Cruz win blow for ethanol supporters | Rubio gains momentum with strong third finish
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The Iowa Caucuses are finally over, with one clear victor in the GOP and a virtual tie in the Democratic Party, even though Hillary Clinton was declared the victor.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz led the Republican field in the Iowa caucuses, claiming 28% of the vote Monday and beating out national frontrunner Donald Trump (24%) in a victory fueled by a strong turnout from evangelical voters who easily favored Cruz. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) came in third (23%), but very close to Trump.
In the Democratic caucus, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders were locked in a virtual tie for most of the evening, but officials have declared Clinton the victor. The third Democratic candidate, former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley, received less than 1% of the vote and suspended his campaign. Clinton was awarded 699.57 state delegate equivalents, versus 695.49 for Sanders, Iowa Democratic Party Chairwoman Andy McGuire said in a statement. The results were the closest in state Democratic caucus history, and 171,109 Democratic voters turned out.
Cruz’s Iowa victory breaks the must-be-pro-ethanol-to-win linkage. Sen. Cruz’s win in the Iowa GOP Caucus was a blow to pro-ethanol boosters, including Iowa Gov. Terry Brandstad and his ethanol lobbyist son Eric, Iowa director of the pro-RFS group, America’s Renewable Future. But sources say Cruz would have to become president to have an impact, if any, on ethanol and Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) policy in Washington. Cruz now supports a phase-out of requirements for renewable fuel, rather than the immediate repeal he was pushing for in 2013.
In response to Cruz’s victory, Eric Branstad said that although Cruz’s position would be devastating to the state’s economy, “We feel good about our results. The vast majority of our candidates and the vast majority of caucus-goers realize the economic, national security, and environmental benefits of the RFS.”
Noted RFS opponent Bruce Babcock, an economics professor at Iowa State University, said, “If the RFS doesn’t win in Iowa, where does it win? It goes against what the Republican establishment has been pushing for years.”
Others are also noting the Cruz victory, openly wondering if other Republican candidates will now come out against ethanol mandates since it did not cost Cruz a victory in Iowa.
PERSPECTIVE: The first primary state, New Hampshire, votes Feb. 9. Observers will look to see if the Iowa results will alter the coming polls regarding the New Hampshire contest to see if Trump’s current wide lead in the state slips, as many expect. Rubio is now the top GOP establishment candidate who showed he almost bested Trump. And some election experts are now openly wondering whether any GOP candidate will have enough delegates by the convention in Cleveland to have the nomination sewn up.
As for the Democratic Party, Clinton eked out a razor-thin win, but election experts say that after New Hampshire, where Sanders is way ahead in the polls (he is from neighboring Vermont), Clinton should start to separate herself from Sanders. But Clinton’s eventual fate in part rests on the Justice Department’s final decision regarding her email server problems.
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