Iowa Senate Race A Dead Heat

In what’s now considered a “key Senate race”, one in which Republican Joni Ernst initially wasn’t even supposed to be competitive, Ernst and the Democrat’s new John Edwards, Bruce Braley are now all tied up.

PPP’s newest Iowa Senate poll finds a toss up race- Bruce Braley is at 42% to 41% for Joni Ernst with third party candidates splitting 5%. In a straight head to head the two are tied at 42%. This represents a significant tightening from PPP’s last poll in May when Braley led 45/39, but is consistent with most public polling since the primary.

Both immigration and the White House continue to be a drag on Braley, only “40% of voters approve of the job (Obama’s) doing to 53% who disapprove, and with independents it’s a 26/64 spread.”

Add to that Braley’s gaffes, as in mocking popular Iowan Chuck Grassley, and his image problems that have proved to be an easy target and Iowa is shaping up like a real bonus for the GOP in their battle to take control of the Senate.

A new ad out from America Rising reveals Braley’s inspiration for getting into politics was none other then John ‘Pretty Boy” Edwards, who went on to implode on the national stage perhaps even a bit more notoriously than Bruce Braley has thus far in Iowa.

At the very least, Democrats are already being forced to employ significant resources they very much need elsewhere to defend against a Republican Party determined to make big gains in the mid-term elections.