Sen. Joni Ernst will join a rally with Sen. Marco Rubio in Iowa next week, calling her Senate colleague a “strong conservative and a good friend.”
“Our nation faces exponential threats, and over the past year, I’ve had the opportunity to work alongside Marco Rubio on issues critical to our national security,” Ernst said in a statement to reporters. “Marco is not only a strong conservative and a good friend, but someone that I trust to secure our country.”
Ernst asserted that she was not endorsing Rubio, keeping her promise to Iowa voters not to endorse before the Iowa caucuses. But her decision to appear at a rally with him comes at an important time as Rubio struggles for success in the state.
In Iowa, Rubio and Ernst will host a Des Moines rally on Monday that will kick off a series of six events which the Florida senator will host in Iowa as the caucus vote draws closer.
Her Republican Senate colleague, Chuck Grassley, has also chosen not to endorse before the caucuses. Still, he introduced Donald Trump at a political rally on Saturday.