Iowa Biodiesel Board releases data showing 76 percent of voters support expanding biodiesel in Renewable Fuel Standard

ANKENY, Iowa - As the parade of presidential hopefuls continues at the Iowa State Fair this week, the Iowa Biodiesel Board reminds them just how important biodiesel is to the state's voters.

According to the group's annual independent public opinion research, the state trade association said today 76 percent of voters in Iowa widely support expanding the Renewable Fuel Standard to increase biodiesel use in the United States.

The majority of voters surveyed also said a presidential candidate's view on the RFS is important to their vote.

Grant Kimberley, executive director of the Iowa Biodiesel Board, said a candidate's support for renewable fuels should be a central campaign issue, both in Iowa and beyond.

"Growing a diverse, domestic energy supply is one of the most critical challenges our nation faces," Kimberley said. "There are many foreign security threats today, which only strengthen the argument for domestic fuel production. The RFS has helped us move in that direction, but it's a policy constantly under threat. Where the next president stands on this matters to voters."

The IBB has reached out to several campaign leaders, inviting candidates from both parties to tour one of the state's 12 biodiesel plants. The group plans to share the voter data with the campaigns.

"As a sustainable, commercially available advanced biofuel with economic and environmental benefits, biodiesel is a shining success in what America's innovative farmers and small business community can achieve in energy production," Kimberley said.

Iowa is the top biodiesel-producing state, supporting 4,376 full-time equivalent jobs.

A professional public opinion research firm, Moore Information, conducted the online survey of 500 Iowans in late July.

Biodiesel is made from a variety of resources including soybean oil, recycled cooking oil and animal fats. The Iowa Biodiesel Board is a nonpartisan state trade association representing the biodiesel industry.

With just six months until the Iowa caucuses, businessman Donald Trump (17 percent) leads the field of Republicans among likely GOP caucus voters, according to a poll from Suffolk University.

Meanwhile, a subset of voters who watched the Aug. 6 Republican debate said that Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Dr. Ben Carson were the most impressive candidates.

The Suffolk University Iowa poll showed Gov. Scott Walker of neighboring Wisconsin second at 12 percent; Rubio, 10 percent; retired neurosurgeon Carson, 9 percent; and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and businesswoman Carly Fiorina tied at 7 percent.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush polled at 5 percent, followed by Ohio Gov. John Kasich (3 percent), while former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie were tied at 2 percent. Six other candidates received 1 percent or less, while 20 percent of voters were undecided.

"It appears that Donald Trump's lead is strong so long as the number of active opponents remains above a dozen," said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center in Boston. "If the Republican field were winnowed down to five or six candidates, Trump's 17 percent probably wouldn't be enough to win in Iowa, as polling indicates that his further growth has limitations. The long-shot candidates staying in the race help keep Trump on top?at least for now."

Debate Impact

The race was closer among viewers of last Thursday's debate: Trump and Walker were tied at 14 percent, with Rubio (11 percent), Carson and Fiorina (tied at 10 percent), and Cruz (9 percent) close behind. However, among likely caucus voters who skipped watching the FOX NEWS debate, Trump (21 percent) led Carson (10 percent) by a wider margin, with Rubio and Walker tied at 8 percent.

"In the absence of a debate, Trump's lead widens because he swallows up the political oxygen, but when that oxygen is spread out more evenly in a debate, it breathes life into the other candidates, and the race gets closer," said Paleologos.

When viewers were asked about Trump after seeing him debate, 55 percent said they were less comfortable with him as a candidate for president, and 23 percent said they were more comfortable. Forty-one percent said the debate moderators targeted Trump unfairly, while 54 percent disagreed.

Debate performance

Both Rubio and Carson benefited from strong debate performances and are within striking distance of the leaders. When debate viewers were asked which candidate was most impressive, Rubio led with 23 percent, followed by Carson with 22 percent. Carson and Rubio also topped the field at 12 percent each as viewers' second choice?an indicator of future growth potential. When viewers shared in their own words which debate moment they remembered most, Carson dominated, with 25 percent mentioning his closing remarks, brain surgery comments, or providing other positive feedback.

Though she did not appear on the evening debate stage, Fiorina made her mark among afternoon debate viewers, 82 percent of whom said Fiorina was the most impressive of the seven candidates in the earlier debate. Among viewers of either debate, 93 percent said Fiorina should be invited to debate the top tier of Republican candidates in the future.

History of Suffolk Research in Iowa

In the most recent Iowa Republican primary for U.S. Senate, the April 2014 Suffolk University poll was the first to show then-State Sen. Joni Ernst overtaking front-runner Mark Jacobs. In May, Suffolk polled three bellwether counties?Black Hawk, Boone, and Washington?all of which indicated a landslide win for Ernst. She went on to defeat her four Republican opponents with a 38-point margin.

Methodology

The statewide survey of 500 likely Iowa presidential caucus voters was conducted Aug. 7-10, 2015, using live telephone interviews of Republican primary voter households where respondents indicated they were very or somewhat likely to attend their local caucuses for president in six months. The margin of error is +/-4.4 percent at a 95 percent level of confidence. Marginals and full cross-tabulation data are posted on the Suffolk University Political Research Center website. For more information, contact David Paleologos at 781-290-9310, dpaleologos@suffolk.edu.

Washington, DC - Correct The Record released the following statement on tonight's GOP debate:

"Ten candidates trying to outdo each other on the same out-of-touch, out-of-date rhetoric isn't a debate, it's an embarrassment," said Brad Woodhouse, President of Correct The Record. "Even when you factor in the seven other candidates in the 5 o'clock cheap seats, there is little diversity to be found in the Republican Party's backward agenda:

• "At the Kids' Table debate, 'abortion' or 'Planned Parenthood' were mentioned 19 times, while 'the Middle Class' was not mentioned one single time. At the Prime Time debate, they stepped up their game, managing to mention the Middle Class a whopping two times?but the obsession with attacking women's health continued.

• "The GOP candidates failed to offer any ideas on how to move our country forward. Instead, they spit out the same extreme, predictable talking points we've heard for years. Although some were even crazier than usual:
  
  

o   Huckabee wants to tax pimps and prostitutes to "fix" Social Security, and wants to return the military's mission to "kill[ing] people" and "break[ing] things."

o   Jeb!'s economic growth quick fix? Repeal Obamacare, stripping healthcare away from millions of Americans.

o   Trump wants to build the hugest, classiest border fence in history.

o   Rubio went out of his way to stress that he is opposed to women's choice even in the case of the life of the woman.

o   And Walker wants to continue to fight marriage equality.

• "As a candidate declared during the debate, 'If this election is going to be a resume competition, then Hillary Clinton is going to be the next president.' That's about the only thing we could agree with tonight.

"Put simply, the GOP's tarnished brand was on display tonight for the whole country to see, and the contrast with Hillary Clinton's forward-looking agenda couldn't be clearer. A Republican Party that wants to gut Social Security, gut women's rights, gut Obamacare and gut the middle class just isn't ready for prime time, no matter how many candidates take the stage." 

Correct The Record is a strategic research and rapid response team designed to defend Hillary Clinton from baseless attacks.

Correct The Record ? http://correctrecord.org/? Facebook ? @CorrectRecord

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(DES MOINES) - Iowa Gov. Terry E. Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds today released the following statements praising former Iowa Speaker of the House Rep. Kraig Paulsen (R-Hiawatha) upon learning of his decision to step down from his leadership post in the Iowa House of Representatives. Paulsen is one of the longest-serving Republican leaders in Iowa House of Representative history.

"Representative Kraig Paulsen has been one of the most effective legislative leaders I have had the privilege of working with at the state capitol. Even before he was Speaker, Representative Paulsen worked across party lines in the minority to prevent the passage of ill-advised, job-killing legislation. With the partnership of Iowa House Republicans under his tenure as Speaker, we balanced the state's budget, restored financial stability in state government, passed the largest tax cut in the state's history and passed student-focused education policies to raise pupil achievement, among many other things," said Branstad. "As one of the longest-serving House Republican leaders in state history, I can understand Representative Paulsen's decision. I've appreciated his friendship, leadership, and his partnership as we've work to build Iowa for the future."

"As a former legislator who served during the period of reckless budgeting and across-the-board budget cuts, I've valued the commitment of Representative Paulsen to ensure government lives within its means just as the hard-working taxpayers of Iowa do each day," said Reynolds. "Together with Iowa House Republicans, we've worked to make state government more effective, efficient and innovative. We'll miss Representative Paulsen's leadership during the legislative session, but we're confident he'll continue to honorably represent his constituents and work to protect the interest of the hard-working taxpayers of Iowa."

A photo of Branstad, Reynolds and Paulsen from 2011 after Gov. Branstad had signed the last of the budget bills, which restored stability and predictability in state budgeting, can be found here.