Free Republic

U.S. Senate primary runner-up Sam Clovis plans to accept a nomination for state treasurer at this Saturday’s Iowa’s GOP convention, TheIowaRepublican.com has learned. Clovis, a professor and the chairperson of the Department of Business Administration and Economics at Morningside College in Sioux City, confirmed the news Thursday evening. “This all developed in the last 24 hours or so,” he said. Clovis has received a lot of encouragement to run over the past couple of days, which at first he shrugged off, but after hearing how serious people were about him running, the former Air Force pilot started giving the idea...

Rep. Steve King said Thursday GOP leaders are “stacking the deck” with a snap election to replace Eric Cantor as majority leader and urged the Republican Conference to slow down and elect an “anti-amnesty” majority leader. “At a time when Republicans in Congress are fighting the Obama Administration to oppose snap elections for unions on American employers, Republican Leadership is trying to do the same in the United States House of Representatives,” the Iowa Republican said in a statement. “This snap election has the effect of stacking the deck. “Unfortunately, while both current candidates benefit from the hasty timeframe prescribed...

The Mount Vernon Assembly – Indianapolis FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Skip Brown skip.brown@iga.in.gov 317-232-9521 The Mount Vernon Assembly to Meet at Indiana Statehouse June 12 and 13 INDIANAPOLIS (June 9, 2014) – More than 100 state legislators representing 33 states will meet at the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis on June 12 and 13 to continue establishing the rules and procedures needed for a future state-led convention for proposing amendments to the U.S. Constitution, as authorized by Article V of the Constitution. The meeting is a continuation of efforts that began in December 2013 at George Washington’s historic Mount Vernon estate...

If “scorched earth circular firing squad” were an Olympic event, the Republican Party establishment would win the gold medal every time. Perhaps nowhere is this more true than in my home state of Iowa, where the undocumented Democrat known as Republican Governor (for life) Terry Branstad, and the corporatist shills surrounding him, could be poised to put the finishing touches on a complete rout of their own base. The end result could be the Republican Party of Iowa electing its third chairman in the last 28 months. Then nominating for Congress an agri-business lobbyist who finished fourth in the primary....

Just three days after her victory in Iowa’s Republican primary, Senate candidate Joni Ernst has taken a big lead over Democrat Bruce Braley in a poll conducted by the state’s Loras College. The poll, which surveyed 600 likely Iowa voters, found 48 percent of voters backing Ernst and 41.7 percent backing Braley, with 10.3 percent undecided. That’s a swing of nearly 14 points from Braley’s peak. That poll, by far the best Ernst has yet seen in the race, was balanced by a larger one published by Rasmussen Reports on the same day which showed the race as a dead...

The latest Rasmussen Reports statewide telephone survey of Likely Iowa Voters finds Republican Joni Ernst, the winner of Tuesday’s crowded party primary, with 45% support to Democratic Congressman Bruce Braley’s 44%. Three percent (3%) prefer some other candidate in the race, while nine percent (9%) are undecided.

The U.S. Senate race in Iowa is a dead heat. The latest Rasmussen Reports statewide telephone survey of Likely Iowa Voters finds Republican Joni Ernst, the winner of Tuesday’s crowded party primary, with 45% support to Democratic Congressman Bruce Braley’s 44%. Three percent (3%) prefer some other candidate in the race, while nine percent (9%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.) (Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook. The survey of 750 Likely Voters in Iowa was conducted on...

It appears that the barnyard theme in the U.S. Senate race will continue into the general election.  Braley found himself in hot water on Wednesday after releasing an ad that referred to Republican U.S. Senate candidate Joni Ernst as a “chick.” It actually got worse for Braley on Thursday when Democrat State Senator Steve Sodders said that the common practice of castrating hogs is equated to “mutilating animals” at a Braley press conference.Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey quickly released a statement on the issue. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey today issued the following statement after Bruce Braley’s campaign...

Great new political ad for the Branstad Reynolds ticket. If you would like to see exceptional marketing in action, watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDuA2QHgBVI

Joni Ernst is now a step closer to becoming the first female U.S. senator in Iowa’s history. blowing away her opponents in the five-way primary Tuesday night, winning with 56 percent of the vote. A relatively unknown candidate when she declared in July 2013, Ernst surged into the national spotlight in late March with a TV ad titled “Squeal,” in which she detailed how her experience castrating pigs as an Iowa farm girl would help her “cut pork” in Washington. She will face Democratic Rep. Bruce Braley (D-Iowa) in what could be a very close and expensive general election. So...

RED OAK, IA, June 3, 2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Two former Planned Parenthood abortion facilities are set to close this month, just six months after the abortion giant quietly laid off all but a single employee and stopped offering telemed abortions at both locations. Iowa Right to Life announced the impending closures in an email to pro-life activists, which featured a photo of a sign on the door of the Red Oak facility informing clients that the center is being “consolidated” with another facility in Council Bluffs effective June 18.

Joni Ernst only needed 35% of the vote to avoid a convention fight against her four competitors for the Republican nomination to the US Senate. Instead, she gained a clear majority of 56% and put herself in position to consolidate GOP support across all factions to face Rep. Bruce Braley, the uncontested Democratic nominee for the seat being vacated by retiring Democrat Tom Harkin: Joni Ernst, who highlighted her ability to shoot guns and castrate hogs to overcome disinterest in a sleepy primary election, dominated the field to become the first female GOP U.S. Senate nominee in Iowa history.The...

Joni Ernst parlayed her unusual support from establishment Republicans and conservatives to win Iowa's GOP Senate nomination outright on Tuesday, surpassing the 35% threshold needed to avoid a June 14 nominating convention, where nothing would have been guaranteed. The Associated Press called the race after Ernst had 53.7% of the vote with just under 20% of the precincts reporting. She will face Rep. Bruce Braley (D-IA), who won the Democratic nomination uncontested, to replace retiring Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA). Ernst will try to become the first female to be elected to federal office in Iowa. Perhaps giving 2016 GOP presidential...

DES MOINES, Iowa —The Missouri State Highway Patrol is investigating the drowning of a 20-year-old Iowa man who was handcuffed and being transported on suspicion of boating while intoxicated at the Lake of the Ozarks. Brandon Ellingson, 20, of Clive, was being transported when he stood up in the moving boat and "fell or jumped overboard." It happened about 5:30 p.m. Saturday. Authorities said Ellingson was handcuffed and wearing a life jacket when he went off the boat, but his life jacket fell off when he hit the water. Highway Patrol Sgt. Paul Reinsch said Monday officials are investigating whether...

The Iowa Primary Election is Tomorrow 03 June 2014. VOTE!

Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly's gun control group, Americans for Responsible Solutions, is demanding Iowa state Senator Joni Ernst (R) apologize for making pro-2nd Amendment comments the week after Elliot Rodger's stabbed three people to death before fatally shooting three others.

Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, is one of the most outspoken opponents of illegal immigration in Congress. On May 22, 2014, during a speech on the House floor, he argued that proposals to overhaul immigration laws are a Trojan horse for Republicans, since allowing illegal immigrants a path to citizenship will boost the number of Democratic voters and eventually doom the GOP. This is not the first time King has made this argument. Just over a year ago, King said that Ronald Reagan was wrong to have signed an "amnesty" law in 1986 that "gave Barack Obama about 15 million additional...

On Friday, failed 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney said it wasn't healthy that Congress has not passed amnesty legislation that the Congressional Budget Office determined would lower the wages of American workers. "I do believe it's important for us, before the presidential contest in 2016, to finally have immigration reform in place," Romney said, according to The Des Moines Register's Jennifer Jacobs. "I just don't think it's healthy for the country to continue to have this issue open and unresolved, particularly with so many families that are waiting for the answers." Romney said he was not for a "special"...

Barton (TX), Coffman, Denham, Valadao, Diaz-Barlart, Farenthold, Heck(NV), Reichert and Herrera Beutler voted no.

Pop quiz: What do Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin have in common? Hint: It's the same thing the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Senate Conservatives Action have in common with Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). The answer is they all back state Sen. Joni Ernst (R) in Iowa's U.S. Senate race. Tea party and establishment Republicans with a history of butting heads have coalesced behind Ernst's candidacy with less than a week to go until the June 3 primary. In an election cycle when tensions have been on full display in numerous races, Iowa is one of a handful of places...