IA-Sen 2014 Tag

Outgoing Democratic Iowa Senator Harkin made some shall we say, "interesting" remarks about Republican Senate candidate Joni Ernst.

"Joni Ernst, she's really attractive and she sounds nice. I don't care if she's as good looking as Taylor Swift or as nice as Mr. Rodgers, but if she votes like Michelle Bachmann, she's wrong for the state of Iowa."

Ernst was not impressed by Harkin's apparent crush on her saying, "I was very offended that Senator Harking would say that. I think it's unfortunate that he and many in their party believe that you can't be a real woman if you're Conservative and you're female. Again, I am greatly offended about that." Was the late disclosure of the Harkin comments a dirty trick?

Harkin made the Ernst gaffe on 10/26; by releasing it yesterday trackers ensure Braley will be asked on camera, ruining final day message.

— daveweigel (@daveweigel) November 3, 2014

Too bad, Harkin is front and center in Bruce Braley's final messaging:

Remember when a recent Des Moines Register poll showed Republican Joni Ernst up by 6 points over Bruce Braley, and Democrats had a complete meltdown? And I shouted Sooey! A new poll shows that the gap has closed, with Ernst up 1 point, via Des Moines Register:

Iowa's blitzkrieg U.S. Senate race is now a 1-point contest: Republican Joni Ernst is at 47 percent, and Democrat Bruce Braley is right at her heels at 46 percent with likely voters, a new Iowa Poll shows. As armies of Democratic activists go door to door urging Iowans to fill out absentee ballots, they're piling up votes for Braley, who was 6 points down just two weeks ago. "Braley's catching up," said J. Ann Selzer, the pollster for The Des Moines Register/Bloomberg Politics Iowa Poll, which was conducted Oct. 3-8. But Ernst has made gains, too. She's 3 percentage points higher than two weeks ago, when she was at 44 percent.

That's obviously good news for Democrats that the gap has closed. But both candidates gained points, which means there are fewer undecided voters. That Ernst is up at all, and consistently so, is good news for her. The poll shows that Obamacare is unpopular:

Remember Joni Ernst? She's the pig-castrating, conservative candidate for Senate out of Iowa who took the internet by storm earlier this year with her campaign video claiming she'll "make big spenders squeal" when she gets to Washington. Since she kicked off her campaign, Ernst has been seen as a long-shot to take the seat that had been held for 30 years by Democrat Tom Harkin, but a recent poll shows that her Dem opponent Bruce Braley is now running defense. Via the Des Moines Register:

Ernst leads 44 percent to 38 percent in a race that has for months been considered deadlocked. She leads nearly 4-1 with rural voters, and is up double digits with independents. "Very interesting, and good news not just for Ernst but also for the GOP's chances of taking the U.S. Senate," said national political prognosticator Larry Sabato of "Sabato's Crystal Ball." Just seven months ago, political analysts considered Braley almost a shoo-in for a seat held for 30 years by liberal Democrat Tom Harkin.

What do you think? Joni Ernst, running for Senate in Iowa, threatens Washington, D.C.'s manhood (or what passes for manhood in D.C.): I don't know anything about Joni Ernst, but the image of her pinning Harry Reid to the ground and, well, you know, should get her some attention. Does that ad top Dale Peterson's 2010 ad for Alabama Agricultural Commissioner?