Ernst goes from church pew to campaign stench
Joni Ernst’s inspiration came at a place known for its divine intervention.
The Iowa Senator was sitting in a pew at Mamrelund Lutheran Church in Stanton just days after Tom Harkin announced he was retiring after serving five terms in the U.S. Senate.
Ernst then heard a voice. But it wasn’t from above; it was from a friend sitting in the pew behind her.
“He leaned forward and told me I needed to be running for Senate and I just kind of laughed,” Ernst recalls. “Five months later, I was running.”
After dominating the Republican primary, Ernst is still running at full speed.
The former Montgomery County auditor and current lieutenant colonel in the Iowa National Guard left the field of fellow Republicans in a cloud of dust in the June 3 primary, winning 56 percent of the vote. While she received more votes than the other candidates combined, she also easily exceeded the needed 35 percent plateau to secure the nomination without a party convention.
“I was hoping for the 35 percent and one vote,” Ernst said of her pre-election expectations. “I had no idea the mar Joni Ernst’s inspiration came at a place known for its divine intervention.
The Iowa Senator was sitting in a pew at Mamrelund Lutheran Church in Stanton just days after Tom Harkin announced he was retiring after serving four terms in the U.S. Senate.
Ernst then heard a voice. But it wasn’t from above; it was from a friend sitting in the pew behind her.
“He leaned forward and told me I needed to be running for Senate and I just kind of laughed,” Ernst recalls. “Five months later, I was running.”
After dominating the Republican primary, Ernst is still running at full speed.
The former Montgomery County auditor and current colonel in the Iowa National Guard left the field of fellow Republicans in a cloud of dust in the June 3 primary, winning 56 percent of the vote. While she received more votes than the other five candidates combined, she also easily exceeded the needed 35 percent plateau to secure the nomination without a party convention.
“I was hoping for the 35 percent and one vote,” Ernst said of her pre-election expectations. “I had no idea the margin would be that much. I was very overwhelmed and humbled.”
While Ernst’s advertising generated a lot of attention to -gin would be that much. I was very overwhelmed and humbled.”
While Ernst’s advertising generated a lot of attention to her campaign at a critical junctiontion, she believes an equally important factor is her ability to connect with the different facets of the Republican Party, including endorsements from Tea Party icon Sarah Palin and moderate Mitt Romney.
“It took someone to step out there and make a little bit of noise,” Ernst responded to a question about why she garnered such a high level of support. “The type of person I am, I attract all sorts of conservatives. Not just Sarah Palin, but the Marco Rubios and Mitt Romneys. No one will agree with me 100 percent of the time, but if we can agree to 85-90 percent of the time, that’s what we need to do.”
Ernst didn’t have long to revel in her victory as the next morning, she found herself in the Democratic Party’s crosshairs as the first of what’s sure to be several negative campaigns hit the airwaves. In it, Democratic candidate Bruce Braley questioned Ernst’s primary campaign slogan of promising to “cut pork” at the federal level after never introducing a bill at the state level reducing government spending.
With an image of a “chick” portrayed frequently in the background, Braley’s advertisements were immediately criticized for sexist overtones.
Ernst spokesperson Gretchen Hamel said in a statement the ad degrades and insults Iowa women by comparing Joni Ernst to a ‘chick,’ and she pointed to a number of bills Ernst co-sponsored to limit government spending.
A few days later, members of the Ernst family became a focal point. The Des Moines Register published Facebook posts from her husband, Gail, who had called Hilary Clinton a “hag” in a post related to the Benghazi attack and former Department of Homeland Security Chief Janet Napolitano a “traitorous skank.”
Gail later apologized for the remarks in a statement to the Register.
Ernst regrets not only that mudslinging has started this early in the campaign, but that the criticisms extend beyond the candidates.
“It has already gone negative, right out of the gate Wednesday morning. That stage was set by Bruce Braley, not Joni Ernst,” she said. “I think it’s rotten we have gone after family members. I’m the candidate, not my husband. If they want to take shots, they need to take shots at me.”
Ernst is hoping the campaign can refocus on the candidates and what they have done and not done. She’s looking forward to talking about the issues that separate her from her Democratic opponent, such as fiscal responsibility.
“We need to make sure that we are not spending more money than we take in as a federal government,” Ernst said. “That is something I’ve worked very hard on at the state level. People have to work within their budget at the personal level and the government should be the same.”
Ernst is also touting a smaller government approach to economic stimulation.
“Even though we are doing well as a state, people are still concerned about their budget,” she said. “They still want us to have good jobs and they want government to get out of the way. They find it very difficult to start up business because of all the rules and regulations.”
The race for Harkin’s seat is considered a pivotal one in the upcoming election as Republicans attempt to regain complete control of the Congress. To do so, they would need to win six Senate seats and Iowa represents one of their better opportunities.
Coupled with the possibility of being the first woman from Iowa elected to a federal office, Ernst realizes this race is bigger than her.
“There is a lot at stake here,” she said. “Certainly, it’s bigger than me. There are a lot of people who want us to get our fiscal affairs in order at the federal level. That will only happen if there is fiscal conservatives elected. It’s big. It’s exciting. But I’m energized by it too.”
Ernst is equally confident she will maintain that needed energy throughout the campaign, primarily due to her past military experiences.
“Right at the outset, when I was deciding if I was going to run or not, I sat down with my general consultant, a Marine who also served in operation Iraqi Freedom, and he told me this election and what you do during this election will be nothing compared to your deployment,” Ernst said. “And he was right. The worries are different and it is tiring. But you just draw energy from all those people. That’s what really keeps you going.”