Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said that addressing a proposed carbon capture pipeline could help him become “a major surprise” in January’s Iowa caucuses.
Farmers in the Midwest have opposed efforts to build a series of carbon-capture pipelines in Illinois, South Dakota and Iowa. All four Republican members of the House of Representatives from Iowa sought to protect tax credits for the pipeline network.
“I’ve been very complementary of [Republican] Gov. [Kim] Reynolds, but there is one key issue that matters to a lot of people in Iowa at that not one candidate has had the attempt to take forward and nobody in the aisle establishment has talked about it, which is the carbon dioxide capture pipeline across farmers’ land now potentially using eminent domain to even run the pipeline across land that Iowa farmers don’t want to allow across their land,” Ramaswamy told “Your World with Neil Cavuto” host Neil Cavuto. “People across the state are livid about this. This is a major issue for the grassroots. I’m the only candidate daring to even touch it.”
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Regulators in South Dakota denied a permit for a carbon-capture pipeline in September, citing objections from local landowners.
“I’m not one of these people to believe that somebody is automatically 100% correct or 100% wrong on everything,” Ramaswamy continued. “I am praising Kim Reynolds’ plan for education and school choice and otherwise, but she should not hide from this issue. Because I’m speaking to many of those issues that other candidates are not, I think it’s going to be a major sign of a surprise coming into the Iowa caucus.”
Ramaswamy currently draws 5% support in the RealClearPolitics average of polls surveying Iowa from Oct. 22 to Nov. 15, trailing former President Donald Trump, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, who suspended his campaign Nov. 12.
“The climate religion has been one of my core issues even long before I ran for president, so this is near and dear to my heart,” Ramaswamy said. “I think more broadly, my brand here with the Iowa grassroots is when I started this campaign with: Speak the truth, not just when it’s easy, but when it’s hard. Speak the truth not just of the Democrats on the other side, but to our own failures and our own Republican Party here at home.”
“One of the things we’re seeing on the ground is that many of the people coming to our events, supporting me and I think this is unique to my candidacy, have never participated in a caucus before,” Ramaswamy continued. “Many of them are young. If they turn out for the caucus, as they are signaling to us they will at a large scale, I think we’re going to deliver a major surprise on January 15th.”
Harold Hutchison on December 1, 2023
