Imagine running for office on a promise to raise taxes, in an election when the top issue for voters is “affordability.”

Democrat Xavier Becerra appears to be doing just that.

In addition to supporting California’s absurdly high gas tax of 63.4 cents per gallon (plus the federal gas tax and local sales taxes), Becerra now says he’s open to a mileage tax that forces you to pay the state for every mile you drive.

This is how a mileage tax works: You would have to pay it whether you drive a gas-powered vehicle, or an electric vehicle (EV). And the state might have to track your driving to enforce the tax.

If you thought Flock cameras were controversial, wait until the state government is following your every mile.

Democrats have already blocked a constitutional amendment proposed by Republican Assemblyman Carl DeMaio that would allow voters the chance to approve or reject a mileage tax.

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There’s only one goal here: not to increase efficiency, or to reduce pollution, but to bring more money into state coffers.

It’s a cash grab.

It’s also a bait-and-switch targeting people who paid for EVs.

Once, California tried to encourage people to buy EVs by promising them they would save money on gas.

The trouble was, people started to listen. People paid less for gas — and avoided paying the taxes on gas.

Now the state wants that revenue, because the politicians in Sacramento won’t get their spending under control.

Voters are already facing higher taxes, everywhere they turn. The California Taxpayers Association says that there are 273 ballot measures raising taxes across the state.

Some are simply absurd redistribution schemes, like the “billionaire tax” in Proposition 40.

But they all add up. They make life unaffordable in California. And Becerra’s answer to this problem is to add another, new and unavoidable tax.

Here’s a novel idea: Sacramento should stop spending like crazy, and cut wasteful government programs.

There are tens of billions of dollars to spare. There’s plenty of money that can be used to maintain California’s roads — without the exorbitant gas tax that already exists, and without the invasive, abusive mileage tax that Becerra would adopt.

Republican Steve Hilton, whom The California Post has endorsed in this election, would cut the gas tax and prevent a mileage tax.

That’s why he has earned our support. And that’s the choice he is offering to California voters.