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Iowa Senator switches endorsement from DeSantis to Ramaswamy
Iowa State Rep. Steve Holt is endorsing Ramaswamy for his stance on the CCS pipeline project
Iowa Rep. Steve Holt withdrew support from Ron DeSantis and endorsed Vivek Ramaswamy / Vivek Ramaswamy/Facebook
Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign might be losing steam as reported by mainstream media, however, he has managed to win the support of a prominent Iowa Republican lawmaker who initially endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. The switchover holds significance given its timing - five days before the Iowa Caucuses.
Iowa State Rep. Steve Holt’s endorsement for Ramaswamy came hours after State Rep. Jeff Shipley endorsed him. “This is a big deal. One of the strongest constitutional conservatives in Iowa just switched his endorsement from DeSantis to me,” Ramaswamy posted on X.
Interestingly, Holt decided to switch due to Ramaswamy’s stance on the carbon capture and storage (CCS) pipeline project in Iowa. He announced support for Ramaswamy at a rally against carbon pipelines held in the Iowa State Capitol building.
Ramaswamy, who was present at the rally, has made the property rights issue a central focus of his presidential campaign in recent weeks. A bill passed by the Iowa House in March 2023 said pipeline companies will need to purchase 90 percent of the land on the route by voluntary easements before seeking to use eminent domain.
The entrepreneur-turned-politician said the use of eminent domain for private purposes was unconstitutional and that he would continue to oppose the pipeline projects if he did not become President.
Commending Ramaswamy for being the first presidential candidate to bring focus to the issue, Holt said, “It shows his love of the Constitution and his courage in fighting for the lives of the people.”
Ramaswamy currently enjoys 6.3 percent support among Iowa voters, according to FiveThirtyEight polling average, at the time of writing.
Speaking of the carbon-capture pipeline issue, a US $5.5 billion pipeline was proposed by Iowa-based Summit Carbon Solutions. Spanning 2,000 miles (3,218 km) across five states, the pipeline will transport as much as 18 million tons of captured carbon dioxide from 35 Midwest ethanol plants to underground storage sites in North Dakota and Illinois.
The ethanol industry believes that the pipeline project will help cut carbon emissions in part. The carbon could then be used as raw material to help develop Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), a liquid fuel currently in use in commercial aviation that reduces carbon emissions by up to 80 percent.
SAF is essential for Fly Net Zero, a commitment by airlines to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The CCS pipeline projects are viewed as a key tool by polluting industries and the Biden administration to fight climate change.
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