EXCLUSIVE: Oil and gas workers association with 47,000 members endorses TRUMP in 2024 – in blow to DeSantis on day he unveils his energy plan in Texas

The Oil and Gas Workers Association supports Donald Trump, snubbing Ron DeSantis on the day of his energy policy announcement to support the former president.

“Governor DeSantis says a lot of good things, doesn’t he, but his record isn’t there,” Oil and Gas Workers Association President Matt Coday told DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview.

He cited Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord, his decision to exit the Iran nuclear deal and the former president’s work to save American oil and gas jobs as reasons. of his approval.

This announcement comes the same day DeSantis announced his energy policy, which includes plans to increase U.S. oil and gas production with the goal of reaching $2 gas in 2025.

“I will ensure that this country never again needs to depend on hostile nations for its energy needs,” DeSantis said in a speech in Midland, Texas.

DeSantis’ announcement comes as he attempts to position himself as the policy-focused GOP nominee. His campaign is lagging in the polls.

Trump remains the favorite for the Republican presidential nomination with a 46-point lead over DeSantis, according to the Average of RealClearPolitics polls.

The former president was campaigning in Iowa on Wednesday with two events in the eastern part of the state.

During his speech, he attacked DeSantis on ethanol, a huge industry in Iowa due to the state’s corn crops.

“He wanted to end it,” Trump said, referring to DeSantis’ position in Congress. Now, DeSantis says he would support fuels with higher ethanol blends.

The Oil and Gas Association, based 30 minutes away from Midland in Odessa, Texas, has 47,000 members nationwide, including Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Alaska.

Energy is a major concern for voters in the 2024 presidential election. Rising fuel prices have contributed to rising inflation.

“President Trump has been the most pro-American oil and gas worker president ever, with 11.3 million jobs supported by our vital industry in 2019. Under President Trump’s leadership, our country has become dominant in terms of energy. The booming economy of the Trump years has benefited all Americans,” the Oil and Gas Association will say when it officially announces its support, according to the statement obtained by DailyMail.com.

Republicans also see rising gas prices as a consequencepolitical vulnerability for President Joe Biden, who has championed renewable energy and reduced oil leasing on federal lands.

Coday said it was Trump’s record as president that led to his organization’s endorsement and he criticized Biden’s policies.

“Under President Trump’s administration, America has become a net exporter and dominant in the energy sector,” he said. “Our economy has boomed and benefited all Americans. We don’t have that today with Joe Biden in the White House. His intent and obviously his actions to eliminate our oil and gas jobs. They harm our economy and threaten our national security.

He criticized Biden’s push for more renewable energy jobs, arguing that more oil means lower gas prices.

“Joe Biden proves our point every time he releases strategic oil reserves, that more oil equals lower gas prices. Unfortunately, for every American, Joe Biden has drained our strategic oil reserves,” he said.

The announcement came the same day Ron DeSantis was in Texas to announce his energy policy.

Republicans see energy policy as a winning issue against President Joe Biden

Gas prices have fluctuated under Biden, at times reaching record highs during his presidency.

Biden has tapped the country’s strategic oil reserves to help ease high prices. The reserve held 350.6 million barrels of oil as of September 8, down nearly 300 million barrels since he took office.

Coday founded the Oil and Gas Workers Association, a trade group, in 2015 while he was an oilfield truck driver. The group’s past endorsers include Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Louisiana gubernatorial candidate Jeff Landry.

Trump, as president, supported energy development on federal lands, including drilling for gas and oil in national forests and near national monuments and parks. He implemented his “America First Energy Plan” and signed executive orders to approve two controversial oil pipelines: the Keystone XL and the Dakota Access Pipeline.

As governor, DeSantis opposed some of Trump’s energy policies. He threatened to “raise Cain” if then-President Trump opened Florida’s coastal waters to drilling, citing concerns about oil spills.

In 2019, he signed an executive order to “oppose all offshore oil and gas activity on all coasts of Florida and fracking in Florida.”

In 2020, his administration purchased 20,000 acres of Everglades wetlands to permanently protect them from oil drilling.

DeSantis now says he would pull the United States out of the Paris climate accord and cut subsidies for electric vehicles.

Biden, as president, reversed many of Trump’s orders, including the United States’ return to the Paris Climate Accord.

The president has set an ambitious goal of achieving a power sector free of carbon pollution by 2035 and a net-zero emissions economy by 2050 at the latest.

His Inflation Reduction Act included $370 billion for a clean energy and climate package, which includes incentives for Americans to buy electric vehicles.