Vice President JD Vance spoke at a “packed rally” last Tuesday in Des Moines, Iowa, touting the Trump administration accomplishments on the economy — but according to the Iowa Starting Line, some of those attendees may very well have been paid to be there.
“I wanted to invite you to join me in seeing Vice President JD Vance this afternoon in Des Moines,” wrote Jake Swanson, an Iowa ethanol lobbyist, in a text message obtained and confirmed as authentic by the Iowa Starting Line.
“I do some work for an ethanol company and so if you’re able to join, I will give you $100, and for anyone that you recruit, an additional $25. No limit on referrals, so if someone recruits a group of 20 to show up, that’s $500.”
Swanson is the president of High Yield Strategies, a consulting firm that specializes in economic development. He’s also served in Republican Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’ administration as the lead agriculture and energy policy advisor.
Vance took to Iowa as Republicans grow increasingly “nervous” about losing seats in the state in the upcoming 2026 midterm elections, with polling suggesting Democrats are likely to reclaim a majority in the House, and potentially in the Senate, “once considered a bulwark.”
Swanson declined to answer specific questions about whether the text message was connected to the ethanol industry, but did issue the Iowa Starting Line a more generalized statement.
“I love ethanol and what it does for our state. So I was happy to bring some Iowa State kids to the rally to celebrate all the things Trump-Vance have done for biofuels and I think there’s opportunity for so much more,” Swanson wrote in a statement to the Iowa Starting Line. “This is what I like to do in my own personal spare time.”