Just hours after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis delivered a speech on his proposed presidential energy policy, the 47,000 member Oil and Gas Workers Association announced they would be endorsing former President Donald Trump. In an interview Oil and Gas Workers Association President Matt Coday said, “Governor DeSantis says a lot of the right things, right, but his track record isn’t there.”
Oil & Gas Workers Association PROUDLY endorses President @realDonaldTrump for president – again.#ogwaUSA #SaveAmericaAgain! pic.twitter.com/6KhXOHa52I
— Oil & Gas Workers Association (@ogwausa) September 20, 2023
Coday said the association is backing Trump because of the former President’s America First polices enacted during his first presidential administration, including the withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accords and work to save American oil and gas jobs. With energy prices becoming a major issue for voters in the 2024 election, Coday says Trump’s strong track record puts him in the best position to win, noting under Trump’s leadership, “…Our economy boomed and benefited every American. We don’t have that today with Joe Biden in the White House. His intent and and obviously actions to kill our oil and gas jobs. They hurt our economy and threaten our national security.”
The association’s formal endorsement states:
“President Trump has been the most pro-American Oil & Gas Workers president ever, with 11.3 million jobs supported by our vital industry in 2019. Under President Trump’s leadership, our country became energy dominant. The booming economy of the Trump years benefitted every American.”
The DeSantis campaign has failed to gain traction since his late May announcement for president. A poll from CNN released earlier this week shows DeSantis falling to fifth place in New Hampshire – a 13 point from from their previous poll in the state. In Iowa, a state critical to the DeSantis campaign’s primary strategy, Donald Trump has secured double the number of signed caucus pledge cards as DeSantis.