He didn’t support the renewable fuel standard while Donald Trump supported the ethanol industry and criticized him for it. Yet it was Texas Sen. Ted Cruz who walked away Monday night with the win in the Iowa caucuses. Trump used Cruz’s stance over ethanol at virtually every campaign stop in Iowa, the state noted for its corn industry and ethanol production. Somehow, the message from Cruz still resonated with Republican voters in the state, giving him 28 percent compared to the 24 percent for Trump and 23 percent for Sen. Marco Rubio.
Political observers say it was the evangelical vote that sided with Sen. Cruz. His victory prompted an immediate statement from the Renewable Fuels Association which said the vote dosn’t mean that presidential candidates campaigning in Iowa no longer have to express support for the domestic ethanol industry or the Renewable Fuel Standard.
“The narrative coming out after last night’s Iowa caucus that the domestic ethanol industry is somehow on the ropes is false,” said Bob Dinneen, CEO and President of the Renewable Fuels Association. “Many people seem to have forgotten that, in the run-up to last night’s caucus vote, though Sen. Cruz stated he was opposed to the RFS he also expressed support for ethanol as a fuel.”
Dinneen pointed out that Cruz still discussed the need to provide American consumers better access to ethanol fuels like E25 or E30.
“The senator also called ethanol an effective additive because it increases octane and decreases harmful tailpipe emissions,” added Dinneen. “That doesn’t sound like someone to me who is writing off the domestic ethanol industry. That sounds to me like someone who is just being true to his no-mandates of any kind philosophy.”
He said 85 percent of those who voted in Iowa Monday night were in support of candidates who continue to champion the RFS.
