Well, this will certainly doom his chances for the nomination!:
Sen. Ted Cruz’s “disastrous” position on renewable energy could cost the Texas Republican support in Iowa’s first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses, GOP Gov. Terry Branstad said Thursday.
Branstad also weighed in on the Democratic race for the White House, saying he expects Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders to beat national front-runner Hillary Clinton in the Feb. 1 caucuses.
Branstad, who has no plans to endorse any of the Republican contenders, told the Journal Editorial Board he was wary of assessing campaigns, since his guiding principle is that there should be a wide-open race.
But the governor said his friend and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who won the 2008 Iowa caucuses but has been mired in low single digits in the polls this time around, could post a surprise finish on Feb. 1.
Related: Fact checker: Does Ted Cruz want to eliminate all subsidies or just those for ethanol?
“Huckabee has been to all 99 counties. I think he is going to do better than people think. I could see him cutting into Cruz’s support, because Cruz’s position on renewable fuels is disastrous. He opposes ethanol, he opposes wind energy, and those are really important to our state. Those are a lot of jobs in this state,” the governor said.
Branstad noted his eldest son, Eric, is state director for America’s Renewable Future, a group that has knocked Cruz, who hails from oil-rich Texas, for supporting subsidies for the petroleum industry but not ethanol and other renewable fuels.
In a Fact Checker published last month in The Gazette, Cruz’s campaign insisted the candidate does not support subsidies for any part of the energy sector.
However, he has supported allowing oil and gas producers to deduct most of the cost of drilling new wells. Some, including the U.S. Treasury, have called this a subsidy, the Fact Checker analysis found.
Cruz has eased his position on renewable fuels in recent days. For the first time, at a recent campaign stop in northwest Iowa, he promised if elected to keep — through 2022 — the Renewable Fuel Standard, which sets a mandate on the amount of ethanol blended in gasoline.
The first-term Texas senator has been leading most recent Iowa polls, but a Quinnipiac University survey released Monday had billionaire businessman Donald Trump on top with 31 percent, followed closely by Cruz at 29 percent.
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, of Florida, was further back in third place in the 12-candidate Republican field.
Polls show a tightening Democratic race in Iowa. A Public Policy Polling survey released Tuesday had Clinton leading Sanders, 46 to 40 percent.
But a Quinnipiac poll also released this week had Sanders in front, 49 to 44 percent.
Branstad said Clinton has had too many “staged” events, which he said runs counter to the tradition of Iowans wanting a chance to question candidates in grass roots campaign stops.
“I think she’s in trouble. I really think she is going to get beat by Bernie Sanders. I think full well, it could happen. Iowans have this sense of who’s honest and genuine and all that kind of stuff, and she just doesn’t ring true,” Branstad said.
Sanders campaigned a week ago in Cedar Rapids but has not announced any additional campaign stops during the coming days in the Corridor.
Hillary Clinton campaigned Jan. 4 in Cedar Rapids and returns to the Corridor for events next week.
Her husband, former President Bill Clinton, campaigned for her Jan. 7 in Cedar Rapids and is scheduled to campaign for her Friday in Coralville.
http://www.thegazette.com/subject/n...-stand-on-renewable-fuels-disastrous-20160114
Sen. Ted Cruz’s “disastrous” position on renewable energy could cost the Texas Republican support in Iowa’s first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses, GOP Gov. Terry Branstad said Thursday.
Branstad also weighed in on the Democratic race for the White House, saying he expects Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders to beat national front-runner Hillary Clinton in the Feb. 1 caucuses.
Branstad, who has no plans to endorse any of the Republican contenders, told the Journal Editorial Board he was wary of assessing campaigns, since his guiding principle is that there should be a wide-open race.
But the governor said his friend and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who won the 2008 Iowa caucuses but has been mired in low single digits in the polls this time around, could post a surprise finish on Feb. 1.
Related: Fact checker: Does Ted Cruz want to eliminate all subsidies or just those for ethanol?
“Huckabee has been to all 99 counties. I think he is going to do better than people think. I could see him cutting into Cruz’s support, because Cruz’s position on renewable fuels is disastrous. He opposes ethanol, he opposes wind energy, and those are really important to our state. Those are a lot of jobs in this state,” the governor said.
Branstad noted his eldest son, Eric, is state director for America’s Renewable Future, a group that has knocked Cruz, who hails from oil-rich Texas, for supporting subsidies for the petroleum industry but not ethanol and other renewable fuels.
In a Fact Checker published last month in The Gazette, Cruz’s campaign insisted the candidate does not support subsidies for any part of the energy sector.
However, he has supported allowing oil and gas producers to deduct most of the cost of drilling new wells. Some, including the U.S. Treasury, have called this a subsidy, the Fact Checker analysis found.
Cruz has eased his position on renewable fuels in recent days. For the first time, at a recent campaign stop in northwest Iowa, he promised if elected to keep — through 2022 — the Renewable Fuel Standard, which sets a mandate on the amount of ethanol blended in gasoline.
The first-term Texas senator has been leading most recent Iowa polls, but a Quinnipiac University survey released Monday had billionaire businessman Donald Trump on top with 31 percent, followed closely by Cruz at 29 percent.
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, of Florida, was further back in third place in the 12-candidate Republican field.
Polls show a tightening Democratic race in Iowa. A Public Policy Polling survey released Tuesday had Clinton leading Sanders, 46 to 40 percent.
But a Quinnipiac poll also released this week had Sanders in front, 49 to 44 percent.
Branstad said Clinton has had too many “staged” events, which he said runs counter to the tradition of Iowans wanting a chance to question candidates in grass roots campaign stops.
“I think she’s in trouble. I really think she is going to get beat by Bernie Sanders. I think full well, it could happen. Iowans have this sense of who’s honest and genuine and all that kind of stuff, and she just doesn’t ring true,” Branstad said.
Sanders campaigned a week ago in Cedar Rapids but has not announced any additional campaign stops during the coming days in the Corridor.
Hillary Clinton campaigned Jan. 4 in Cedar Rapids and returns to the Corridor for events next week.
Her husband, former President Bill Clinton, campaigned for her Jan. 7 in Cedar Rapids and is scheduled to campaign for her Friday in Coralville.
http://www.thegazette.com/subject/n...-stand-on-renewable-fuels-disastrous-20160114
