RICHMOND — Gas price wars hit the Virginia General Assembly this week, with Democrats calling on Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) to declare an emergency to fight gouging at the pump and Republicans saying “I told you so” over a failed tax-cut proposal.

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       House Minority Leader Eileen Filler-Corn (D-Fairfax) demanded Thursday that Youngkin issue an executive order declaring a state of emergency over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which would activate a state law prohibiting price-gouging in times of disaster.

       The average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gas in Virginia hit a record $4.24 on Thursday, according to AAA, a bit below the national average of $4.32.

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       Filler-Corn pointed out that Youngkin’s predecessor, Gov. Ralph Northam (D), had declared such an emergency last year when Russian hackers disabled the Colonial Pipeline, causing a disruption in gasoline supplies. That enabled the state’s then-attorney general, Mark R. Herring (D), to prosecute unscrupulous retailers for price-gouging, leading to small fines against a few stations.

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       “Governor Youngkin has the power to act and help protect Virginians at the pump, but so far, has failed to do so,” Filler-Corn said in a news release.

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       Youngkin and other Republicans were quick to dismiss the call.

       “Virginians and all Americans are feeling the pain at the pump with the highest gas prices on record,” Youngkin spokeswoman Macaulay Porter said in a written statement. “Of course this isn’t price gouging and Virginians see this ploy for what it is — Democrats trying desperately to distract their constituents from their record of reducing American energy independence at every turn.”

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       Del. Michael J. Webert (R-Fauquier) had carried an administration-backed bill that sought a one-year delay of an increase in the state gasoline tax. That measure passed the Republican-controlled House but died in the Democratic-controlled Senate. Democrats argued that consumers were unlikely to see much benefit from a small, temporary tax reduction, while funding for roads would suffer from lost revenue.

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       All this week, as gas prices in Virginia and around the country have continued to rise, Republicans have slammed Democrats for snubbing the tax cut and beat the drums for other tax cuts proposed by Youngkin as well.

       “It’s nice when you offer a Band-Aid for a wound that the very policies they’ve been prescribing created,” Webert said Thursday of the call for an emergency declaration.

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       He and other Republicans have blamed Democrats from President Biden on down for increasing gas prices. Virginia Republicans also had called on Biden to put a moratorium on importing Russian oil over its invasion of Ukraine, which has driven up fuel prices. The president ordered a ban on Russian oil imports Tuesday.

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       But Webert said other factors — such as Biden’s ban on new drilling permits and Virginia’s law that phases out carbon emissions — were already causing increases.

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       “It’s a national issue, but it’s coming up in the General Assembly because we had the deferred gas tax, which all of the Democrats voted against,” Webert said.

       While his measure died in the Senate, it’s possible it could be resurrected during budget negotiations as lawmakers try to reach a compromise on a two-year spending plan. The General Assembly is slated to adjourn Saturday but is likely to go into overtime to finish the budget — possibly returning next week for a final vote.

       Webert said Filler-Corn’s idea of using an emergency decree to go after price-gougers is not comparable to the action Northam took last year, when a single act of hacking created a discrete supply chain crisis.

       This time, “the overall price has been steadily creeping up because the price of oil has been creeping up,” Webert said.