic astir wherever we are," Porter said.
She added that the authorities indispensable support refinery capableness portion investing successful renewables.
"We are creating a batch of good, high-paying jobs successful renewables, but I deliberation we're going to person to benignant of enactment the people with respect to our existing refinery capacity, protecting those California jobs, keeping state arsenic debased arsenic we tin for the foreseeable aboriginal portion that modulation occurs," Porter said.
State Superintendent Tony Thurmond projected "meaningful" fiscal alleviation for residents portion continuing biology progress.
"First happening we bash is we springiness Californians a taxation recognition to assistance them wage for the higher cost," Thurmond said.
He besides emphasized the request to clasp refineries portion investing successful cleaner technology.
"We tin bash a amended occupation astatine balance... We person to find ways to equilibrium clime change, but we besides person to put successful technologies similar c seizure that let refineries to get safer," Thurmond said.
Former State Controller Betty Yee pointed to the request for a clearer modulation program toward c neutrality.
"I deliberation we each privation to unrecorded successful a cleanable environment, but we truly haven't had a program astir however to get there," Yee said. "And truthful the conflict has been: Do we unopen down refineries now, oregon bash we permission them unfastened portion we're processing our way to go c neutral?"
She said refineries should stay unfastened during that modulation portion investing successful cleaner fuels.
"Don't flip a power to get to c neutrality by 2045. There has to beryllium a transition," Yee said. "And we're seeing, actually, immoderate truly bully models of however that's being done. Some of the refineries present successful the Bay Area, authorities and concern took a fiscal deed portion they're inactive producing lipid and gas, but besides invested successful processing alternate fuels. They're gonna beryllium overmuch much carbon-friendly and continuing to refine that evidently to get to the extremity of California... I deliberation that's the mode to bash it."
Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa framed affordability arsenic a long-standing contented and called for a balanced approach.
"The contented of state prices and affordability is thing I've been raising for a agelong time," Villaraigosa said.
He criticized what helium described arsenic a deficiency of equilibrium successful much caller policies and warned against moving excessively rapidly distant from fossil fuels.
"We person to person an each of the supra strategy," Villaraigosa said.
Editor's Note: These interviews were conducted implicit the people of six months, opening successful September 2025. Each campaigner was fixed adjacent clip to respond to questions related to much than a twelve antithetic topics.
A cardinal contented for voters
While candidates hold that state prices are excessively high, they stay divided connected the way guardant — from rolling backmost biology regulations and expanding drilling to accelerating cleanable vigor concern and restructuring the vigor market.
The statement underscores a broader situation facing California: however to conscionable ambitious clime goals portion addressing the contiguous fiscal strain connected consumers.
As the 2026 predetermination approaches, that equilibrium is apt to stay a defining contented for voters crossed the state.
Coming soon: CBS News California interactive governor's contention campaigner guide
CBS News California Investigates conducted much than 20 hours of accountability interviews with the top-polling candidates for governor, covering much than a twelve issues suggested by viewers, policymakers, and assemblage leaders. These segments are the backbone of our Interactive Candidate Guide, which helps you spell beyond the run talking points to comparison the candidates broadside by broadside connected the issues that substance astir to you.
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