The governor of Iowa really wants to see Ted Cruz defeated

Iowa Governor Terry Branstad is outspoken about his feelings toward Ted Cruz.

(Image credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

There are two Republican presidential hopefuls — Donald Trump and Ted Cruz — at the top of the polls in Iowa as the state readies for its Feb. 1 caucuses, and Gov. Terry Branstad (R) is discouraging voters from picking one of them, the Des Moines Register reports:

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. 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. [Des Moines Register]

Taking sides in caucuses isn't the norm for an Iowa governor, as CNN notes. Branstad didn't lean one way or the other in 2012, nor did his predecessor, Gov. Chet Culver (D) in 2008.

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Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.