"Can Cruz Win the Oil Primary?"

"Even in a strongly pro-fossil-fuel GOP presidential field, Ted Cruz stands out for his devotion to his home-state oil industry and its agenda.

Republicans widely champion an energy platform based on expanded oil and gas drilling, opposition to EPA climate regulations and approval of the Keystone XL pipeline. But Cruz has gone beyond that by pushing legislation to lift the 1970s-era ban on crude oil exports — a prime industry cause that has some congressional Republicans nervous about catching the blame if gasoline prices rise. And while some of his potential White House rivals also want to phase out the federal mandate for blending ethanol into gasoline, Cruz made a point of starkly staking out that position in corn-rich Iowa.

Unlike former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Cruz doesn’t have any past ambivalence about offshore oil drilling to explain away. Cruz has also raked in more than $1 million in campaign cash from the oil and gas industry since 2011, outstripping rivals like Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul."

Andrew Restuccia and Elana Schor report for Politico March 23, 2015.

SEE ALSO:

"Ted Cruz’s Climate Change Statements Delight Democrats" (San Francisco Chronicle)

"Ted Cruz Responds To Gov. Jerry Brown Calling Him ‘Absolutely Unfit’ To Run For Office" (Climate Progress)

"Ted Cruz’s Climate Denial Makes Him “Absolutely Unfit” To Be President: Jerry Brown" (Salon)

"Ted Cruz’s Crazy Climate Theories, Debunked" (Grist)

"Journalists Have To Decide What To Do About Candidates Who Are Climate Change Denialists" (Jay Rosen's Press Think)