A new poll today shows Senator Joni Ernst’s election-year woes are only growing worse: her approval rating dropped 8% since December, and with just six more months until Election Day, Ernst now finds herself underwater and increasingly out-of-step with Iowa voters.
Only 37% of Iowans approve of Senator Ernst’s job performance, with only 19% still unsure – showing that Ernst is past the point of being able to re-introduce herself after a half-decade of putting her political career above the interests of Iowans. With the presidential race within the margin of error, the poll shows Iowans are by-and-large ready for new leadership in Washington who will fight for them.
The new poll follows months of signs that Senator Ernst’s seat is ripe for the taking. In March, the Cook Political Report downgraded Ernst’s re-election chances after a Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll showed Ernst’s approval rating had fallen 10 points in a year and a Morning Consult poll found her to be the third-most unpopular senator in the country. Now, Mitch McConnell and Ernst’s dark-money allies have booked more than $15 million in TV ads so far in their desperate effort to save “another tough hold for Republicans on a map that’s been expanding for Democrats.”
“Iowans know Senator Ernst for who she really is: a Washington politician who puts her own political interests above all else,” said Jeremy Busch, Iowa Democratic Party spokesperson. “Despite her best efforts to rewrite her record, barely over one-third of Iowans approve of her job in Washington. With less than six months until the election, Iowans aren’t buying what Senator Ernst is selling, and they’re ready for a new senator who will put them first.”