Ford's Two-Ingredient Blame Recipe Won't Lower Your Gas Prices
Same Hammer, Same Nail
Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford is running for governor, and his campaign strategy has exactly two ingredients: Donald Trump and Joe Lombardo.
National job growth slowing? “Lombardo-Trump.”
USPS shipping surcharges? “Lombardo-Trump.”
Washington restructuring the federal Department of Education? “Lombardo-Trump.”
It is the same fuzzy logic applied to every problem in this race, regardless of the facts and regardless of whether Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo had anything to do with it. Ford has one hammer, and everything looks like the same nail.
The NVDems couldn't have more clearly demonstrated my point when they posted this:
https://t.co/LyCmRFbhTB pic.twitter.com/i3Q3u3WJEV
— NV Dems (@nvdems) April 1, 2026
On March 24, Ford wrote this about Nevada gas prices:
“First, Trump's Iran War, supported by @JoeLombardoNV, caused gas prices to explode.”
Nobody should be surprised. But everybody should be skeptical.
California Made This Mess
Nevada runs almost entirely on fuel piped in from California — about 86 to 90 percent of everything Nevadans pump into their tanks comes from there. That makes Nevada completely dependent on whatever California decides to do with its energy policy.
And California has been making some very bad decisions.
Two major refineries have closed in the past several months. Phillips 66 ceased petroleum production at its Los Angeles facility in October 2025, and Valero plans to shutter its Benicia refinery by April 2026. Together, these closures represent a 21 percent drop in California's refinery capacity from 2023 levels.
The Western States Petroleum Association reports that California's regulations have already forced the state to import 75 percent of its own oil, adding five to six dollars per barrel in transportation costs that Nevada drivers absorb at the pump.
California's in-state crude production has dropped more than 50 percent since 2000. Not because the oil ran out, but because regulations made it too expensive to get out of the ground. As a result, California has fallen to 8th among U.S. oil-producing states.
Those policies came courtesy of California Governor Gavin Newsom, who has made himself very comfortable in Nevada lately. In early March, he flew to Las Vegas to meet with Nevada Democratic Party leadership. Before that, he sent a joint fundraising email backing Ford's campaign for governor.
Who's Actually Doing the Work
While Ford has been blaming Trump and Lombardo, the Governor has been doing the work.
Lombardo announced the formation of the Nevada Fuel Resiliency Committee, a statewide advisory body aimed at bolstering Nevada's preparedness and response to potential fuel supply disruptions from California. It is the first effort by any Nevada governor to break the state's dependence on California fuel.
The committee will identify vulnerabilities in Nevada's fuel supply and distribution systems, strengthen coordination across public and private partners, review emergency response and contingency planning, and explore options to expand and modernize fuel-related infrastructure. Nv
Governor Lombardo put it plainly:
“Nevada's economy and public safety depend on reliable access to fuel. This committee ensures Nevada is proactively coordinating across sectors to strengthen preparedness and response.”
He has also written directly to Newsom, warning that California's refinery regulations are crushing neighboring states. He even recruited Arizona's Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs to co-sign that letter. Newsom's office dismissed it as a stunt.
Ford's Record at the Pump
What has Attorney General Aaron Ford done to protect Nevada consumers at the pump?
Ford has filed or joined more than 73 lawsuits against the Trump administration, but not one against California.
On March 19, Ford went to court to block the federal repeal of the EPA's 2009 endangerment finding — the decades-old federal rule that gives the government authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel production. In plain English, he sued to keep the regulations that make it more expensive to produce the gas you pump.
Republican AG candidate Adriana Guzmán Fralick called Ford out directly, stating:
“What is needed now is a lawsuit against California to protect Nevada consumers.”
Ford's answer was to blame a war, five days after going to court to protect the very regulations driving prices up.
What Conservatives Should Know
Government at its best gets out of the way of the market and coordinates when the market alone cannot solve a crisis. That is exactly what Lombardo's Fuel Resiliency Committee is trying to do — bring together private industry, state agencies, and emergency planners to build real supply options.
Cathy Reheis-Boyd, vice chair of the Fuel Resiliency Committee, recently warned that California could shrink from nine refineries down to just one by 2040 if current policies continue. Solutions being discussed include expanding pipeline capacity from Utah and the Rockies, reducing dependence on the single corridor that supplies 90 percent of Southern Nevada's fuel.
Ford's approach is different. Sue Washington. Blame Republicans. Never mention Sacramento.
Nevada voters who care about affordable energy, energy independence, and honest leadership should ask a simple question before November: Who actually showed up to fix the problem?
The answer is not the one-trick pony with the hammer.
The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Nevada News & Views. This article was written with the assistance of AI. Please verify information and consult additional sources as needed.
