An update on our endorsed candidate Joni Ernst..... Joni Ernst has emerged as the rare Republican capable of uniting the disparate factions of the Republican Party. She was endorsed both by Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin in a contested primary. And her potential as a fresh female face in a party desperate for more female leaders has added to her allure. Consider this: Romney, Sens. Rand Paul and Ted Cruz, Gov. Rick Perry, former Gov. Mike Huckabee, Sen. Marco Rubio, Rep. Paul Ryan, Gov. Bobby Jindal, and Sens. Rob Portman, John Thune, Kelly Ayotte, and John Barasso all have attended or hosted events for Ernst in recent months. Shes become a rock star, certainly among Republicans, says Oman, her finance director. To put her $6 million third quarter in perspective, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell raised $3.2 million during the same period. Ernst, 44, has served in the state Senate since 2011, after working a local auditor. But its her two decades in the military, and service in Iraq as part of the Iowa National Guard, that she has highlighted on the trail. My boots were on the ground now held by ISIS, she retorted to Braley in their last debate. Ernst has excited not just GOP insiders but Iowa voters. A recent NBC/Marist poll showed a huge enthusiasm gap, with more than 60 percent of Ernst backers saying they were actively supporting her, versus 34 percent who were more opposing Braley. The reverse was true for him. More than 60 percent of his supporters were mostly opposed to her, rather than actively for him. After a recent rally with Romney, Ernsts appeal was on display as she hugged her way through the GOP crowd, snapping pictures, sharing embraces, and even signing the shirt of one man in a wheelchair. (Her staff whisked her away from reporters, however, as Ernst refused to answer any questions.) Ernst has starred in many of her own ads. Besides talking hog castration, she has fired a gun, ridden a motorcycle, and baked biscuits on camera. Braley, 56, who has served in Congress for four terms, hadnt appeared in any of his own ads until late September. Ernst gathered more than 60 percent of online voter interest, compared with under 40 percent for Braley, according to a recent analysis by Echelon Insights, a digital GOP firm. msn/en-us/news/politics/joni-ernst-is-the-gops-breakout-star-the-democratic-machine-could-still-beat-her/ar-BBa5chY?ocid=ASUDHP
Posted on: Tue, 21 Oct 2014 00:37:20 +0000
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