--- title: Iowa Governor Says He Doesn't Want Ted Cruz to Win description: Gov. Terry Branstad cites Cruz's opposition to renewable fuels as reason Iowans shouldn't vote for him canonical: https://time.com/4185696/iowa-gov-wants-ted-cruz-defeated/ author: Daniel White article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-01-19T20:20:15.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-13T20:12:36.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Iowa Governor Says He Doesn't Want Ted Cruz to Win og:description: Gov. Terry Branstad cites Cruz's opposition to renewable fuels as reason Iowans shouldn't vote for him. og:url: https://time.com/4185696/iowa-gov-wants-ted-cruz-defeated/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde64d1750c8da0f9/6988797a5f570fd5a0b1f3ad/ted-cruz-nh.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4776 og:image:height: 2687 og:image:alt: Ted Cruz og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Iowa Governor Says He Doesn't Want Ted Cruz to Win twitter:description: Gov. Terry Branstad cites Cruz's opposition to renewable fuels as reason Iowans shouldn't vote for him. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde64d1750c8da0f9/6988797a5f570fd5a0b1f3ad/ted-cruz-nh.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Iowa Governor Says He Doesn't Want Ted Cruz to Win > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: FOX January GOP Debate in Under 4 minutes [Watch (HLS stream): FOX January GOP Debate in Under 4 minutes](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/43Jv4tOR.m3u8) (3:59)  _Published 2016-01-15. GOP DEBATE 011416: The FOX January GOP Debate in Under 4 minutes_ by [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Updated: Dec 13, 2023 8:12 PM UTCPublished: Jan 19, 2016 8:20 PM UTC  Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaks during a campaign stop Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaks during a campaign stop Matt Rourke—AP by [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Updated: Dec 13, 2023 8:12 PM UTCPublished: Jan 19, 2016 8:20 PM UTC Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad said Tuesday that he would not like to see Sen. Ted Cruz win the Iowa Caucus — and it’s all because of corn. Cruz is an opponent of setting requirements for transportation fuels to contain minimum levels of ethanol—which many in corn-producing Iowa support. Branstad, a Republican, told reporters at the Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit that [“it would be a big mistake for Iowa to support” Cruz](http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/elections/presidential/caucus/2016/01/19/branstad-says-he-wants-cruz-defeated-iowa/79003590/), according to the Des Moines Register. When asked if he wants a Ted Cruz defeat in Iowa, Branstad answered “yes.” This may only help Cruz, who aggressively courted endorsements from many of Branstad’s political rivals, including Bob Vander Plaats and other social conservatives in the state who have occasionally proved to be troublesome for the governor. Cruz is [currently polling in second-place in Iowa](http://time.com/4179684/ted-cruz-christianity-godly/), according to an average calculated by Real Clear Politics, and a win in the early-state would mean momentum for the campaign going forward. “Ted Cruz is ahead right now. What we’re trying to do is educate the people in the state of Iowa. He is the biggest opponent of renewable fuels. He actually introduced a bill in 2013 to immediately eliminate the Renewable Fuel Standard,” Branstad said. “He’s heavily financed by Big Oil. So we think once Iowans realize that fact, they might find other things attractive but he could be very damaging to our state.” **Read More:** [_How Ted Cruz Built His Christian Connection_](http://time.com/4179684/ted-cruz-christianity-godly/) The Renewable Fuel Standard, or RFS, enjoys considerable support among Iowans—likely becaue ethanol is a major industry in the state. A December Iowa poll by the Des Moines Register/Bloomberg Politics found 61 percent of likely Republican caucusgoer and 77% of likely Democratic caucusgoers supported the standard. Cruz, initially opposed to Renewable Fuel Standard, [has since tried to soften his opposition](http://time.com/3736403/iowa-agriculture-jeb-bush-ted-cruz/), calling for a phase out of the program over five years and citing his main concern as preventing the government from “picking winners and losers” in the energy industry. Rival and Republican frontrunner Donald Trump mocked Brandstad’s dismissal of Cruz on Twitter, where Cruz responded, saying Trump is just looking for support from the GOP establishment. [@realDonaldTrump](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw) continues to seek Establishment support. Cartel wants more deals & cronyism; fears conservatives. — Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) [January 19, 2016](https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/689542550143811585?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw) ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] The next Commander in Chief is standing on this stage. On Tuesday night I watched story time with Barack Obama and I gotta tell you, it sounded like everything in the world was going amazing... Hillary Clinton would be a national security disaster. She wouldn't just be a disaster. Hilary Clinton is disqualified from being Commander and Chief of the United States. Well Maria, thank you for passing on that hit piece on the front page of the New York Times. [ APPLAUSE ] And the entire New York Times attack is that I disclosed that loan on one filing with the United States Senate that was a public filing, but it was not on a second filing with the FEC. Both of those filings were public. Ted Cruz And yes I made a paper work error disclosing it on one piece of paper instead of the other but if that's the best hit the New York Times has got they better go back to the well. On the issue of citizenship Donald I'm not going to use your mother's birth against you. Donald Trump >> In the last three polls I'm beating you so you shouldn't misrepresent how well your doing. I win I choose him as my vice presidential candidate and the Democrats sue because we can't take him along for the ride. I hate to interrupt this episode of Court Tv [ LAUGH ] but the real. I like Chris Christie, but we can not have a president of the United States that supports common core. We cannot afford to have a president of the United States that supports gun control [ APPLAUSE ] South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham is out of the race but he joins us tonight in the audience Is this America anymore? Do we still have standards? You know, we have a war on virtually everything. Race wars. gender wars, income wars. Every war you can imagine, we have people at each other's throats. And our strength is actually in our unity. I also want to recognize the people in that church that showed the grace of God, and the grace of forgiveness, and the mercy they showed. [ APPLAUSE ] i don't know if any of us could've done what they did, one after another, within 48 hours of that tragedy taking place. The guns don't pull the trigger, it's the people that pull the trigger [ APPLAUSE ] And we have to find out what is going on. The Second Amendment is not an option, because criminals don't buy their guns from a gun show. And let me tell you, ISIS and terrorists do not get their guns from a gun show. This [ APPLAUSE ] Everyone understands that the values in New York City are socially liberal, are pro- abortion, are pro gay marriage, focus around money and the media. Not a lot of conservatives come out of Manhattan. I'm just saying. [ LAUGH ] When the World Trade Center came down I saw something that no place on Earth could've handled more beautifully, more humanly than New York and everybody in the world watched and everybody in the world loved New York and loved New Yorker's and I have to tell you, that was a very insulting statement that Ted made. [ APPLAUSE ] I said from the beginning That we should take no Syrian refugees of any kind. If we do not know who you are and we do not know why you are coming, when I am President, you are not getting into the United States of America. [ APPLAUSE ] This was a question on entitlements [ CROSSTALK ]. [ APPLAUSE ] Oh, I'll ask the entitlement question [ CROSSTALK ]. And the reason. No, you're. Already had your chance, Mark, and you blew it. But here's the thing. If I become President, I couldn't care less about my company. It's peanuts. I have Ivanka and Eric and Don sitting there. Run the company, kids. Have a good time. I'm gonna do it for America. [ APPLAUSE ] I saw you on the Senate floor flip your vote on crop insurance cuz they told you it would help you in Iowa. And last week, we all saw you flip your vote on ethanol in Iowa. [ APPLAUSE ] Iowa, for the same reason. That is not consistent conservatism. That is political calculation. This last back- and- forth between two sen -, two back bench senators. You know, it explains why we have the mess in Washington, D. C. 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