We other hear that people vote their pocket book, and in this tight presidential race, will that also include the gas pumps?
Marie Dodds with Oregon AAA says gas prices often do play a role in presidential campaigns.
Some voters may blame "big oil' and associate the Republican candidate with that, while others could blame the sitting president.
Dodds spoke with 1110 KBND news.
"ITS TOUGH TO SAY BECAUSE GAS PRICES ARE AT RECORD HIGHS FOR THE CALENDAR DAY - AND WE HAVE BEEN SETTING RECORD HIGHS EACH CALENDAR DAY FOR THE PAST 7 WEEKS- SO NO PRESIDENT HAS EVEr SEEN GAS PRICES THIS HIGH - BUT THERE ARE ALSO GLOBAL EVENTS THAT HAVE SENT GAS PRICES HIGHER THAT HAVE HAD VERY LITTLE TO DO WITH ANY U.S. ADMINISTRATION."
Dodds says high gas prices are often used during political campaigns, but the criticism probably isn't fair. She explains that gas prices are far too complex to just blame one politician. She cites a few examples like global issues, storms and refinery problems. In California recently a several day power outage at a refinery caused a huge spike in prices. That also impacted the national average. And in August, there was a fire at a refinery in the Bay area that also affected prices.
