Branstad’s son, Eric, has led a bipartisan group of renewable fuels supporters, who have held news conferences, run radio ads and confronted Cruz at events across the state.
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Cruz supports phasing out a federal policy that sets a minimum for the amount of ethanol blended in the nation’s gas.
Speaking with CNN’s Jake Tapper on “The Lead” last week, Branstad said Cruz has the best “ground game” in the Hawkeye State, but added that the Texas senator’s stance on renewable fuels could “really hurt him here”. He is the biggest opponent of renewable fuels. “And I know there’s a lot of people working in those ethanol refineries and farmers that are not going to vote for somebody that opposes something that’s so important to our state’s economy”.
Branstad has been dogged by questions from reporters for months on the state of the 2016 race, but he has rarely engaged directly. This group, America’s Renewable Future, followed Cruz during his recent multi-day bus tour highlighting the candidate’s weaknesses on this issue and his financial backing from Texas “big-oil” interests.
In 2013, Cruz co-sponsored legislation introduced by Wyoming Sen.
Cruz has stressed that he would like to phase out the subsidies over a number of years.
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Branstad told reporters at the summit that he wants voters to understand that Cruz does not support the Renewable Fuel Standard, which requires gasoline to be mixed with biofuels like ethanol. Many in the renewable energy industry think a Cruz presidency would spell trouble for them.
