Joni Ernst
Joni Ernst | |||
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Junior U.S. Senator from Iowa From: January 3, 2015 – present | |||
Predecessor | Tom Harkin | ||
Successor | Incumbent (no successor) | ||
Former State Senator from Iowa's 12th District From: January 5, 2011 – November 28, 2014 | |||
Predecessor | Kim Reynolds | ||
Successor | Mark Costello | ||
Former Auditor of Montgomery County, Iowa From: 2005 – 2011 | |||
Predecessor | Connie Magneson | ||
Successor | Ted Schoonover | ||
Information | |||
Party | Republican | ||
Spouse(s) | Gail Ernst[1] (div.)[2] | ||
Religion | Lutheran[1] | ||
Military Service | |||
Allegiance | United States | ||
Service/branch | United States Army Iowa Army National Guard | ||
Service Years | 1993 – 2015 | ||
Rank | Lieutenant Colonel | ||
Unit | 185th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion | ||
Battles/wars | Iraq War |
Joni K. Ernst, born July 1, 1970 (age 54), is a U.S. Senator from Iowa who was elected in the 2014 Midterm Elections. A mostly conservative Republican, she has received the fervent backing of the Koch brothers, who propelled her 2014 run into victory to succeed retiring leftist Democrat Tom Harkin. She has on occasions caved into political correctness, including her advocacy for renaming military bases in mid-2020 to appease history-erasing deceitful liberals as "the right thing to do".[3] Ernst currently serves alongside the state's senior senator Chuck Grassley.
Largely an advocate for traditional conservative values, Ernst has been harshly attacked by bigoted liberals, many of whom despise women on the political right out of sexism. Mass-murdering abortion lobby Planned Parenthood has baselessly portrayed her as "anti-women",[4] and NBC News smeared her in 2020 as being "far-right".[5] Ernst has also been the subject of several death threats by unhinged leftists.[6][7] (see: Left-wing violence in the Trump era)
Contents
Early life/education
Joni Kay Culver was born in Red Oak, Iowa to farmers Marilyn and Richard Culver. A graduate and the valedictorian of Stanton High School, she later attended Iowa State University, where she earned a bachelor's degree in psychology. She employed at Hardee's to earn money for college tuition, making biscuits in morning hours.[8]
Military service
Ernst saw combat as a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003–2004) and served in the Iowa Army National Guard as well as the U.S. Army Reserves, where she rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.[9]
Early political career
Ernst served as auditor of Montgomery County, Iowa from 2005 to 2011. She was later elected to the 84th and 85th general assembly of the Iowa legislature, (January 2011 to January 2015) her second term as a state senator from District 12, representing six mostly rural counties in the southwest corner of Iowa.[1]
U.S. Senate
2014 run
Ernst campaigned in the Republican U.S. Senate primary with the claim "I'll know how to cut pork".[10]
She received 52% of the vote in November 2014, while her Democrat opponent Bruce Braley received only 44%. In her victory, she swept 85 of Iowa's 99 counties.[11] She was later chosen to give the rebuttal to the president Barack Obama's State of the Union address in 2015.
Tenure
While mostly maintaining strong conservative stances, Ernst has also been considered a largely bipartisan senator on certain issues.[12]
Due to concerns on waivers for ethanol regulations, Ernst voted against proceeding a nomination made by Donald Trump for the EPA in late June 2020.[13]
Sen. Ernst was among many Republicans who backed a resolution introduced by Tom Cotton (R–AR) to oppose defunding the police.[14]
Along with several other moderate/conservative Republican senators, Ernst caved into a Democrat pro-Obamacare proposal in early October 2020, voting to protect the failed healthcare plan from being overturned after facing false attacks that she supposedly opposes protections for pre-existing conditions.[15]
In late October 2020, Sen. Ernst wrote an op-ed on Breitbart advocating for passing Sarah's Law that she introduced to ensure punishments for illegal aliens who commit crimes in the United States.[16] The legislation is named after Sarah Root, a 21 year-old Iowan who was killed by a drunk illegal alien in Omaha, Nebraska in 2016.[17]
Ernst and several other U.S. senators sponsored a bipartisan bill in December 2020 to allow victims of sexual abuse to sue pornographic websites that profit from such.[18]
Caving into political correctness
Despite having once aligned herself with the anti-establishment, anti-globalist movement conservative Steve King, Ernst condemned the representative over misconstrued and misrepresented statements as he faced heavy smears from the left.[19] She refused to endorse King in his 2020 re-election bid.[20]
In an interview with commentator Guy Benson, Ernst trashed Sidney Powell, an attorney for Michael Flynn and Donald Trump, for suggesting that candidates for public office are complicit in the degrading of election integrity.[21]
2020 run
Ernst ran for re-election in 2020 to a second Senate term. Despite outrageous liberal smears[22] and misleading left-wing polling given free publicity by lamestream media outlets including The Hill,[23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31] she won the general election over Democrat challenger Theresa Greenfield despite millions spent to unseat her,[32] solidifying support from the rural areas.[33] The far-left Washington Post erroneously suggested a possible flip for the Democrats.[34]
Political positions
According to On the Issues, Sen. Ernst is strongly conservative.[35] However, the Heritage Foundation has given her an overall rating of just under 70% due to certain votes in favor of the establishment,[36] particularly on the national debt.
Abortion
Ernst has described herself as "adamantly pro-life".[37] She opposes permitting abortion in almost all instances, except for situations where such would be "necessary" to save the life of the mother, a matter which often becomes highly misconstrued due to blatant liberal deceit.[38] She has advocated for passing the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act as U.S. senator.
Budget/debt
Despite having ran for Senate on a fiscally conservative platform and vocally opposing wasteful spending,[39] Ernst has voted several times in favor of bills to maintain the status quo of rising debt and dangerous federal spending levels.[40][41][42][43]
Trade
Ernst half-heartedly defended President Trump's trade policies, praising him for his actions to combat China's actions that hurt Iowa farmers while also criticizing him for not ending economic nationalist policies that benefit Americans for the long run.[44]
Liz Cheney
After Liz Cheney was booted from the chair position, Ernst came to her defense.[45]
See also
- Martha McSally, former U.S. senator from Arizona
- David Young, former U.S. representative for Iowa's 3rd congressional district
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Senator Joni K. Ernst" (2015). The Iowa Legislature website. Retrieved on January 16, 2014.
- ↑ Gail Ernst, Joni Ernst’s Ex-Husband: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know
- ↑ Multiple references:
- ↑ Planned Parenthood Ad Claims Pro-Life Woman Joni Ernst Hates Women
- ↑ Why Joni Ernst is saying Roe v Wade probably won't be overturned
- ↑ Nebraska man, 64, arrested by FBI agents after he 'threatened to kill Iowa US Sen. Joni Ernst'
- ↑ Two references:
- ↑ Iowa Press Debates: U.S. Senate
- ↑ Twitchy staff (January 15, 2015). 'Jackass': Luke Russert writes off combat vet Joni Ernst as 'unknown pig farmer'. Twitchy. Retrieved on January 16, 2015.
- ↑ Strong, Jonathan (March 24, 2014). "Senate candidate: I'll use my hog castrating experience to help end pork barrel spending". Breitbart. Retrieved on January 16, 2014
- ↑ Pate, Paul D. [Iowa Secretary of State] (December 29, 2014). "November 4, 2014 general election". Iowa Secretary of State website. Retrieved on January 15, 2015.
- ↑ Bipartisanship rankings show Joni Ernst toward the top
- ↑ Ernst sinks vote on Trump EPA nominee
- ↑ GOP senators introduce resolution opposing calls to defund the police
- ↑ Vulnerable Republicans break with Trump on ObamaCare lawsuit
- ↑ Ernst, Joni (October 21, 2020). Exclusive – Sen. Joni Ernst: Sarah’s Law Is About Justice. Breitbart News Network. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
- ↑ Sen. Ernst's Bill Would Punish Violent Illegal Immigrants. Democrats Still Opposed.
- ↑ New Senate bill would allow victims to sue websites that host revenge porn, forced sexual acts
- ↑ Grassley, Ernst condemn Steve King's 'white supremacist' comments
- ↑ Joni Ernst won’t endorse Steve King in 4th District GOP primary
- ↑ Ernst: Trump lawyer claim that candidates pay to rig elections 'absolutely outrageous'
- ↑ Lincoln Project launches ad targeting Republican Joni Ernst in Iowa
- ↑ Joni Ernst's approval rating drops 10 points: poll
- ↑ Poll: Ernst lead evaporates in Iowa Senate race
- ↑ Ernst challenger leads by 3 points in tight Iowa Senate race
- ↑ Cook Political Report shifts several Senate races toward Democrats
- ↑ Poll: Trump, Ernst lead Democratic challengers by 3 points in Iowa
- ↑ Sabato's Crystal Ball shifts Iowa Senate race to 'toss-up,' Georgia toward GOP
- ↑ Poll shows tight Senate race in Iowa
- ↑ Poll finds Ernst with 1-point lead in Iowa
- ↑ Ernst holds narrow lead over Democratic challenger in Iowa: poll
- ↑ Two references:
- ↑ Iowa losses underscore Democrats' struggles with attracting rural voters
- ↑ Joni Ernst is now in trouble. Trump is a huge part of her problem.
- ↑ Joni Ernst on the Issues
- ↑ Sen. Joni Ernst - Scorecard 116: 72% | Heritage Action For America
- ↑ Joni Ernst on Abortion
- ↑ Hard Cases | Live Action
- ↑ Varney, James (September 22, 2019). Joni Ernst aims to change fed's 'spend it while you have it' mentality. The Washington Times. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
- ↑ $500 BILLION DOC FIX
- ↑ Bloated $855 Billion CROMNIBUS Spending Package
- ↑ The 'Bipartisan' Budget Act of 2019
- ↑ The Domestic Minibus Spending Package
- ↑ Multiple references:
- ↑ https://www.huffpost.com/entry/liz-cheney-gop-joni-ernst_n_6099afbae4b0aead1b8762bf
External links
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