Poll is Third in First 10 Days of General Election to Show Senator Ernst’s Favorability In Steep Fallout With Iowa Voters

The first general election poll from the “gold standard” Des Moines Register/Mediacom exposes disastrous election-year prospects for the third-most unpopular senator in the country Joni Ernst. Over the past year, Senator Ernst’s favorability plummeted from 56% to 45%, with her unfavorability equally climbing 29% to 40%. 

Broadly, Senator Ernst’s half-decade of putting corporate special interests over Iowans has put her political career in severe jeopardy. Now she is trailing businesswoman and Democratic nominee Theresa Greenfield in key demographics that will decide this election, including women and independent voters.

The numbers are yet another setback to a vulnerable campaign that kicked off the general election already facing a “nosedive” in approval and “on the defensive” – and the third poll since the start of the General Election to show Senator Ernst deeply unpopular with voters.

  • This week’s Civiqs polls showed Ernst underwater by 13% with a 52% unfavorability as voters are “souring” on another six years of broken promises.
  • June 5’s PPP Poll showed Senator Ernst at a measly 38% favorability, with only 35% of Iowans approving of her failure to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • The Register’s March 7 poll showed Senator Ernst’s approval “plunge” 10 points in just a year. 

“This poll is a bitter reality check for Senator Ernst that’s coming far too late for an election-year rewrite of her record,” said Jeremy Busch, Iowa Democratic Party spokesperson. “Trailing with key swing voters, including women and independents, Iowans are fed up with Senator Ernst’s abject failure to ‘make Washington squeal.’ They are ready for a new senator who will put the people of Iowa above corporate PACs and dark money donors. It’s clear that not only is Iowa on the map – Iowans’ disdain for Senator Ernst’s broken promises has put control of the senate in striking distance.”