Agriculture and Rural Life

Ethanol and biofuel requirements

25 public statements from 2026 candidates · 1 related bill

§1The range of views

Why this matters: Biofuel rules create demand for corn and soybeans, which matters to farm incomes, and they affect gas prices and costs for oil refiners.

Drafted by AI, then checked for neutral wording in a separate AI review. It describes the question and the main positions, not any candidate's view. Facts link to their sources.

The Renewable Fuel Standard, which requires fuel to include set amounts of biofuels such as corn ethanol, and whether gasoline with 15% ethanol (E15) can be sold all year.1,2

  1. Expand biofuel use, such as by allowing E15 sales all year
  2. Keep the current requirements
  3. Lower the requirements or end the Renewable Fuel Standard

These options describe policies, not people. The order is not a ranking.

§2What candidates have said

Why this matters: Statements candidates made publicly, summarized in plain words with a link to where they said it. Candidates who haven't spoken publicly on this issue aren't listed.

Drafted by AI from the public sources cited. Each sentence links to its source.

Expand biofuel use, such as by allowing E15 sales all year (19)

  • Ashley Hinson IA Senate
    Her campaign website says she supports year-round sales of E15 and strengthening biofuels, and her affordability plan calls for restoring the $1-a-gallon biodiesel tax credit.3,4
  • Michael Bridgford IA-1
    His campaign website says he will support legislation to permanently allow year-round, nationwide sales of E15 ethanol.5
  • Bill Foster IL-11
    His campaign website says he supports extending the ethanol and biodiesel tax credits and raising the ethanol blend limit for cars from 10 percent to 15 percent.6
  • Nikki Budzinski IL-13
    Her campaign website says she led the effort to pass legislation in the House allowing the year-round sale of E15, and that she is focused on increasing the use of biofuels such as ethanol, biodiesel and sustainable aviation fuel.7,8
  • Darin LaHood IL-16
    His campaign website says he forced the first House vote on year-round E15 in twenty years, and that it passed.9
  • Eric Sorensen IL-17
    His campaign website says that on the Agriculture Committee he is leading the fight to bring cheaper, higher-blend ethanol fuel to market year-round.10
  • Roger Marshall KS Senate
    His campaign website says he cosponsors a bill (S. 593) to make the summer waiver for E15 gasoline permanent so it can be sold all year, and describes year-round E15 as the highest-impact energy issue for Kansas.11
  • Adam Hamilton KS Senate
    His campaign website says he supports year-round sales of E15 gasoline and says the Senate should pass the year-round E15 bill the House approved.12
  • Sharice L. Davids KS-3
    Her campaign website lists working to increase the production of ethanol-based fuel among her actions, saying it lowers emissions, reduces reliance on foreign oil and supports Kansas farmers.13
  • Charles Booker KY Senate
    His campaign website says he would allow year-round sales of E15 and other fuel blends.14
  • Jack Bergman MI-1
    His campaign website lists among his accomplishments supporting year-round nationwide sales of E15 ethanol fuel in 2026, which it says expands demand for American-grown corn.15
  • Michelle Fischbach MN-7
    The record page lists co-sponsoring a bill that would let E-15 fuel be sold all year.16
  • Amy Klobuchar MN Governor
    Her campaign website says she worked in the Senate to make E15 available year-round, and that as governor she would support biofuel production and work to make Minnesota a leader in sustainable aviation fuel.17
  • Dan Osborn NE Senate
    His campaign website says he supports year-round E15 as an alternative market for Nebraska farmers.18
  • Chris Backemeyer NE-1
    His campaign website says he would expand markets for biofuels, including through permanent year-round sales of E15.19
  • Brinker Harding NE-2
    His campaign website says he wants Congress to pass year-round sales of E-15 fuel, aiming to lower gas prices and support agriculture in Nebraska.20
  • Adrian Smith NE-3
    His campaign website says he chairs the Congressional Biofuels Caucus and champions year-round E15 sales.21
  • Macey Budke NE-3
    Her campaign website says she supports responsible domestic energy production alongside investment in innovation that, among other things, expands biofuel markets.22
  • Lynne Walz NE Governor
    Her campaign website says she supports investment in the bioeconomy and in ethanol production and use.23

Lower the requirements or end the Renewable Fuel Standard (2)

  • Steve G. Parsons AR-1
    His campaign website says the Renewable Fuel Standard and other federal biofuel policies should be eliminated, leaving the choice of fuels to companies and consumers.24
  • Sam Liccardo CA-16
    His campaign website says ethanol and other biofuel subsidies and the Renewable Fuel Standard mandate raise food and fuel prices, and that markets and science, not taxpayer money, should decide the role of biofuels.25

Statements that don't match one option (4)

  • Jim Costa CA-21
    His campaign website lists among his record sponsoring a bill, enacted through the Inflation Reduction Act, that extended tax credits for biodiesel, renewable diesel and alternative fuels, and an older results page still on the site says he fought to end $6 billion in taxpayer subsidies for corn ethanol.26,27
  • Zach Nunn IA-3
    His campaign website says he is an advocate for Iowa's biofuels and ethanol producers and pushed for strong support for renewable fuels.28
  • LaVeta Davenport MI-1
    The Green Party of Michigan 2026 platform text on her campaign website, which says she fully aligns with it, calls for developing more wind, geothermal and solar power but not biofuels.29
  • Peggy Flanagan MN Senate
    Her campaign website says she supports biofuels, including continued investment in sustainable aviation fuel.30

§3Related bills

Why this matters: Bills from 2023–2026 that bear on this issue, with how Congress handled them.