Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Saturday that the nail-biter Iowa Senate race will be “critical” to Democrats.
“If we win Iowa we’re going to do just fine,” Reid said on a call hosted by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Talking Points Memo reported. “Iowa is critical. There’s no other way to say it.”
The race between Republican Joni Ernst and Democratic Rep. Bruce Braley is one of the closest in the country, with Ernst maintaining only the narrowest lead over Braley in public polling.
One year ago, Democrats were heavily favored to win the contest in Democratic-leaning Iowa. But after Braley made a string of mistakes early on and Ernst gained notoriety, the race became a true toss-up.
Now, each party is directing last-minute firepower to the Hawkeye State, with appearances by party surrogates and heavy spending on television and radio advertising. Recently, Hillary Clinton traveled to the state on multiple occasions to boost Braley. Sens. Marco Rubio and John McCain have appeared with Ernst on the campaign trail in recent days.
On the call, Reid echoed a common Democratic attack of Ernst, saying she is “so far to the right that maybe even a part of the right wouldn’t like what she’s talking about.”
