Trump Claims ‘Oil Fracking’ Is Responsible For Ohio’s Boom

Republican U.S. presidential candidates businessman Donald Trump speaks at the 2016 U.S. Republican presidential candidates debate held by CNBC in Boulder, Colorado, October 28, 2015. REUTERS/Rick Wilking

Republican presidential candidate DonaldTrump claimed that Ohio GovernorJohn Kaisch can’t take credit for hisstate’s economic boom because it was cause byoil, but Ohio fracking produces natural gas, not oil,and the state has a fairly diversified economy.

“First of all, John [Kasich] got lucky with a thing calledfracking, OK? He hit oil. He got lucky with fracking. Believe me,that is why Ohio is doing well … andthat is important for you to know” claimed Donald Trump during the thirdRepublican debate.

Kasich responded, “Ohio does have an energy industry, butwe’re diversified. We’re one of the fastest growingstates in the country. We came back from the dead. And you knowwhat? It works very, very well.”

Ohio’s economy outperformed neighboring states in2014, growing at a rate of 2.1percent, thanks in large part to its auto,machinery, plastic, manufacturing and chemical industries. Naturalgas played an important role in Ohio’s boom by reducingenergy prices, but it did not cause the boom.

Fracking has been going on in Ohio since 1951, but new hydraulic fracturingtechniques have nearly doubled the amount of natural gasproduced in Ohio. The state producestwice as much natural gas as oil according to the EnergyInformation Administration.

Ohio is an important part of the large increase in American naturalgas production, which has causedAmerican natural gas prices to decline by almost 30percent in a single year.

The amount of electricity generated by natural gas exceeded theamount generated by coal in the UnitedStates last April for the first time since thegovernment began recording such things, according to data from theEnergy Information Administration. Thiswasn’t just a one month blip eitheras the same thing happenedagain in July.

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