Iowa Senate Race: Joni Ernst
If you watched the proceedings of the Republican National Convention last night, you saw one of the GOP's rising stars - Senator Joni Ernst. Senator Ernst's infectious optimism and her obvious dedication to serving her Iowa constituents made her speech one of the evening's highlights and illustrated how important it is that she win a second Senate term this November. Iowa is much more competitive than it was in 2014 and 2016, and polls show this is a very close race - one that may determine which party controls the Senate next year.
Before she entered the political arena, Joni Ernst served our nation in uniform for more than 23 years as a member of the Army Reserves and the Iowa National Guard - including time spent deployed in the Middle East during the second Iraq War. After retiring with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, she served as county auditor and State Senator before winning an upset victory in the 2014 Senate race to replace long-time liberal Sen. Tom Harkin.
Democrats never accepted that loss, and they targeted Ernst early this year, investing millions of dollars in attack ads. They also spent heavily to ensure that their hand-picked candidate, real estate executive Theresa Greenfield, won the nomination. Greenfield is a lockstep, party-line Democrat who thinks she can beat Ernst with the familiar Democrat Social Security scaremongering playbook.
Senator Ernst stands out as one of the most reliable pro-Israel leaders in the Senate, most recently illustrated by her signing on to Senator Ted Cruz's June 23 letter to President Trump, supporting Israel's right to apply sovereignty in Judea, Samaria, and the Jordan River Valley. What a contrast to her opponent, who proudly touts an endorsement from J Street. With the stakes so high, we must come through for our friend, Senator Joni Ernst!
The RJC PAC has endorsed Joni Ernst. You can help her win by clicking here to support her campaign.
Please watch this space for more in-depth analysis on individual races in the critical 2020 elections. If you’d like to share your thoughts with me on any of these races, please email me at [email protected]. Click here to see previous "Notes from Norm."