Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will headline a SHE-PAC rally in Des Moines, Iowa, on April 27th for conservative Iowa Senate candidate Joni Ernst, who has taken a two-point lead over a liberal Republican businessman who had been leading before Palin endorsed Ernst.
The rally at the Hy-Vee Conference Center will feature Nebraska Sen. Deb Fischer, Iowa’s Lieutenant Gov. Kim Reynolds, and Kay Orr, the former Nebraska governor who was the country’s first Republican female governor. It will likely also make it difficult for Democrats to use the “war on women” card in Iowa.
State Senator Ernst gained national recognition for a commercial about castrating hogs, which even made it to The Tonight Show.
“I’m Joni Ernst. I grew up castrating hogs on an Iowa farm. So when I get to Washington, I’ll know how to cut pork,” Ernst said in the ad.
Though Ernst has been outspent nearly 100-1, the ad, along with Palin’s endorsement, has rocketed her past Mark Jacobs, the liberal businessman who had expressed support for cap and trade, donated to Arlen Specter, and, according to Palin, is a “wishy-washy” politician:
Bold conservative castrates pigs – $9000
Wishy-washy politicians flood airwaves with predictable ads touting status quo (which needs castration) – $1,000,000
Latest poll results – priceless
Former South Carolina Senator and Heritage Foundation President Jim DeMint said Palin’s endorsement has the most impact in GOP primaries, and Ernst will hope that Palin, who has the highest favorability rating among 2016 GOP presidential primary voters and won the hearts of Iowans in 2011, will continue to boost her name ID across the state. Nearly half of Iowa’s GOP voters still remain undecided, according to recent polls. Former U.S. Attorney Matt Whitaker and talk radio host Sam Clovis register in single digits.
“If Nebraska’s Deb Fischer can see through the bull in Washington, then Iowa’s Joni Ernst can help her cut through the pork,” Palin wrote in her Facebook post endorsing her candidacy, while also touting Ernst’s military service and “A” NRA rating. “Growing up on a hog farm in Southwest Iowa, Joni has taken her ‘pork cutting’ skills to the Iowa State Senate where she has been a champion for life, small government, and lower taxes – voting for the largest tax cut in Iowa history.”
Palin proved how valuable her endorsement is in Nebraska when she endorsed Fischer during the 2012 election cycle and propelled her to the Senate:
The Republican establishment spent millions backing Jon Bruning, while Washington’s conservative establishment, including Freedom Works, spent millions backing Don Stenberg. But after Palin wrote a 135-word Facebook post to endorse Deb Fischer, the then-unknown candidate suddenly had “momentum, buzz, and name identification” and rocketed to the top of the polls en route to wins in the primary and general election.
Ernst wants to follow Fischer’s path to Washington.
Republicans need to gain six seats to win back control of the Senate. The nominee will have a better chance to win in Iowa since the GOP opposition research group America Rising released a video of Rep. Bruce Braley (D-IA), the Democrat who will run for the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), “denigrating Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) at a fundraiser with trial lawyers from Texas as just a ‘farmer from Iowa who never went to law school.'”
The Iowa GOP Senate primary is June 3rd, and if a candidate does not surpass the 35% threshold, the nominee will be chosen at a convention.
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