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Joni Ernst
Member of the Iowa Senate
from the 12th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 5, 2011
Preceded byKim Reynolds
Personal details
BornJoni Kay Culver
(1970-07-01) July 1, 1970 (age 54)
Red Oak, Iowa, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseGail Ernst
Alma materIowa State University
Columbus State University
WebsiteCampaign website

Joni Ernst (born July 1, 1970) 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 the Republican nominee for the United States Senate election in Iowa in the 2014.

Early life and career

Ernst is the daughter of Richard and Marilyn Culver. Born and raised in Montgomery County, Iowa, she was valedictorian of her class at Stanton High School. Ernst earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Iowa State University and a Master of Public Administration degree from Columbus College. While in college, Ernst took part in an agricultural exchange to the Soviet Union.

Military career

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.

Iowa State Senate

Ernst was elected the Montgomery County Auditor in 2004 and re-elected in 2008.

Ernst was elected to the Iowa 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.

Committees

Ernst serves on the following Iowa State Senate committees:

  • Education (Ranking Member)
  • Appropriations
  • Health and Human Services
  • Rules and Administration
  • Veterans Affairs

Political positions

Economic issues

Ernst believes that states should set their own minimum wages. In an August 2014 interview with The Mason City Globe Gazette Ernst stated that she not only opposes raising the federal minimum wage, but opposes federal minimum wage altogether saying, "For the federal government to set the minimum wage for all 50 states is ridiculous."

In a September 2014 interview with CNN she said she believes the current minimum wage, $7.25 per hour, is "appropriate for Iowa, but that's up for our state legislators to decide, and I'm willing to have those discussions at the state level." However, she has also opposed a state-level minimum wage increase for Iowa in the past.

In response to a report by the Congressional Budget Office report of January 2014 which projected that increasing the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour would cost 500,000 jobs, but would lift 900,000 people out of poverty, Ernst stated that "government and government-mandated wage increases are not the solution — especially when doing so comes at the expense of the jobs of hard working Americans." Ernst supports replacing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act with "free market alternatives".

During the 2013 legislative session, Ernst worked on legislation which reduced property taxes in Iowa. She supports a "fairer, flatter, and simpler" federal tax code.

In a May 2014 interview with The Des Moines Register, Ernst expressed her support for a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced federal budget, as well as a reduction in spending on entitlement programs and discretionary spending. She has also expressed support for a partial privatization of Social Security accounts for young workers.

Environmental issues

Ernst has expressed her opposition to cap-and-trade and federal involvement in education. In March 2011, Ernst co-sponsored another resolution, urging “nullification” of EPA rules "relating to national emissions standards for hazardous air pollutants for reciprocating internal combustion engines."

Ernst also criticized the EPA’s proposals to define waterways in the context of the Clean Water Act, which she named as one of the most damaging laws for business,, and has proposed to eliminate the EPA.

An article in Yahoo News reported that at a January 2014 GOP forum in Montgomery County, Iowa, Ernst warned that Agenda 21, the U.N.'s 1992 voluntary action plan for sustainable development, could force Iowa farmers off their land, dictate what cities Iowans must live in, and control how Iowa citizens travel from place to place.

In a Republican primary debate in May 2014, Ernst said she would have voted against the 2014 U.S. Farm Bill and stated her view that the Clean Water Act is damaging for business.

Constitutional and federal issues

Ernst has expressed her support for allowing law-abiding citizens to "freely carry" weapons but abide by rules against carrying in public buildings like schools. In February 2013, Ernst co-sponsored a resolution addressing “the Iowa General Assembly's refusal to recognize or support any statutes, presidential directives, or other regulations and proclamations which conflict with the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States and which are expressly preempted by the rulings of the United States Supreme Court”. She has also received an "A" rating from the National Rifle Association for her support of gun-rights issues.

In January 2011, Ernst co-sponsored a resolution concerning Iowa's sovereignty over mandates imposed by the federal government that "are directly in violation of the Tenth Amendment", which “holds that powers not specifically accorded to the federal government in the Constitution are instead granted to the states."

The UPI reported of a video that surfaced of a forum hosted by the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition in September 2013 in which Ernst made comments suggesting that she thought states could nullify federal laws. Ernst stated: "Bottom line is, as a U.S. senator, why should we be passing laws that the states are considering nullifying? I mean, that's bottom line, is our legislators at the federal level should not be passing those laws." The UPI asserted that case law has determined the Constitution forbids nullification, and that "conservatives have resurrected the theory to argue for nullification of federal gun laws, the Affordable Care Act and other federal regulations."

When asked at a Montgomery County, Iowa candidate forum in January 2014, about the Supreme Court case about the constitutionality of Obama's recess appointments, she said that if he acted unconstitutionally, he should face the proper repercussions as determined by Congress, "whether that's removal from office, whether that's impeachment." When the tape of that event was published in August 2014 by Yahoo News, her spokeswoman said that "If any president oversteps their bounds, there are procedures in place for Congress and the American people to hold him or her accountable. Impeachment is a strong word and should not be thrown around lightly.”

When asked in an TV interview about how to balance the U.S. budget, Ernst said that she would eliminate the IRS, the Department of Education and the EPA. On closing the Department of Education she said, “nd not just because it would save taxpayer dollars, but because I do believe our children are better educated when it’s coming from the state."

In the final Iowa primary debate in May 2014, Ernst said that she would vote for a federal constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, and declared her opposition to amnesty for illegal aliens.

Foreign policy

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. My husband served in Saudi Arabia as an Army Central Command sergeant major for a year and that's a hot-button topic in that area." After criticism from Iowa Democrats and some commentators, Ernst then issued a clarifying statement in which she stated that she did not mean to suggest that Iraq had WMD at the time of invasion, but rather that Iraq had had WMDs in their past which they used, and that her point was that "we don't know exactly what happened to those weapons".

When asked whether she supports the limited airstrikes conducted in Iraq in August 2014, Ernst said: "What I can say is what I would have supported is leaving additional troops in Iraq longer and perhaps we wouldn't have this situation today".

In an interview with Time Magazine, Ernst said that she was sexually harassed in the military, stating that “I had comments, passes, things like that” which she was able to stop, and said she will support removing sexual assault cases from the chain of command.

Social issues

Ernst has said she believes marriage is a "state issue". She co-sponsored a failed bill to amend the Iowa constitution to have marriage legally defined as between one man and one woman. Ernst believes life begins at conception.

Ernst indirectly endorsed Paul Ryan’s partially privatized Medicare model in a 2011 Iowa Senate vote. According to an August 2014 article in The Gazette, she has not laid out a detailed plan for Medicare reform.

2014 U.S. Senate election

Main article: 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 either house of Congress.

Ernst received the endorsement of Iowa Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds in October 2013. She has also been endorsed by 23 current and former state legislators. 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. In May 2014, Ernst was endorsed by the US Chamber of Commerce.

Ernst received widespread attention for a campaign advert she released in March 2014 where she employed a tongue-in-cheek comparison between her experience castrating pigs and her ability to cut "pork" in Congress. Many found the ad to be humorous and it was spoofed by late-night comedians including Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Colbert, while some found it to be in bad taste. Before the ad aired, 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 in early April showed her with a narrow lead and a Loras College poll showed her essentially tied with Jacobs. By May, she was being described by the media as the "strong front-runner".

In an interview with the Des Moines Register on May 9, 2014, Ernst said she was "extremely offended" by comments made by Republican opponent Mark Jacobs in which she was characterized as AWOL due to missing over 100 votes in the legislative session ending April 7, 2014. Ernst stated: "That term is very degrading in the military. I have never been AWOL". Previously, in an article in The Gazette, Ernst cited her National Guard duty to rebuff criticism about her missing votes, but The Gazette found that only 12 of the 117 missed votes came on days when she was on duty. The other 105 missed votes represented 57 percent of the Iowa Senate votes that session. Ernst's spokesman said that she has had a better than 90 percent voting record during her career in the Senate and that she has not claimed guard service was the only reason she's missed votes this session.

In endorsing her for the Republican nomination, the Des Moines Register stated: "Ernst is a smart, well-prepared candidate who can wrestle with the details of public policy from a conservative perspective without seeming inflexible."

On June 16, 2014, in an event organized by Americans for Prosperity, at a panel titled "The Senate: A Window of Policy Opportunity for Principled Leaders", Ernst thanked the group for its help becoming a viable candidate. In July 2014, Ernst's campaigning was temporarily put on pause while she participated in two weeks of National Guard duty. In that same month, Ernst delivered the Republican Party's weekly address, where she criticized the health care scandal at the Veterans Affairs Department and pushed for a balanced federal budget and entitlement reform.

On August 29, Ernst and Bruce Braley, her Democrat opponent in the Senate race, announced their agreement to hold three televised debates in Davenport, Des Moines, and Sioux City. The first debate will occur on October 11 and the last on October 16.

Personal life

Ernst resides in Red Oak, Iowa with her husband, Gail, a Command Sergeant Major in the Army Rangers (retired) and their daughter, Libby.

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.

Notes

  1. "Joni Ernst wins Iowa GOP U.S. Senate race". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  2. ^ pseudonymous (June 16, 2014). "Does Joni Ernst Support Traditional Divorce?". Daily Kos. Retrieved 2014-07-13.
  3. ^ Gail Ernst (May 16, 1994). "Joni Kay Ernst". Retrieved 2014-07-13.
  4. ^ "Joni Ernst Announces bid for Kim Reynolds Iowa Senate Seat". The Iowa Republican. Washington Post. November 18, 2010. Retrieved 2014-07-13.
  5. ^ Miller, Jake (2014-07-12). "GOP Senate candidate: Reform the VA, balance the budget". CBS News. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
  6. ^ "The Iowa Legislature: Senator Joni Ernst". Retrieved May 6, 2013.
  7. ^ "Joni Ernst: Iowa Senate". Retrieved March 3, 2011.
  8. Jacobs, Jennifer (7-10-2013). "Republican Joni Ernst joins U.S. Senate race". Des Moines Register. Retrieved 14 July 2014. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. Jacobs, Jennifer (2014-05-29). "Ernst mobilizes to crash Washington's 'boys club'". Des Moines Register. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  10. "Iowa GOP lawmaker Joni Ernst enters 2014 Senate race". omaha.com. July 10, 2013. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
  11. "Senator Joni Ernst (IA)". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved March 3, 2011.
  12. ^ ABOUT JONI, Joni Ernst for Iowa
  13. "Senator Joni K. Ernst". Iowa Legislature. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
  14. "Ernst: Let states set minimum wage". Mason City Globe Gazette. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  15. "Iowa Senate race: Can Bruce Braley beat Joni Ernst? - CNN.com". CNN. 16 September 2014. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  16. ^ James Hohmann (May 29, 2014). "Joni Ernst focused on primary in final Iowa debate". Politico. Retrieved June 2, 2014.
  17. Tibbetts, Ed. "Report: Minimum wage boost would cost jobs, lower poverty". The Quad-City Times. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  18. ^ "Joni Ernst: I was 'extremely offended' by AWOL attack". Des Moines Register. May 9, 2014. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  19. "Ernst, Payton speak at local GOP meeting". Newton Daily News. November 27, 2013. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
  20. ^ Bobic, Igor (29 July 2014). "Joni Ernst Has A History Of Advocating Nullification Of Federal Laws". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  21. "Senate Resolution SR7". The Iowa Legislature. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  22. "What we learned from Joni Ernst's romp". Politico. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
  23. "Ernst takes on EPA Clean Water Act plan". Sioux City Journal. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  24. Shiner, Meredith. "Will Joni Ernst's flirtations with the political fringe haunt her in November?". Yahoo News. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  25. "Senate Joint Resolution SJR7". The Ioaw Legislature. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  26. "Sirens sound across Iowa as Sarah Palin endorses Joni Ernst". The Des Moines Register. March 26, 2014. Retrieved April 16, 2014.
  27. "Senate Resolution SC3". The Iowa Legislature. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  28. "Iowa GOP nominee says states can nullify federal laws". UPI.
  29. Shinner, Meredith. "Joni Ernst: 'Impeachment' of Obama should be on the table". Yahoo News. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  30. "Ernst calls for elimination of IRS, Dept. of Education and EPA". Iowa Public Television. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  31. "Does Joni Ernst want to abolish the Education Department and the EPA?". Tampa Bay Times Politifact.
  32. "Iowa Press Debate: U.S. Senate Republican Primary". Retrieved 29 August 2014. Ernst: I do believe that we can make the cuts necessary within our federal government to find a way to fund our roads and infrastructure. We have already talked about closing the door to the IRS. I think that would be a wonderful start. Let's close the door, let's scrap the tax code and, again, let's find something that is fairer, flatter and simpler. But then there's other departments that we could be looking at also and I've talked about these before. But closing the doors to the Department of Education at the federal level and not just because it would save taxpayer dollars but because I do believe that our children are better educated when it's coming from the state and the localities. I do believe that we should do that.
  33. "Joni Ernst focused on primary in final Iowa debate". Politico. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  34. ^ "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.
  35. David Weigel (May 12, 2014). "The Iowa Republican Senator-to-Be Who Thinks Iraq Had WMD". Slate. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  36. Cameron Joseph (May 12, 2014). "Iowa Republican still believes Iraq had WMDs". The Hill. 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.
  38. Zeleny, Jeff. "Joni Ernst, From Obscure Iowa Legislator to Potential Role Model for Future GOP Candidates". ABC News.
  39. Newton-Small, Jay. "Ernst Says She Was Sexually Harassed in the Military". TIME. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
  40. "The Iowa Legislature Bill Book". Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  41. "ISSUES - Joni Ernst for Iowa". Joni Ernst for Iowa. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  42. "Fact Check: Ernst on Medicare". The Gazette. Retrieved 31 August 2014. Ernst has presented privatized models for social security reform and indirectly endorsed Paul Ryan's privatized Medicare model with her 2011 vote.
  43. Hayley, Bruce (18 July 2013). "State Sen. Joni Ernst announces run for U.S. Senate in Cedar Rapids". The Gazette. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  44. Fish, Sandra (7/1/14). "Joni Ernst may make history as first Iowa woman to go to Congress". Aljazeera America. Retrieved 3 July 2014. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  45. Henderson, O. Kay (7 October 2013). "Lieutenant Governor Reynolds endorses Ernst in U.S. Senate race". Radio Iowa. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  46. Endorsement, Joni Ernst for Iowa
  47. Joseph, Cameron. Palin endorses Joni Ernst in Iowa Senate race, Politico, March 26, 2014.
  48. "National business group picks Joni Ernst over GOP rivals in Iowa U.S. Senate race". Des Moines Register. May 13, 2014. Retrieved May 13, 2014.
  49. "Joni Ernst Keeps Up Momentum With Ad Support From Chamber of Commerce". Huffington Post. May 27, 2014. Retrieved June 2, 2014.
  50. "The magic number for the Republican Party on Tuesday is 35 percent. And Joni Ernst is right there". Washington Post. June 2, 2014. Retrieved June 2, 2014.
  51. "GOP candidate with both grassroots and establishment backing". CNN. May 27, 2014. Retrieved June 2, 2014.
  52. "Chamber ads aid momentum for Iowa GOP's Joni Ernst". Washington Post. May 27, 2014. Retrieved June 2, 2014.
  53. "Iowa Senate Candidate Says Castration Gives Her Conservative Cred". Time. March 25, 2014. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  54. "In Politics, Hog Castration Cuts Through The Ad Clutter". NPR. March 28, 2014. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  55. "Iowa Senate Candidate Says Castration Gives Her Conservative Cred". Time. March 25, 2014. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
  56. "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.
  57. "Jimmy Fallon cringes at Joni Ernst's hog-castration ad". Des Moines Register. March 25, 2014. Retrieved April 19, 2014.
  58. "Colbert: I'm pulling for Joni Ernst 'whole hog, or whatever's left'". Des Moines Register. March 27, 2014. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  59. "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.
  60. "Sarah Palin endorses "hog castrator" Jodi Ernst in Iowa Senate race". CBS News. March 26, 2014. Retrieved April 20, 2014.
  61. "The Fix's fourth-quarter fundraising winners and losers". CBS News. February 3, 2014. Retrieved April 20, 2014.
  62. "Sarah Palin endorses 'pork-cutting' Joni Ernst in Iowa". Politico. March 26, 2014. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
  63. "Ernst Aims to Be Iowa's First Female Senator". RealClearPolitics. March 9, 2014. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
  64. "Ernst Narrowly Leads GOP Field in Iowa Senate Race". RealClearPolitics. April 9, 2014. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
  65. "Poll: Joni Ernst Takes Lead in Iowa GOP Senate Primary". Weekly Standard. April 9, 2014. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
  66. "Jacobs, Ernst tied in inaugural Loras Poll". TH Online. April 14, 2014. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
  67. ^ "Few of Ernst's missed Iowa Senate votes due to National Guard Duty". The Gazette. April 14, 2014. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  68. "Iowa Sen. Ernst juggles busy schedule with Senate work". The Gazette. April 1, 2014. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  69. The Register's Editorial: Joni Ernst offers Iowans strong credentials "In the federal budget deficit, for example, she readily concedes that cutting federal discretionary spending won't be nearly enough and that the biggest savings must come from Medicare and Medicaid." Des Moines Register, May 17, 2014
  70. Weisman, Jonathan. "On Tape, McConnell Envisions Using Budget to Undo Obama Initiatives". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
  71. Jacobs, Jennifer (2014-07-28). "Joni Ernst resumes campaign after 2 weeks of guard duty". Des Moines Register. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
  72. U.S. Senate candidates Braley and Ernst agree to 3 debates. Quad City Times http://qctimes.com/news/local/u-s-senate-candidates-bruce-braley-and-joni-ernst-agree/article_a8fd0b73-7a0c-5421-8243-1eee2e236805.html. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

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Party political offices
Preceded byChristopher Reed Republican nominee for U.S. Senator from Iowa
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