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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 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.

Career

Before being elected to the State Senate, Ernst was elected the Montgomery County Auditor in 2004 and re-elected in 2008.

Ernst was elected to the Iowa Senate in a special election in 2011 and re-elected in 2012. She represents District 12, which serves the southwest part of the state. 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. She has also received an A rating from the National Rifle Association for her support of gun-rights issues.

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. 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 asked why she had missed more than half of the votes in the legislative session. She said that her National Guard duties explained many of her absences. After research showed that only 10% of her missed votes came when she was with the National Guard, she was criticised for "cloaking her missed votes in the aura of the guard services." Ernst replied that she was "juggling roles as a wife and mother, battalion commander in the Iowa Army National Guard, a state senator and a very, very tough competitive race for the United States Senate".

2014 U.S. Senate election

See also: United States Senate election in Iowa, 2014

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.

Ernst received the official endorsement of Iowa Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds in October 2013. She has also been endorsed by more than 25 current and former legislators across the state of Iowa, along with national organizations such as RightNOW Women PAC, ViewPAC, ShePAC and VOICES of Conservative Women. She was separately endorsed by former Governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney and former Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin in March 2014.

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. Response to the advert was mixed, with some calling it amusing and others finding it in bad taste. The Iowa Republican noted that "the risk of the Ernst ad is that it may cause people not to take her seriously" because it invited comparisons with Christine O'Donnell's infamous "I'm not a witch" advert, and the ad was lampooned by comedians including Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Colbert. Before the ad aired, despite being supported by the Republican establishment, Ernst had struggled in fundraising, and two polls of the Republican primary taken in February 2014 had shown her in second place, several points behind opponent Mark Jacobs. After it aired, a Suffolk University poll showed her with a narrow lead and a Loras College poll showed her essentially tied with Jacobs.

Personal

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.

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. She is a member of the Mamrelund Lutheran Church (ELCA) of Stanton, Iowa.

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

Notes

  1. ^ "The Iowa Legislature: Senator Joni Ernst". Retrieved 2013-05-06.
  2. ^ "Joni Ernst: Iowa Senate". Retrieved 2011-03-03.
  3. "Senator Joni Ernst (IA)". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved 2011-03-03.
  4. ^ ABOUT JONI, Joni Ernst for Iowa
  5. "Ernst, Payton speak at local GOP meeting". Newton Daily News. November 27, 2013. Retrieved 2014-04-10.
  6. "Sirens sound across Iowa as Sarah Palin endorses Joni Ernst". The Des Moines Register. March 26, 2014. Retrieved 2014-04-16.
  7. "Iowa Sen. Ernst juggles busy schedule with Senate work". The Gazette. April 1, 2014. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  8. "Few of Ernst's missed Iowa Senate votes due to National Guard Duty". The Gazette. April 14, 2014. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  9. Hayley, Bruce (18 July 2013). "State Sen. Joni Ernst announces run for U.S. Senate in Cedar Rapids". The Gazette. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  10. Henderson, O. Kay (7 October 2013). "Lieutenant Governor Reynolds endorses Ernst in U.S. Senate race". Radio Iowa. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  11. Joseph, Cameron. Palin endorses Joni Ernst in Iowa Senate race, Politico, March 26, 2014.
  12. "Iowa Senate Candidate Says Castration Gives Her Conservative Cred". Time. March 25, 2014. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  13. "In Politics, Hog Castration Cuts Through The Ad Clutter". NPR. March 28, 2014. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  14. "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.
  15. "Joni Ernst, suffering piglets is not funny". Times Union. March 29, 2014. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
  16. "Iowa Senate Candidate Says Castration Gives Her Conservative Cred". Time. March 25, 2014. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
  17. "Did Joni Ernst Just Turn Herself into Christine O'Donnell?". The Iowa Republican. March 25, 2014. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  18. "Colbert: I'm pulling for Joni Ernst 'whole hog, or whatever's left'". Des Moines Register. March 27, 2014. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  19. "Sarah Palin endorses 'pork-cutting' Joni Ernst in Iowa". Politico. March 26, 2014. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
  20. "Ernst Aims to Be Iowa's First Female Senator". RealClearPolitics. March 9, 2014. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
  21. "Ernst Narrowly Leads GOP Field in Iowa Senate Race". RealClearPolitics. April 9, 2014. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
  22. "Poll: Joni Ernst Takes Lead in Iowa GOP Senate Primary". Weekly Standard. April 9, 2014. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
  23. "Jacobs, Ernst tied in inaugural Loras Poll". TH Online. April 14, 2014. Retrieved April 17, 2014.

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