Iowa GOP State Sen. Joni Ernst said she was "finishing very strong" in her bid for the U.S. Senate by returning to a theme that has been popular for her, another ad emphasizing her farming roots.
In the ad, Ernst stands among hogs in a pen and says, "It's a mess. Dirty. Noisy. And, it stinks. Not this lot. I'm talking about the one in Washington. Too many typical politicians hogging, wasting, and full of — well, let's just say bad ideas."
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"We're finishing very strong here in Iowa. We started out very strong with the first 'squeal' ad. So, we wanted to do something catchy to wrap up the election cycle," Ernst told "Fox & Friends" on Friday.
Ernst said the ad "again emphasizes my southwest Iowa farm roots," and was connecting with women and "farm families." By contrast, she said her Democratic opponent, Rep. Bruce Braley, was running ads attacking her because he couldn't stand on his record.
Ernst leads Braley in polls by an average of 2.5 percentage points, according to
realclearpolitics.com.
"When you don't have a good record to run on, you just tear everybody else down. And, that's what Congressman Braley is attempting to do with me. He doesn't have anything good to say about his own record," she said.
Ernst explained her experience in the National Guard, which included a tour in Iraq, would aid in international concerns for the country.
"We do see right now, with everything that we have going on internationally, I believe that someone that has military experience, somebody that has had boots on (the) ground, I did serve in Operation Iraqi Freedom as a company commander, I believe that helps put perspective on our international front. I think it's very important," she said.
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