California gas prices are up more than a dollar from last month — and nearly two dollars higher than the national average. That’s fueling debate in the governor’s race, where candidates are pitching competing plans to lower costs.

"The Bay Area is paying close to $2 more than the national average for gasoline, which is absurd. We should be at a dollar more," said Jamie Court, who heads the nonprofit Consumer Watchdog.

Soaring gas prices in California as a result of the war in Iran are fueling a debate about how to best offer relief to drivers.

Drivers in California were stunned to find gas selling for just 59 cents a gallon at one station in the Central Valley as a massive surge in the cost of fuel hits the state. It happened at the C’s Oasis Mobil in Fresno late Friday night into early Saturday morning when the owner said hackers caused the dramatic price drop,

Three years ago, California built a first-in-the-nation system aimed at protecting drivers when oil markets turn calamitous.