Why gas prices are the worst in Trump’s beloved Florida

Once known for being a volatile swing state, Florida has taken a hard-right MAGA turn in recent years. The Sunshine State has a who's-who of MAGA, including U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen. Rick Scott, influencer Laura Loomer and President Donald Trump himself.

Trump won Florida by roughly 13 percent in 2024. But now, with the U.S. at war with Iran, the Sunshine State is being hit hard by soaring gas prices. While gas prices are going up all over the United States, Florida is especially bad.

GasBuddy's Patrick De Haan explained why in an April 1 post on X, formerly Twitter.

De Haan tweeted, "why is FL suddenly one of the most expensive states for gasoline? it’s one of the largest gasoline consumers in the country, and has ZERO refining capacity. every gallon has to be shipped in- and right now, Florida is having to outbid other markets to get it. could get worse."

Utah resident and X user 442nd Fella asked De Haan, " Why is Utah so expensive? We have refineries"—to which De Haan responded, "generally because those refineries can sell to all the states around you with higher prices, so that's what refineries are doing as much as possible."