Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst is slamming the Democratic Senate candidate — in North Carolina.
Ernst, first elected to the Senate in 2014 and seeking a second term in November, on Monday took the unusual step of attacking a Democratic candidate in another state’s Senate race. She tried to link her Iowa Democratic rival, Theresa Greenfield, to Cal Cunningham, the Democratic nominee in North Carolina, who is also locked in a tight race.
Cunningham over the weekend apologized for exchanging sexually explicit text messages with a married woman, Los Angeles public relations executive Arlene Guzman Todd. Cunningham is an officer in the Army Reserve and is married with two children, and Guzman is married to a military veteran.
Cunningham, a former state senator, admitted he sent the texts and released a statement late Friday.
“I have hurt my family, disappointed my friends, and am deeply sorry,” Cunningham said. “The first step in repairing those relationships is taking complete responsibility, which I do.”
Cunningham is in a close race against Republican Sen. Thom Tillis. One of three Republican senators recently diagnosed with COVID-19, Tillis is polling behind Cunningham by 6 points, according to the RealClearPolitics average.
Ernst, meanwhile, is in a highly competitive race against Greenfield, a contest in which she was thought to have the upper hand. The RealClearPolitics average shows Greenfield with a slight lead. That’s buoyed Democrats as they seek to win a Senate majority. Senate Republicans currently have a 53-47 edge in the chamber.
Ernst on Monday lashed out at Greenfield via Cunningham’s scandal, just 29 days away from the election.
“Theresa Greenfield has yet to condemn Democrat Cal Cunningham’s actions or return the tainted money she raised with him,” said Melissa Deatsch, a spokeswoman for Ernst. “Greenfield’s silence regarding Cunningham, the numerous times her businesses were sued for fraud, or how her last congressional campaign committed felony election fraud says everything about her character and why we can’t trust her.”
Ernst is a strong supporter of President Trump, who has been accused by multiple women of sexual assault. In the last weeks of the 2016 presidential race, Trump had to explain an Access Hollywood tape that showed him bragging about grabbing women by their private parts.
