Analysis: Democrats’ Downgrade of Iowa’s Role Is a Blow to Corn Belt, Biofuels

Business News/Analysis, Federal Agency/Executive Branch, Iowa, Opinions, Policy, White House

January 5, 2023

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by Jarrett Renshaw (Reuters) The Democratic Party’s unseating of Iowa from its position as host of the first U.S. presidential nominating contest every four years is a blow that could also reshape the corn and biofuels industries throughout the Midwest, lobbyists and political consultants say.

Backed by President Joe Biden, the party is set to demote Iowa starting in the 2024 election and replace it with South Carolina, which catapulted him to the presidency thanks in part to the backing of Black voters there.

Iowa’s political importance created a cottage industry out of educating and supporting candidates on issues that corn farmers and ethanol manufacturers care about.

For decades, presidential candidates would crisscross the state, visiting crop and cattle farms and ethanol plants to get a crash course in rural America, often publicly supporting a legislative agenda steeped in Farm Belt politics.

But now, the Democrats’ new map means no early nominating state will be fully in the Central Time Zone: the core of the U.S. Farm Belt.

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“Forward looking, to get Democratic candidates exposed to farm issues and get these issues in front of them is going to be extremely challenging. The Iowa caucuses did that, and it made a huge difference,” said Aaron Pickrell, an Iowa native who ran Barack Obama’s 2008 general campaign in Ohio.

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Jeff Link, an Iowa-based Democratic strategist, was part of a group funded by ethanol interests that helped set up tours of ethanol plants for Democratic candidates in 2020, including Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

“It’s a blow to the industry, in terms of educating and informing the Democratic candidates,” Link said. “If you’re a northeast Democratic, what does ethanol matter now for you politically?” Republicans still plan to hold their first votes of the presidential primary season in Iowa. READ MORE

Democrats’ move on Iowa caucus tests politics of ethanol (E&E News)

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