GOP White House prospect Jeb Bush is praising the economic potential of swing-state Ohio's drilling industry even as the state's Republican governor pushes a tax hike on drillers.
An op-ed by the former Florida governor in Tuesday's Plain Dealer calls Ohio's fracking boon "one of the greatest economic transformations in American history." Bush goes on to criticize the Obama administration for blocking the Keystone XL Pipeline and for limiting oil and gas development on federal lands.
Publication comes the day Bush is scheduled to headline the Ohio Chamber of Commerce's annual meeting.
He makes no mention of Ohio Gov. John Kasich, another presidential prospect, who backs increased severance taxes on oil and gas that have angered drillers. Kasich argues Ohio's low tax rates return too little to state coffers.