The combination of California's war on oil and MAGA's war in the Middle East is turning out to be an incredibly toxic policy duo for Nevadans at the pump.

Of course, as is typical in our political environment, partisans don't tend to favor nuanced policy discussions. So, as a result, most conversations about Nevada's gas prices have devolved into mere shouting matches.

Democrats, for example, are insistent that our gasoline woes are purely the result of Trump's haphazard and poorly executed war against Iran — an argument that gubernatorial hopeful Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford has tried to leverage against incumbent Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo. 

And to be sure, dropping a bunch of bombs in one of the most oil-rich corners of the world isn't exactly a sound strategy for keeping gas prices low. With Iran's entirely predictable closure of the Strait of Hormuz and its ongoing retaliation against regional American allies, it's no surprise the cost of oil spiked.

However, while such foreign policy decisions are certainly behind the upward trajectory of global prices, it doesn't exactly explain why Nevadans pay so much more for gasoline than most of the rest of the nation. As I write this, for example, Nevadans are paying more than $5 for a gallon, well above the national average of $4.16 for the same grade.

And, as it turns out, Nevada Republicans aren't wrong in assigning much of the blame for this phenomenon to California Gov. Gavin Newsom and his state's energy policies. 

Nevada's overreliance on California fuel has long been a pain point for Silver State motorists. Nearly 90 percent of Southern Nevada's fuel comes from our western neighbor — which means we're effectively trapped paying California prices at the pump even though we don't live there. 

Unfortunately, those prices are reliably more expensive than anywhere else in the country due to that state's regulatory framework, taxes, environmental standards and energy policies — a slew of factors that have created an "isolated" market where the cost of providing fuel has grown burdensomely high over the years. 

As California Democrats have tightened environmental protections and attempted to "nudge" consumers away from fossil fuels by cracking down on the industry, many refiners and distributors have effectively shut down or reduced their domestic operations in response. After more than 140 years in California, for example, Chevron recently moved its corporate headquarters to Texas. Similarly, Valero and Phillips 66 have both announced the closure of massive refineries in the Golden State — operations that account for nearly 20 percent of the state's gasoline production.

The resulting domestic supply shortages, however, haven't significantly reduced reliance on fossil fuels. Instead, it has largely resulted in a greater reliance on foreign oil for the California-based refineries that remain in operation. Despite having historically been one of America's largest oil producers, Newsom's state now imports roughly three-quarters of its oil from abroad, with roughly a third of that oil coming from the Middle East. 

In other words, California's regulatory environment has become so hostile to the oil and gas industry that producers no longer consider it practical or profitable to operate within the state — driving prices upward for consumers. 

That is a result of policy decisions made in California, not the White House. And while Gov. Newsom is busy casting blame on Trump's war for the pain felt by ordinary Americans trying to gas up their vehicles, it's worth remembering that he's never really been shy about his role in putting those Sacramento-based policies into place. 

Indeed, Newsom's role in driving regional prices upward is so obvious that even the Democratic governor of Arizona was calling on him in 2024 to reconsider some of his state's most draconian energy policies. Long before the Trump administration decided to embroil us in yet another military quagmire, it wasn't controversial or even partisan to point out that California's approach to the industry was hurting consumers throughout the American West.  

So, Republicans are not wrong when they blame California (and Newsom) for the uniquely expensive nature of Southern Nevada gasoline, even as Democrats are correct to blame Trump's haphazard foreign policy for making matters worse.

Despite enough blame to go around, however, we live in a political age where partisan talking points tend to rule the day. And so, performative finger-pointing based on half-truths is bound to continue unabated among those looking to profit politically off the pain of ordinary consumers.

Meanwhile, the rest of us will just keep draining our bank accounts to keep our gas tanks filled. 

Michael Schaus is a communications and branding expert based in Las Vegas and founder of Schaus Creative LLC, an agency dedicated to helping organizations, businesses and activists tell their story and motivate change. He has more than a decade of experience in public affairs commentary, having worked as a news director, columnist, political humorist and most recently as the director of communications for a public policy think tank. Follow him on Twitter @schausmichaelor on Substack @creativediscourse.