As we see all over the country, GOP primaries are turning into insane clown shows (North Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, etc.) but the Iowa U.S. Senate GOP primary has turned out to be circus of it's own:
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/...
Rick Santorum's taking sides in the free-for-all GOP Senate primary in Iowa.
The former senator from Pennsylvania and 2012 Republican presidential candidate – who's seriously considering another bid for the White House – Wednesday will endorse Sam Clovis. The conservative talk radio host backed Santorum's 2012 presidential campaign, which was fueled by a delayed victory over eventual GOP nominee Mitt Romney in the Iowa caucuses.
Santorum will make his endorsement through his Patriot Voices PAC.
"I know what is in his heart and Sam is a true, full-spectrum conservative who believes in the greatness of American exceptionalism and the founding principles in our Declaration of Independence and Constitution," said Santorum in an email release obtained by CNN.
"I have watched this race develop and was not going to get involved, but I feel compelled to more publicly voice my support for Sam because so-called conservative groups in Washington, D.C. have tried to anoint a candidate," Santorum added. - CNN, 5/14/14
Just a reminder that Clovis was the guy who claimed President Obama has avoided impeachment because he's black. So it's no wonder Santorum would get behind Clovis. He's also been hitting Ernst on taxes:
http://theiowarepublican.com/...
This morning Santorum got of the sidelines and officially backed Clovis in Iowa’s U.S. Senate race, but in doing so called out “so-called conservative groups” in Washington, D.C. that are attempting to mislead Iowa conservatives by trying to anoint candidate. Santorum, who is eluding to State Senator Joni Ernst, goes on to say, “Simply put, a voting record that supports tax increases and not showing up for the job the people entrusted you to do are not conservative principles.”
Santorum’s endorsement is now the third endorsement Clovis has received this week by prominent social conservatives. Clovis was officially endorsed by talk radio host Steve Deace on Monday. On Tuesday, it was the FAMiLY Leader’s Bob Vander Plaats, and today it’s Santorum. Santorum’s decision to take a shot at Ernst in his endorsement is interesting considering that Clovis has not shown much aggression in the Republican primary.
Santorum’s 2012 national campaign manager, Michael Biundo, is consulting Clovis’ campaign. Chuck Laudner, a Santorum confidant, Iowa grassroots organizer, and conservative activists is serving as Clovis’ campaign manager. - The Iowa Republican, 5/14/14
Here's Platts' endorsement of Clovis:
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/...
"It's not that I'm against any of the other three candidates, but I really believe Sam is the most prepared to serve in the United States Senate," Vander Plaats told The Des Moines Register this morning.
Vander Plaats is the head of the religious conservative activist organization the Family Leader, but he noted that the Family Leader is not taking a position in this race.
After seriously considering a bid for retiring U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin's seat himself, Vander Plaats decided Clovis is the best bet. He also considered Joni Ernst, Matt Whitaker and Mark Jacobs, and said that if Clovis "doesn't get over this hurdle" and isn't the eventual nominee, he'll be happy to back whomever it is. The primary vote is in three weeks. - Te Des Moines Register, 5/13/14
And with these latest endorsements, they could make a difference:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/...
Clovis, who is perhaps as much a Tea Partier as a social conservative in the dichtomy of the right, seemed mired in third place in the battle between businessman Mark Jacobs and first-term state senator Joni Ernst to take on Congressman Bruce Braley in November. But, the twin endorsements of Vander Plaats and Santorum, leave Clovis well positioned to become the candidate of social conservatives in a state where the religious right plays an outsize role in Republican primaries and gives the economics professor and Air Force veteran a clear path to victory.
Vander Plaats, who narrowly lost the 2010 primary to Governor Terry Branstad by a margin of 50%-41%, is considered a kingmaker in Iowa politics, and endorsed both Mike Huckabee and Santorum prior to their Iowa caucus wins. Santorum, who is a potential 2016 candidate, built a strong organization in the Hawkeye State during his 2012 campaign and has kept up ties with the grassroots.
This doesn't mean Clovis is the favorite. The mustached, rumpled candidate has a physique that is more Chris Christie than Chris Hemsworth and had only $54,845 cash on hand in his most recent FEC report. In contrast, Ernst, who drew national attention with her first television ad, has racked up major endorsements from groups like the NRA and Chamber of Commerce and Jacobs, the former CEO of Reliant Energy, has been relying on his personal wealth to fund his campaign. It does give the social conservative an opportunity to consolidate the support of the evangelical grassroots and a chance to force the race into a convention, which happens if no candidate receives 35% of the vote on primary day, if not an upset victory. - The Daily Beast, 5/15/14
While Ernst has the backing of the Chamber of Commerce, the NRA, Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin and Mark Jacobs has his own personal wealth to spend, Clovis is using the Chamber of Commerce's endorsement against Ernst:
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/...
“The release of thousands of criminal aliens into society is unconscionable and has proved to be a danger to our communities,” declared Sam Clovis, candidate for the U.S. Senate. “The push for amnesty by establishment self-interests, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and those supporting the provisions of the ‘Gang of Eight’ bill must be stopped, especially in light of the Obama Administration’s malfeasance in executing current immigration law.”
“It is time for someone to stand up for the security Americans deserve,” said Clovis. “I will be that individual. First, we need to uphold the Rule of Law, enforce our current immigration laws and secure our borders.” Clovis continued by saying that he can see where this disregard for the law is leading, knowing that the push for amnesty is once again upon us. “The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is again demanding amnesty and supporting Joni Ernst in Iowa’s Senate race. We cannot trust this Administration to enforce our current immigration laws, nor can we compromise our principles to accommodate the establishment’s desire to push any reckless reforms through Congress.” - The Iowa Republican, 5/16/14
And Clovis thinks he can win on this issues:
http://wcfcourier.com/...
Campaigning in town hall meetings, Sam Clovis cites studies, data and historical examples like a college professor. That’s because he is a college professor.
Clovis, running for the GOP nomination for U.S. senator, is chairman of the economics and business administration department at Morningside College in Sioux City.
He’s campaigning in a crowded field of five contenders. What sets him apart, Clovis says, is a detailed knowledge of the issues -- a characteristic that is drawing in more support as the primary nears.
Clovis touts his foreign policy, national security and homeland security experience from military and other government agency stints before moving into academia in 2003. That gives him the full resume that will draw Republican primary voters, said Clovis, a native of Medora, Kan.
He favors replacing the federal income tax with a national sales tax. He wants to reduce the scope of government and strip away the 2010 federal health care reform package.
After polling in single digits through April, Clovis is optimistic the field will shift as voters pick a candidate. - WCF Courier, 5/17/14
We'll see. The polls show Ernst up in the GOP primary:
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/...
Joni Ernst has captured momentum and opened up a substantial lead in the Republican U.S. Senate race in Iowa, according to a new survey.
A Loras College Poll released today shows Ernst is 12 percentage points up over her closest competitor, Mark Jacobs, in the five-way battle for the nomination for the rare open seat.
Ernst, a hog-castrating, Harley-riding markswoman, leads among likely Republican primary voters in Iowa, 31 percent to Jacobs' 19 percent. The survey of 600 Iowans was taken May 12-13. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
"It is highly unlikely that we are looking at a convention to decide the nomination," predicted Christopher Budzisz, the poll's director and an associate politics professor. If none of the candidates earns at least 35 percent of the vote on June 3, party activists at the state GOP convention would choose the nominee.
About 29 percent are undecided less than three weeks until the vote, the poll found. - Des Moines Register, 5/15/14
And it's no secret why Ernst is risen in the GOP primary:
http://takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/...
The Iowa Senate candidate who charmed the Internet recently with her hog-castration ad—a disturbing metaphor for her claim that she would “cut pork” in Washington—has joined the distinguished club of political aspirants who shoot things they don’t like, on camera.
Here’s Joni Ernst at a firing range, taking “aim at wasteful spending” and setting her “sights on Obamacare.” - New York Times, 513/14
And Iowa voters should be afraid of Ernst winning the general election because of this:
http://www.motherjones.com/...
On Friday, Ernst sat down with the Des Moines Register's editorial board for a wide-ranging interview. Ernst served in the Iraq War in 2003, "running convoys through Kuwait and into southern Iraq" according to her campaign website. She defended that war during the interview, saying that the intelligence at the time offered compelling reason to displace Saddam. "Obviously the president thought there was actionable intelligence, she said, "so as an Iraqi War veteran I stand beside that and I'll stand beside every other soldier I served with in believing we were on a clearly defined mission to go into Iraq." (Her response in the video above starts at the 23:20 mark.)
Why is Ernst so willing to support Bush's decision to invade? She hints that she has inside knowledge that there were, indeed, still weapons of mass destruction when the war began. "We don't know that there were weapons on the ground when we went in," she said, "however, I do have reason to believe there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq." When a Register reporter quizzed her on what information she has, Ernst said "my husband served in Saudi Arabia as the Army Central Command sergeant major for a year and that's a hot-button topic in that area."
Of course, US troops never managed to find any such weapons after the invasion. George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld have all conceded that the initial intelligence was flawed. - Mother Jones, 5/12/14
Meanwhile, Jacobs is trying to take down Ernst in the primary:
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/...
U.S. Senate candidate Mark Jacobs pokes fun at rival Republican Joni Ernst in a new campaign advertisement, saying "in politics people do strange things to get elected, especially when they have something to hide."
Jacobs's new 30-second TV ad uses still images from an Ernst campaign ad in which she pulls up to a shooting range on a motorcycle, wearing a helmet, black leather and protective glasses.
The male narrator in Jacobs' TV ad, echoing a radio ad Jacobs' campaign released in Iowa yesterday, says: "When it comes to protecting Iowa, she's firing blanks."
Ernst, a lieutenant colonel in the Iowa Army National Guard and an Iraq War veteran, missed votes in the Iowa Senate this past session while serving Guard duty and while campaigning.
Jacobs' ad, called "Protect," is his' fifth television spot of his U.S. Senate campaign. No other candidate has spent more on advertising, considering a potent weapon in influencing voters. - Des Moines Register, 5/14/14
And Jacobs has been trying to make agriculture a big issue in the primary:
http://www.ktiv.com/...
Jacobs was recently endorsed by Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey, who says that it's important for Iowa agriculture to have a proven business leader like Jacobs in office.
With just 18 days remaining before the primary, Jacobs is focused on growing the private sector.
But he supports the farm bill, and says that in Iowa, agriculture is more than a business - it's vital to Iowans.
With his background in business, he believes he's positioned to earn the vote of Iowa farmers.
"I understand the commodity of the business, I understand the risk profile of the business, and I think I'm someone who could represent the interest of the people in the agricultural field very well," said Jacobs. - KTIV, 5/16/14
But Jacobs has been getting painted as an out of touch millionaire:
http://www.politico.com/...
A new Republican super PAC is preparing to attack Iowa Senate candidate Mark Jacobs over the airwaves, hitting the wealthy energy executive for his past support of cap-and-trade proposals and political donations to Democrats.
Jacobs, the former CEO of Houston-based Reliant Energy who has put more than $1.6 million of his own money into the race, is one of the leading candidates in Iowa’s June 3 primary. His chief GOP competition for the open Senate seat appears to be state Sen. Joni Ernst, a military veteran who has attracted support from some powerful national conservatives.
The super PAC American Heartland aims to back up Ernst in her duel with Jacobs, branding him in a forthcoming, six-figure TV campaign as a “Texas millionaire” who has waffled in his political views. The PAC, which was incorporated last fall, has not previously been active; it disclosed no campaign contributions and had a bank balance of $0 at the end of March, according to Federal Election Commission records. - Politico, 5/6/14
We'll see what happens between now and June 3rd. Meanwhile, Rep. Bruce Braley (D. IA) has been focusing on getting his school bus safety legislation passed:
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/...
U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley said he's hopeful a school bus safety plan he's pushing can be added to a larger transportation bill and win congressional approval this year.
Braley, D-Iowa, highlighted the legislation – which would boost school bus safety laws around the country to match measures recently enacted in Iowa – during a visit Tuesday to Wallace Elementary in Johnston.
"It's important as we're winding down another school year to think about protecting those kids who get on school buses every day," Braley said in a quick meeting with reporters outside the school just as a line of buses pulled away to take students home for the day.
At this point in an election year (and because Braley serves in the U.S. House's Democratic minority), he acknowledged that passing the School Bus Safety Act into law as a standalone bill was highly unlikely. A more likely option will be to add it to a larger piece of legislation moving through Congress.
"The challenge is to look for a vehicle – no pun intended – in the House and the Senate which is a transportation bill that is moving and try to get bipartisan support to add these provisions to it," Braley said.
Braley added that he's having "a lot of conversations" regarding one such potential vehicle in the House. - Des Moines Register, 5/13/14
And Braley recently secured a big endorsement for his campaign:
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/...
Abortion rights activists with NARAL Pro Choice America PAC today endorsed Democrat Bruce Braley for in Iowa's U.S. Senate race.
"Bruce Braley has a flawless record in support of a woman's right to make her own medical decisions," the political action committee's president, Ilyse Hogue, said in a statement. "He is the clear choice in a field of conservatives who want to deny Americans the ability to choose what is right for their health and their families. We need a Congress that respects and trusts women."
Braley is the lone Democratic candidate in the race for retiring Democratic U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin's seat. Five Republicans are vying in the June 3 primary election for the opportunity to take on Braley. - Des Moines Register, 5/15/14
If you want to get involved and donate to Braley's campaign, you can do so here:
http://www.brucebraley.com/