Candidates' positions are categorized as Pro (Yes), Con (No), Not Clearly Pro or Con, or None Found. Candidates who have changed their positions are listed as Now their most recent position. Candidates are listed by party and in alphabetical order by last name. Black & white photos indicate candidates who have withdrawn or who no longer meet our criteria for inclusion.
Will increased domestic oil drilling lower gas prices?
Virgil Goode, former US Representative (R-VA), stated the following on his campaign website page "The Issues," available at www.goodeforpresident2012.com (accessed May 8, 2012):
"The United States must develop its own resources... I also support... expanded drilling opportunities for natural gas and oil in this country so that our energy needs are met by domestic and not foreign sources. I have supported and will continue supporting drilling in Alaska and the continental United States. If President, I would support the drilling off our coasts where it can be done safely and where the states, such as Virginia, have passed legislation requesting offshore drilling." May 8, 2012 Virgil Goode
Gary Johnson, former Governor of New Mexico, issued the following statement through his Communications Director, Joe Hunter, in a July 9, 2012 email to ProCon.org:
"Yes. Gas prices should be determined by a marketplace freed from unnecessary government interference, and in the case of domestic oil drilling, that interference comes in the form of effectively keeping millions of acres of land off-limits to drilling - and to the marketplace. The development of the Bakken formation in North Dakota is a perfect example. Not only is Bakken formation oil bringing down prices, but it is creating thousands of jobs and significant economic activity." July 9, 2012 Gary Johnson
Barak Obama, 44th President of the United States, stated the following in a Mar. 29, 2012 speech in the Rose Garden "Remarks by the President on Oil and Gas Subsidies," available at www.whitehouse.gov:
"Instead of taxpayer giveaways to an [oil] industry that’s never been more profitable, we should be using that money to double-down on investments in clean energy technologies that have never been more promising - investments in wind power and solar power and biofuels; investments in fuel-efficient cars and trucks, and energy-efficient homes and buildings. That’s the future. That’s the only way we're going to break this cycle of high gas prices that happen year after year after year...
...[W]e can’t just drill our way out of this problem. As I said, oil production here in the United States is doing very well, and it's been doing well even as gas prices are going up. Well, the reason is because we use more than 20 percent of the world’s oil but we only have 2 percent of the world’s known oil reserves. And that means we could drill every drop of American oil tomorrow but we’d still have to buy oil from other countries to make up the difference. We’d still have to depend on other countries to meet our energy needs." Mar. 29, 2012 Barack Obama
Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts, stated the following during a Mar. 16, 2012 interview on Fox News' Fox and Friends, available at www.electad.com:
"The best thing we can do to get the price of gas to be more moderate and not have to be dependent upon the oil cartel is to drill in the gulf, drill in the outer continent shelf, drill in ANWR, drill in North Dakota, South Dakota, drill in Oklahoma and Texas." Mar. 16, 2012 Mitt Romney
Jill Stein, MD, former Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, stated the following in her Jan. 2012 speech "A People's State of the Union: A Green New Deal for America," available at www.jillstein.org:
"America needs to go in a new direction. We are calling for a Green New Deal that would decisively end high unemployment and make a massive investment in solar, wind, energy efficiency and mass transit. We reject the President's assertion that 'all of the above' is the right answer when it comes to energy. We need to wean ourselves from the fossil fuels that pollute our land and water, motivate wars for oil, and which are pushing us to a climate catastrophe." Jan. 2012 Jill Stein
Ron Paul, US Representative (R-TX), stated the following on his campaign website page "Energy Independence," available at www.ronpaul2012.com (accessed May 10, 2012):
“[D]ecades of misguided federal action have helped lead to skyrocketing fuel prices, making it even more difficult for hardworking families to make ends meet...
In fact, much of the 'pain at the pump' Americans are now feeling is due to federal policies designed by environmental alarmists to punish traditional energy production – like oil, coal, and natural gas...
As President, Ron Paul will lead the fight to... [r]emove restrictions on drilling, so companies can tap into the vast amount of oil we have here at home." May 10, 2012 Ron Paul
Buddy Roemer, former Governor of Louisiana, stated the following in his Apr. 19, 2012 video "Governor Buddy Roemer on Energy Independence," available at YouTube.com:
"You know what determines the price of oil - the weakness of American currency, because we have a trade imbalance. You restore that imbalance to a balance, currency values go up, the price of oil goes down." Apr. 19, 2012 Buddy Roemer