With his latest energy policy move, President Donald Trump aims in part to boost Iowa Republicans fighting to hold critical offices next month.
On Tuesday afternoon, the president is expected to order his administration to end a summertime ban on sales of E15, a higher ethanol blend of gasoline. Iowa corn growers and the politicians who represent them have pushed for the change, arguing it will stabilize the state’s farm industry amid trade uncertainty.
Trump’s change could help the two vulnerable Iowa Republicans expected to join him at a Tuesday night rally: Rep. David Young and Gov. Kim Reynolds. The ethanol action could also aid Rep. Rod Blum, one of the House incumbents considered most likely to lose a seat in this year’s midterm elections.
The president’s policy move and Council Bluffs, Iowa, rally come as Democrats threaten to flip 23 GOP-held House seats and take control of the chamber after the Nov. 6 elections. Republicans cannot afford to lose any House seats in the face of Democratic enthusiasm and historical struggles for the president’s party in midterm elections.
Trump’s stop in Iowa, the largest ethanol producing state, comes amid a blitz of campaign rallies in support of GOP candidates facing tough races. He campaigned in both Minnesota and Kansas in recent days. Aside from the ethanol announcement, Trump has also touted his revised North American Free Trade Agreement as a boon to farmers facing damage from his trade policy.
“It’s great for our farmers,” Trump said Tuesday of the tweaked deal that he calls the United States Mexico Canada Agreement. In an earlier tweet previewing his rally, Trump said farmers “are very happy with USMCA!”
It is unclear whether reaching a revised North American trade deal and lifting the ban on E15 sales will do enough to lift endangered House Republicans in Iowa and other farm states. Trump has a poor approval rating in many swing districts, and Democrats have made health care their main campaign issue following unpopular GOP efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. Republican incumbents also face a fundraising disadvantage in many battleground areas, making the environment even more challenging.
Trump will speak Tuesday in Iowa’s 3rd District, a seat held by second-term Rep. David Young. Earlier in the day, the president told reporters that “we’ll be talking a little ethanol tonight.”
Young may need an assist from Trump to keep his seat. His district in the state’s southwest corner includes the state capital of Des Moines and the outskirts of Nebraska’s largest city, Omaha, as well as pro-Trump rural areas.
The area has only a slight red tint: the nonpartisan Cook Political Report’s Partisan Voter Index rates it as an “R+1” seat. A New York Times/Siena poll found Young in a dead heat with Democratic challenger Cindy Axne, a small-business owner.
Nonpartisan race forecasters consider the contest a toss-up. Young is expected to issue a statement on the president’s policy change later Tuesday.
Young and Reynolds both will reportedly join Trump at his rally on Tuesday. Reynolds may also need Trump’s help in a tough re-election bid against Democratic businessman Fred Hubbell. Polls have shown a tight margin between the two in a race prognosticators consider a toss-up.
Reynolds cheered the president’s planned move on Monday.
“Today’s decision from President Trump is a big win for Iowa. I am grateful to the president for following through on his promise to allow the sale of E15 year round–a decision that will bring greater stability to the ag economy,” she said in a statement. “Once again, President Trump has shown his commitment to farmers in Iowa and the rest of the country.”
Trump’s plan could affect at least one more Iowa politician who faces electoral peril next month. Republican Rep. Rod Blum is considered an underdog to keep his 1st District House seat against Democratic state lawmaker Abby Finkenauer.
One survey suggests Blum has a lot of ground to make up before November. He trails Finkenauer by 15 percentage points, according to a New York Times/Siena poll taken last month. The poll showed potential trade related problems for Blum, as a majority of respondents said they opposed the president’s tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.
Blum welcomed the announcement on Tuesday.
“I applaud President Trump’s decision to continue e15 sales into the summer months,” he said in a statement provided by his campaign. “After discussing with him the benefits of this decision during his recent visit to Dubuque (Iowa), I have no doubt he is looking out for the best interests of our farmers.”
