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Joni Ernst

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Joni Ernst
Member of the Iowa Senate
from the 12th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 2011
Preceded byKim Reynolds
Personal details
Born (1970-07-01) July 1, 1970 (age 54)
Red Oak, Iowa, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseGail Ernst
Alma materIowa State University
Columbus State University
Websitehttp://www.joniforiowa.com

Joni Ernst (born July 1, 1970, Red Oak, Iowa) is an American politician who serves as a Republican member of the Iowa Senate and as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Iowa Army National Guard. She is a candidate for the United States Senate from Iowa in the 2014 election.

Early life and career

Before being elected to the Iowa Senate, Ernst was elected the Montgomery County Auditor in 2004 and re-elected in 2008.[1]

Ernst was elected to the State Senate in a special election in 2011 and re-elected in 2012. She represents District 12, which serves the southwest part of the state.[2][3][4][5] In the Iowa Senate, Ernst is a ranking member of the Education Standing Committee, and also serves on the Veteran Affairs, Appropriations, Rules & Administration and Human Resources Standing Committees. Ernst is also a member of the Administration & Regulation Budget Subcommittee.

During the 2013 legislative session, Ernst worked on legislation which reduced property taxes in Iowa.[6] She has also received an A rating from the National Rifle Association for her support of gun-rights issues.[7]

Ernst has served a combined 21 years in the United States Army Reserves and the Iowa Army National Guard. She spent 14 months mobilized and overseas in Kuwait from 2003-2004 as a company commander at the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom.[2][3] Her unit was responsible for running logistical convoys in Kuwait and into southern Iraq. A Lieutenant Colonel, Ernst currently commands the largest battalion in the Iowa Army National Guard.

In 2014, Ernst was criticized for missing more than half of the votes in the legislative session.[8] She responded that her National Guard duties explained many of her absences. Subsequent research showed that only 10% of her missed votes came when she was with the National Guard. A spokesman for Ernst stated that during her time in the State Senate, her attendance rate was over 90% and "it's not a job that stops and starts at the state capitol".[9][10]

2014 U.S. Senate election

In July 2013, Ernst announced that she would seek the Senate seat held by retiring Democratic Senator Tom Harkin. If elected, she would be the first woman from Iowa elected to the U.S. Senate.[11]

Ernst received the endorsement of Iowa Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds in October 2013.[12] She has also been endorsed by 23 current and former state legislators.[13] In March the Ernst campaign was endorsed by Mitt Romney, a former Governor of Massachusetts and then by Sarah Palin, a former Governor of Alaska.[14]

Ernst received widespread attention for a campaign advert she released in March 2014 where she argued that her experience castrating pigs makes her qualified to cut "pork" in Congress.[15][16] Many found the ad to be humorous[17][18] and it was spoofed by late-night comedians including Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Colbert,[19][20] but some found it to be in bad taste.[21][22] Before the ad aired, despite being supported by the Republican establishment, Ernst had struggled in fundraising,[23][24] and two polls of the Republican primary taken in February 2014 had shown her in second place, several points behind opponent Mark Jacobs.[25][26] After it aired, a Suffolk University poll in early April showed her with a narrow lead and a Loras College poll showed her essentially tied with Jacobs.[27][28][29][22]

In an interview with the Des Moines Register on May 9, 2014, Ernst expressed her support for a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced federal budget, a reduction in entitlements and discretionary spending, replacing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act with "free market alternatives", a "fairer, flatter, and simpler" tax code and for concealed handguns and expressed her opposition to cap-and-trade and federal involvement in education. Regarding the Iraq War and weapons of mass destruction, Ernst stated: "We don't know that there were weapons on the ground when we went in, however, I do have reason to believe there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. That was the intelligence that was operated on. I have reason to believe there was weapons of mass destruction."[30]

Her statement attracted considerable negative attention[22][31][32][33][34] and was described as "remarkable" and "a rewriting of history that demands a new definition of the word 'audacious'"[35] and "truly ridiculous, even by the standards of a Republican primary race".[36] Ernst then issued a "clarifying statement" where she said that she "did not mean to suggest that Iraq had WMD at the time of invasion. It is clear they did not. What I was trying to say was that Iraq had had WMD in their past, and had even used them. My point was that we don't know exactly what happened to those weapons.[37]

Personal life

Born and raised in Montgomery County, Iowa, Ernst resides in Red Oak, Iowa with her husband of 21 years, Gail, a Command Sergeant Major in the Army Rangers (retired) and their three daughters.[5]

Ernst is a member of the Montgomery County Republican Women, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2265 (Life Member), Montgomery County Court of Honor, Altrusa, PEO Chapter HB, National Rifle Association (Lifetime Member) and the Montgomery County Farm Bureau.[5] She is a member of the Mamrelund Lutheran Church (ELCA) of Stanton, Iowa.[5]

Ernst is a graduate of Iowa State University and earned a Master's in Public Administration from Columbus College.[5]

Notes

  1. ^ "Iowa GOP lawmaker Joni Ernst enters 2014 Senate race". omaha.com. July 10, 2013. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
  2. ^ a b "The Iowa Legislature: Senator Joni Ernst". Retrieved May 6, 2013.
  3. ^ a b "Joni Ernst: Iowa Senate". Retrieved March 3, 2011.
  4. ^ "Senator Joni Ernst (IA)". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved March 3, 2011.
  5. ^ a b c d e ABOUT JONI, Joni Ernst for Iowa
  6. ^ "Ernst, Payton speak at local GOP meeting". Newton Daily News. November 27, 2013. Retrieved April 10, 2014. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  7. ^ "Sirens sound across Iowa as Sarah Palin endorses Joni Ernst". The Des Moines Register. March 26, 2014. Retrieved April 16, 2014.
  8. ^ "THREE MINUTES: Senate Candidate Joni Ernst". WHO-DT. April 7, 2014. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  9. ^ "Iowa Sen. Ernst juggles busy schedule with Senate work". The Gazette. April 1, 2014. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  10. ^ "Few of Ernst's missed Iowa Senate votes due to National Guard Duty". The Gazette. April 14, 2014. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  11. ^ Hayley, Bruce (18 July 2013). "State Sen. Joni Ernst announces run for U.S. Senate in Cedar Rapids". The Gazette. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  12. ^ Henderson, O. Kay (7 October 2013). "Lieutenant Governor Reynolds endorses Ernst in U.S. Senate race". Radio Iowa. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  13. ^ Endorsement, Joni Ernst for Iowa
  14. ^ Joseph, Cameron. Palin endorses Joni Ernst in Iowa Senate race, Politico, March 26, 2014.
  15. ^ "Iowa Senate Candidate Says Castration Gives Her Conservative Cred". Time. March 25, 2014. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  16. ^ "In Politics, Hog Castration Cuts Through The Ad Clutter". NPR. March 28, 2014. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  17. ^ "Iowa Senate Candidate Says Castration Gives Her Conservative Cred". Time. March 25, 2014. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
  18. ^ "How did John Boehner's opponent get his campaign ad to go viral? Humor. (+video)". Christian Science Monitor. April 15, 2014. Retrieved April 20, 2014.
  19. ^ "Jimmy Fallon cringes at Joni Ernst's hog-castration ad". Des Moines Register. March 25, 2014. Retrieved April 19, 2014.
  20. ^ "Colbert: I'm pulling for Joni Ernst 'whole hog, or whatever's left'". Des Moines Register. March 27, 2014. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  21. ^ "Joni Ernst 'Castrating Hogs' Ad: Republican Iowa Senate Candidate Stirs Controversy With Offbeat Campaign Spot [VIDEO]". International Business Times. March 25, 2014. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  22. ^ a b c "How Joni Ernst's ad about 'castrating hogs' transformed Iowa's U.S. Senate race". The Washington Post. May 12, 2014. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
  23. ^ "Sarah Palin endorses "hog castrator" Jodi Ernst in Iowa Senate race". CBS News. March 26, 2014. Retrieved April 20, 2014.
  24. ^ "The Fix's fourth-quarter fundraising winners and losers". CBS News. February 3, 2014. Retrieved April 20, 2014.
  25. ^ "Sarah Palin endorses 'pork-cutting' Joni Ernst in Iowa". Politico. March 26, 2014. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
  26. ^ "Ernst Aims to Be Iowa's First Female Senator". RealClearPolitics. March 9, 2014. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
  27. ^ "Ernst Narrowly Leads GOP Field in Iowa Senate Race". RealClearPolitics. April 9, 2014. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
  28. ^ "Poll: Joni Ernst Takes Lead in Iowa GOP Senate Primary". Weekly Standard. April 9, 2014. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
  29. ^ "Jacobs, Ernst tied in inaugural Loras Poll". TH Online. April 14, 2014. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
  30. ^ "Joni Ernst: I was 'extremely offended' by AWOL attack". Des Moines Register. May 9, 2014. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  31. ^ David Weigel (May 12, 2014). "The Iowa Republican Senator-to-Be Who Thinks Iraq Had WMD". Slate. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  32. ^ Cameron Joseph (May 12, 2014). "Iowa Republican still believes Iraq had WMDs". The Hill. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  33. ^ Patrick Caldwell (May 12, 2014). "WATCH: Iowa GOP Senate Candidate Still Believes There Were Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq". Mother Jones. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  34. ^ Rekha Basu (May 14, 2014). "Iraq's WMD myth resurfaces in Iowa". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  35. ^ Susan Milligan (May 13, 2014). "Joni Ernst's Stunning Iraq WMD Claim". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  36. ^ Steve Benen (May 13, 2014). "Again with the WMD?". MSNBC. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  37. ^ Jennifer Jacobs (May 13, 2014). "Ernst seeks to clarify remark on Iraq WMDs". Des Moines Register. Retrieved May 15, 2014.

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