he's been able to do, which is really tickin' people off, which i'm glad about. he's goin' rogue left and right, man. that's why he's doin' so well. (cheering) >>i think it'll, i think it'll help. she's got a lot of popularity so i think it'll give, get him a few more votes. but i, i t tnk he doesn't need any help. he's doing good enough on his own.n. >>i think that's the best thing that could happen. unbelievable. terrific. >>sabrina: so the supporters like it, but do endorsements really matter? drake political science professor and this week in iowa analyst, rachel caufield, weighs in. >>rachel: more than anything what an endorsement does is it signals to voters what your positions are and the level of comfort that somebody has with your candidacy. >>sabrina: well, it wasn't an endorsement, but more a de-endorsement >>amanda: mmhmm. >>sabrina: that made waves here in iowa this week. >>amanda: yeah. you wouldn't think something that happened at a renewable fuel summit in altoona, iowa would make headlis across the country, but it certainly did. and it's all because of something that came out of the mouth of

terry branstad about ted cruz. here's the quote. i think it would be a big mistake for iowa to support him. ted cruz is, of course, neck and neck with donald trump in some iowa polls and this is what makes this comment from governor branstad so significant. at the renewable fuel summit a booth n by a group called american's renewable future had report cards to hand out to show people which candidates support their renewable fuel standard and which ones don't. they only gave two candidates a bad rating, rand paul and ted cruz. >>eric: in 2013, he called for an immediate repeal of, of the rfs which would've been catastrophic, devastating to land values, to farming in iowa, to the entire state's economy. >>amanda: this is eric branstad, director of america's renewable future. he's governor branstad's son and he spent the last year talking to all the presidential candidates and campaigns about the renewable fuel standard and what

>>eric: it's homegrown. it's made here in iowa and, andt helps iowa farmers and the economy. >>amanda: eric branstad says many candidites have caught onto his message including those who spoke atatoday's summit. >>it allows this fuel to be, to have access to the market. >>amanda: donald trump talked about how great it is that iowa is a leader in ethanol production, although he started his speech with a reaction to comments that governor branstad made just a couple hours earlier when the governor said it would be a mistake for iowans to support ted cruz. >>donald: it just came out over the news his feelings about one of the other candidates. that's strong feelings so that'll be very inter-, ii guess you agree, too. i agree. i agree. (clapping) >>amanda: and when all this happened we reached out to the governor's office to see if perhaps he was leaning toward endorsing a certain candidate. here's the response from the office quote governor branstad is neutral in the iowa caucuses and will not endorse any candidate. iowans will have the

iowa caucus. however, the governor will never remain neutral in fighting for the renewable fuel industry ananthe jojo it creates in iowa. now republican congressman steven king has endorsed ted cruz and was not too happy about thls whole thing. >>mr. king: as far as i know the governor's never endorsed a candidate for president. and so instead of him breaking the mold and endorsing a candidate for president, he broke the mold and unendoed, or de-endorsed a candidate. and then he asserted that the only thing that matters is the assigned position of ted cruz on the rfs. now the governor seemsmso be buying in to the message that his son has been delivering for months now that ted cruz is for eliminating the rfs. that's not true. there are a number of things that were not true about the, about eric branstad's effort which terry branstad is mirroring the same language that he's using. i think the governor has not read, nor does

cruz's renewable fuels policy, but he's taken a position against him and the result of that is a de facto endorsement of donald trump. >>sabrina: we will be bringing you much more of our interview with congressman steve king later on in the show. we'll talk to him about why he's endorsed ted cruz. and he puts on his strategist hat on battleground states will fall. (music) >>sabrina: also coming up, somebody to put all this republican news into perspective. does the branstad comment really matter? and will donald trump win over the support with sarah palininy his side? it's all comininup on

(music) >>amanda: welcome back. we are joined now by craig robinson who's behind the iowa republican blog. he's been a guest here on our show before, several times actually. thanks for joining us again. >>craig: great to be here. >>amanda: good to have ya. >>sabrina: so craig, we kinda talked about it in our break. we have quite a few topics that we laid out in the beginning of the show. we'd like to touch on as many as possible. so first off, let's talk about governor branstad. were you surprised by his comments about ted cruz at the renewable fuel summit? >>craig: absolutely. you know,

he made about ted cruz. and if you play it out, you know, what's it mean in a general election should the senator become the republican nominee? so i was surprised at the personal nature of the comments, but not necessarily the position he has taken out. >>sabrina: i was just gonna say there's not really any surprise because of hihi relationship with obviouslslthe iowa renewable fuels. >>craig: well, of course. i mean, you know, his son works for them, but again, terry branstad has been a strong defender of the renewable fuels industry just like he was a few years ago. we had the whole meat processing issue in iowa. and so, i mean, governor branstad was very strong and out front on that. and so i think he gets a little defensive when someone starts maybe doing, being in a position where it might hurt a big iowa industrtrlike this. >>amanda: do you think what he said about ted cruz could be detrimental to ted cruz's campaign? >>craig: well, it's not good. you know, terry branstad's a

iowa politics and beyond. >>amanda: mmhmm. >>craig: and we saw the amount of attention those comments made. so any time you have a real, um, (chuckling) >>craig: a governor, any governor of an early primary state saying what he did about senator cruz i don't t tnk it's, i don't think it's great. but this is a caucus, not a primary so it is a much smaller election, more conservative. so it might not have as big of a, of an impact as it would in say a primary race. >>amanda: mmhmm. >>sabrina: now do you think that steve king's comments later calling this de-endorsement of ted cruz an inadvertent endorsement for donald trump is true? >>craig: i don't think that's true. i, i think that's maybe reading a little too much into this. i can see how the comments politically might t lp donald trump in i ia, but i don't think that it's a de facto endorsement of, of donald trump. >>amanda: so since the branstad comment there have actually been several other high profile republicans who've come out against ted cruz including bob dole who warned that the party would suffer deep losses down

democratic president if the texas senator wins the nomination. so why is there this feeling that people are kinda piling on cruz right now? ? >>craig: well, i ihink it's because in iowa, you know, he, he is a, he has been a frontrunner in iowa, maybe not nationally, but also i think people realize that he is a natural fit for a caucus, you know, type of an election and so he's kinda the one to beat in iowa. and so that's where everyone's guns are aimed today. >>amanda: mmhmm. >>sabrina: steven king actually said that when we were speaking as well. now this palin endorsement this week. >>craig: mmhmm. >>sabrina: it was quite an interesting speech. it was all veve animated. how signinicant, though, do you think it was, do you think it was a cruz snub? what do you think about how much she can affect trump's campaign? >>craig: yeah. i think this s a, if you really pull, pull back and look at this i think it was significant because it changed the topic of the week where we were talking about new york

to bring sarah palin out and we're not talking about that anymore. and then also this is someone who has really kinda fits the mold of ted cruz, soo the fact that shwent with trump over him, i think, does matter. i don't know how significant it is in the long run for people because donald trump has a brand that's, that's as big or bigger than sarah palin's so >>amanda: although standing next to her he actually looked very subdued i thought. (chuckling) >>amanda: do you think that >>craig: that's easy to do. >>amanda: yeah. do, do you think that with how big of a show she t on and because they both do tend t tspeak so off the cufuf theyeyay whatever they wanan is she any y rt of liability now that she's endorsed him? >>craig: um, maybe a little bit. i think that the similarities between the two arthat whenever either of them say something it's newsworthy and the media covers it. >>amanda: mmhmm. >>craig: and so again, i mean, if there's a strategy of the trump campaign it's to dominate the news coverage every given week and every given day. and so he did that on, i think

endorsed. >>amanda: mmhmm. t tnks so much for bein' here. >aig: thank you. >>amanda: appreciate your insight. up next, our conversation takes more of a somber turn. (music) >>then i realized we were spinning and i was just like oh my god. like, what is happening right now? i'd never been in an accident before. and then we stopped and i was like, kinda took a breath and i don't know how fast it was, but i felt like it was over and then we got hit and i don't even know if we stopped moving at the time, but at that point i was just freaking out. i was just thinking i hope everyone's alright. i hope everyone's alright (music) >>amanda: that's the carson volunteer who was in this week's deadly campaian van crash. we'll hear more from

(music) >>amanda: sometimes in the middle of a hard-fought campaign cycle you forget what's really important. >>sabrina: yeah, but all the presidential candidates were reminded of that this week whenn a ben carson camamign volunteer s killed in a crash.h. twenty-five-year-old braden joplin died after the crash tuesday mornjng. it happened on i-80 near atlantic and western iowa. well, we talked to another

with joplin anwitnessed it all. for about a week now, aaron ohnemus and three others have been canvassing the state for dr. ben carson. tuesday morning that exhausted crew was headed out into a storm to glenwood. >>aaron: and as we're sleeping everything's peaceful and suddenly i hear drew and ryan both screaming. >>sabrina: the van hit a slick spot on the interstate. >>aaron: at that point we started spinning ltle bit. and i, my seat belt had been off at the time and, 'cause i was reaching down to grab a glove, and i remember just kinda flying to the, the side landing on a pile of metal stands. and i thought that was kinda t t end of it,t,ut as we were spinnini, i didn't feel the collision, but i heard a really loud sound which ended up being a truck that t-boned the back end of our, our van. eventually i was

i looked up and i could see ryan in the front seat and, and drew in the front seat. but i didn't, i didn't see braden at all. >>sabrina: 25-year-old b bden joplin was the one closest to the trtrk's impact. >>aaron: and he wasn't responding at all. and i just kept thinkinthis can't be how it, how it goes, you know? this is out of a movie. this is, this has gotta be pretend, right? >>sabrina: aaron and the two others were taken to a nearby hospital, but joplin had to be airlifted to omaha where he passed away later that day. dr. carson and his team canceled that day's events and got there as quickly as possible. they even flew his parents up from texas. >>ryan: braden's mom, braden's family said that, you know, he loved this and he wanted to help. and he was truly inspired to do this and that he was very happy. >>sabrina: aaron says they spent every waking moment together. >>aaron: and so when you do that with a man, and i, like i did

i mean, i felt like i knew him since kindergarten. you know, i felt like we had this long history together even though it had only been a week. >>sabrina: he wants people to know who braden really was. >>aaron: dr. carson said it really well. braden was the most compassionate man i knew. >>sabrina: and hopes this can be lesson for everyone. >>aaron: but you live life like you don't have the next day because as i found out yesterday, we don't necessarily have the next day. >>sabrina: even with a bruised body and a brace on his leg, aaron says he is staying on the campaign trail for braden. >>aaron: i will, yes. we're gonna see this through till the end d the iowa caucus and finish what we s srted. >>ryan: they wanna stay out here 'cause they think braden would want 'em here. um, and so we're going to keep doing what we, what we set out to do. >>amanda: craig robinson joins us once again to talk about what

just so sad, incredibly tragic. but as we know, as distracting it is for carson and his campaign staff, his campaiai must go on. they've gotta soldier through this. he did suspend his campaign for two days. >>craig: mmhmm. >>amanda: do you think that was the right decision for him to do that? >>craig: absolutely. >>amanda: yeah. >>craig: yeah, absolutely. >>amanda: yeah. do you think, i don't know, i suppose there's gonna be a lot of people out there with a lot of different judgments. should he have held off longer? >>craig: no. i mean, i think that, i mean, campaigns are like family. the video shows that. >>amanda: yeah. >>craig: and i think that the best thing that they can do as a campaign is be together and maybe continue on. and through that process they'll grieve and maybe, you know, still forge some great memories. >>amanda: mmhmm. >>craig: so i mean that's, you gotta continue on. >>sabrina: does this change the trajectory of the campaign at all? >>craig: i don't think so. i think that it definitely is something that shakes it up. on some ways it's a distraction, but another way it focuses it in

could be positive so, for the campaign, and so youounow, it's a difficult time, but i think being together and campaigning, what brought them together, continuing to do that will help them. >>amanda: yep. i think they would agree with that. >>sabrina: definitely the saddest interview, one of them, that i've ever had to, ever had to do. >>amanda: mmhmm. >>sabrina: alright. well, thank you very much, craig, for joining us today. >>craig: mmhmm. (music) >>sabrina: coming up next, one-on-one with iowa congressman

2016 primary cycle will play out when we come back. >>amanda: welcome back. iowa congressman steve king threw his support behind ted cruz back in the fall calling him the answer to his prayers and his prayers that cruz wins iowa could actually come true. but does he have a prayer to actually win the nomination? >>sabrina: well, i got the chance to sit down with congressman king t tdiscuss what a winning strategy would look like. take a listen. so you're obviously very much a supporter, obviously you've endorsed ted cruz. did any other candidates vie for your endorsement? did you ever think

candidates? >>mr. king: we've had conservations with each of the candidates to one degree or another and you know, i don't wanna assert that, that any of them, i don't, i don't wanna get into the personal side of this. i'll just say this. i like them. i respect them. they're good people. and i've said that, you know, oncece we pull a president ououof there, president cruz out of that list that started with 17, i would take the rest of the names in a hat, dump 'em out on the table and say here's our vice president among them and the rest of 'em are gonna be the cabinet. these are good people that have, and i don't think a party has ever in the history of this country ever fielded such high quality people to vie for the nomination of their party for the presidency. >>sabrina: so where in the cabinet does donald trump belong? >>mr. king: that's a good question. i don't t ink that he's really too old to be much of a follower. i mean, for example, if you would look at the list of all the candidates who would be least likely to be a vice presidential candidate? i think we all know the answer to that. >>sabrina: is that only because

vendetta to discredit ted cruz? >>mr. king: well, that's just, that's just happened recently, as recently as last thursday as i recall on the debate night. and so he's announced that he's gonna attack anybody that challenges him. he promised that he would do that to ted cruz. and i think cruz was right when he said that he didn't object to some of the things last september. he said they were fine. but now that the polls have changed, so has your position. >>sabrina: so we are very close to the iowa caucuses, 13 days out. a year ago today what would you have said would, would you have said that this would be the political atmosphere that we are going into the caucuses with? >>mr. king: i couldn't have predicted the issues that have emerged in this fashion, but the atmosphere i could've. and i can just, i can feel it and i felt it for a long time that the closer we get the more intense it gets. and we get into the last 3 weeks of the caucus, so the last 3 weeks in january, you're gonna see all kinds of negative attacks that come out. and the reality of it is this. and the iowa caucus goers, they should all of them by now know

of the hill. and whoever's at the top of the polls, all guns are aimed at him and they will, they will fire all gununat him d, and they don't ststt out with the truth. and they'ree trying to misinform. and they should also remember that negative attacks in politics are, are not designed necessarily to move people from one candidate to another. they suppress the turnout. >>sabrina: i know that you have endorsed ted cruz, but who do you think's gonna get the nomination? >>mr. king: the nomination is a bigger question. i'd say now that the, here's this path would be this. i think that it's gonna be a very, very tight race here in iowa. and i do think that cruz wins. and i think trump finishes a very close second. and if that happens, i'll predict he'll claim victory anyway. then, then i think it would be marco rubio or ben carson will be vying for third place. and we'll see how that works out. i don't know that i wanna put a prediction on that. then in new hampshire it's probably going to be,

the other way around because, but, but with bernie sanders in a, in a tough race in new hampshire that means that democrats are less likely to cross over which means cruz has an, an opportunity to do better in new hampshire than he might otherwise. south carolina, i've told the people in south carolina iowa makes the recommendation the first in the nation caucus and new hampshire either ratifies or makes a second recommendation. but if they, if they run the table, iowa, new hampshire, south carolina, south carolina can put the kiss of the nomination on the nominee for president. i do think it'll be ted cruz. i think it's gonna be aa hard-fought battle all the way. >>amanda: we're not done yet on this week in iowa. (music) >>amanda: up next, a final check on the polls and some surprises with just about a week out from

(music)da: before we go today let's check in on the latest polls in iowa. this according to a cnn/orc poll out thursday. here's your top 3 republicans: donald trump with 37% support,

second place than we've seen

b: hello and welcome to ag phd. i'm brian hefty. d: and i'm darren hefty. thanks for joining us today. one of the biggest challenges in corn across the country is goss's wilt. once you get goss's wilt, what do you do to manage it since there isn't a resistant variety out there? we'll talk about goss's wilt and give you some hope for darren, you talk about challenges in corn, i want to get to challenges in

ones is: how are we going to stop some of these roundup