(Urbandale, IA) Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) came to Iowa to stump for State Senator Joni Ernst (R-Red Oak) the night before the Iowa GOP U.S. Senate primary. He gave brief remarks at a cook-out the Ernst campaign held for volunteers at their campaign headquarters.
Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds gave the opening remarks calling Ernst “a proven leader who understands Iowa values.” She alluded to Congressman Bruce Braley’s remarks about farmers and said it was time to send him back home to Iowa to reconnect with Iowa values.
Rubio said in order for Americans to reclaim the American dream they need to start by reclaiming the leadership in the United States Senate. That is one of the reasons he was in Iowa. He called Ernst “an exceptional candidate.” Rubio noted that Ernst is the first candidate that he has endorsed in a contested primary.
He also said Ernst has “an extraordinary amount of credibility on national security issues” because of her military background. He added, “we are going to need that because the foreign policy of this President is a disaster.”
He also said she has a proven track record of conservative activism in the Iowa Senate.
Ernst, who is currently leading in the polls turned her attention to Congressman Bruce Braley and provided a contrast between herself and Braley on taxes, Obamacare, energy policy, and views on the size of government.
Rubio told the media after Ernst’s remarks that he was focused on winning a majority in the U.S. Senate and not on a future race.
Ernst said that she was encouraged by her prospects of winning tomorrow night, but that she is going to continue to work as though she’s ten points behind. “We are going to push all the way until 9:00p tomorrow.” Caffeinated Thoughts asked Ernst how she plans on unifying the party if she wins the nomination tomorrow as it is likely 6 in 10 Iowa Republicans won’t be voting for her. “Through our message of making sure government is getting out of the way, small government, being fiscally responsible, putting government to work, so that means getting out of the way, letting the job creators do what they do best and that is putting Americans to work so we have strong families, more people going to work, that makes for a better America,” Ernst said.
Not everyone who came to the Ernst campaign headquarters were supportive of Rubio’s message. A group of approximately 20 protestors were across the street protesting Rubio’s position on amnesty for illegal immigrants.