Now here’s a campaign ad that could hog all of the attention.
Joni Ernst, an Iowa Republican state senator running to replace the retiring Sen. Tom Harkin (D), unveiled a web ad Monday that translates her farm life as a youth to a possible political life in Washington, D.C.
“I grew up castrating hogs on an Iowa farm. So when I get to Washington, I’ll know how to cut pork,” she says. She later adds that the nation’s capital is full of big spenders — and it’s time to “make them squeal.”
Ernst is one of multiple candidates vying for the GOP’s nomination for the open seat. Rep. Bruce Braley has had the Democratic nomination on virtual lockdown since jumping into the race early last year.
Whereas Ernst showed a fondness of Iowa farm life in the ad — it was set against the backdrop of a hog barn — Braley was caught on camera in a video released Tuesday disparaging Sen. Chuck Grassley’s (R-Iowa) ag background, given his post as ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“If you help me win this race, you may have someone with your background, your experience, your voice, someone who’s been literally fighting tort reform for 30 years in a visible and public way, on the Senate Judiciary Committee,” Braley told a recent gathering of lawyers, according to AmericaRisingPAC.org. “Or you might have a farmer from Iowa who never went to law school, never practiced law, serving as the next chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee.”
If Republicans take control of the Senate in 2014, Grassley would be in line to take over as Judiciary Committee chairman. The election of Braley, a trial lawyer, would help Democrats maintain control.
Video of Ernst’s ad is below.
