With gas above $4, Bottoms and Jackson compete to ease costs

Gas prices topping $4 a gallon have opened a new front in Georgia’s race for governor, with both candidates pitching tax cuts to ease the fuel squeeze on household budgets.

Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms unveiled a “drive plan” Wednesday at an Atlanta gas station that would lower the state gas tax and eliminate a surcharge on auto insurance premiums. Combined, she said her plan could save a typical driver more than $100 a year.

Republican Rick Jackson’s plan would suspend Georgia’s gas tax during sharp price spikes and eliminate state taxes on residential electricity and natural gas.

The competing proposals come as Republican Gov. Brian Kemp this week suspended the motor fuel tax for 30 days as the war with Iran drives up the cost of filling a tank.

The moves show how rising fuel costs are shaping a broader affordability debate in the race for Georgia’s top job. They also highlight a divide over how to respond to price spikes — either through temporary relief or longer-term reductions in taxes.

The ongoing U.S. war against Iran has left the Strait of Hormuz in a monthslong stalemate that has tightened fuel supplies and spread higher costs across the economy.

In Georgia, that spike has been particularly sharp. The average price of regular gasoline in Georgia was $4.05 a gallon Wednesday, according to AAA, up from $2.91 a year ago. In metro Atlanta, the average price reached $4.10.

Bottoms argued that state leaders should have acted sooner to save motorists at the pump.

“We’re sitting on a multibillion-dollar reserve in this state,” she said. “And if this isn’t the time to tap into the rainy day fund, I don’t know when you do it.”

Georgia has about $8 billion in reserve, down from $14.6 billion last year.

Jackson countered by attacking Bottoms’ record as Atlanta mayor, with his aide, Garrison Douglas, accusing her of leaving the “city less affordable than she found it.”

Bottoms’ proposal would eliminate the state’s 2.25% tax on car insurance premiums and lower the motor fuel tax to 28 cents per gallon for gasoline and 31.3 cents for diesel.

Before the latest suspension, Georgia collected 33.3 cents per gallon on gasoline and 37.3 cents on diesel. The roughly $200 million it generates each month finances road construction and maintenance.

Her campaign estimates the combined tax cuts would save a typical gasoline driver roughly $69 on insurance and $39 at the pump each year.