Some mixed news from Iowa courtesy of Quinnipac:
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/...
Democratic U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley leads Republican state Sen. Joni Ernst 44 percent to 40 percent in Iowa's U.S. Senate race, a poll released this morning by Quinnipiac University shows.
Ernst is closing a wide gap - Braley led with 42 percent to Ernst's 29 percent in Quinnipiac's March 13 survey.
But there's "an unusual gender gap," with more female registered voters supporting the man while more men support the woman, said Peter Brown, the assistant poll director, in a news release. Women back Braley 47 percent to 36 percent, while men back Ernst 44 percent to 40 percent.
That's due to some degree to the fact that women tend to lean Democratic while men lean Republican, Brown said. But voters think Ernst would do a better job on issues important to women than Braley, 49 percent to 30 percent.
Braley and Ernst are grappling for the U.S. Senate seat that Democratic U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin leaves open when he retires in January. It's one of the most-watched Senate races in the country as Republicans seek to gain the six seats neccessary to retake the majority.
The Quinnipiac University Poll surveyed 1,277 Iowa registered voters from June 12-16, using live interviewers who called land lines and cell phones. The margin of error of is plus or minus 2.7 percentage points. Quinnipiac conducts public opinion surveys in Iowa, several other states, and the nation as a public service and for research. - Des Moines Register, 6/18/14
Emphasis mine.
Wait, what?
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/...
Iowa voters give both candidates positive grades for character.
"Braley has a small lead in more measurements of personal characteristics and which candidate is better able to handle issues facing the state, but neither candidate's views and values are firmly fixed in the electorate's mind with a third of voters not knowing enough about either candidate to have an opinion," said Quinnipiac Poll assistant director Peter Brown.
"One interesting data point is that voters think 44 – 31 percent that Ernst cares about their needs and problems, a category in which Republicans, even victorious ones, often struggle. Her TV ads which stressed her farm family background apparently are doing their job," Brown added. - CNN, 6/18/14
Here's a little more info:
http://qctimes.com/...
On questions of character:
• Voters say 45 to 22 percent that Braley is honest and trustworthy, compared to 45 to 24 percent for Ernst.
• By a 47 to 26 percent margin voters say Braley cares about their needs and problems. Ernst gets a 44 to 31 percent rating.
• Braley rates higher – 51 to 21 percent -- for having the right kind of experience to be a U.S. Senator compared to 43 to 33 percent for Ernst.
• 43 percent of voters say Braley is “about right” on the political scale with 26 percent saying he is too liberal. Ernst is “about right,” 41 percent of voters say, while 27percent say she is too conservative.
Brown said that although Braley has a slight lead on these measures of personal characteristics and questions about which candidate is better able to handle issues facing the state, “neither candidate’s views and values are firmly fixed in the electorate’s mind with a third of voters not knowing enough about either candidate to have an opinion.”
“One interesting data point is that voters think 44 to 31 percent that Ernst cares about their needs and problems, a category in which Republicans, even victorious ones, often struggle,” Brown said. “Her TV ads which stressed her farm family background apparently are doing their job.” - Quad-City Times, 6/18/14
Ok, what this poll says to me is Braley can still win this race but he needs to remind voters that Ernst is not good on female issues. He can remind her that she's extremely anti-choice. She also's also an extremist on a number of other issues:
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/...
Ernst believes women should have no choice and wishes to criminalize abortions under any circumstance, while also opposing in-vitro fertilization and some forms of birth control. Braley voted for the Affordable Care Act, and still wants to maintain Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security responsibly. Ernst wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act (affecting Medicaid), and only provide vouchers for Medicare while privatizing Social Security.
Ernst is an avid opponent of gun-control legislation who receives an "A" rating from the NRA. Braley receives an "F" rating from the NRA because he believes we need to try to curb gun violence with a national registry and other responsible gun control measures.
Braley supports marriage equality. Ernst believes marriage is a Christian "religious institution" and the law should define it as only one woman and one man. She specifically wants to have a federal law banning gay marriage.
Ernst wants to abolish any minimum wage, while Braley supports raising the minimum wage to help middle class families. Ernst said that she would have voted against ending the government shutdown, while Braley voted no to having the shutdown. Ernst said she would have voted against the Farm Bill if she had been in Congress, whereas Braley is actually in favor of a long term extension of the Farm Bill.
Ernst denies man-made climate change. Braley has supported the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) and worked to create Iowa jobs in the clean energy business. Ernst believes that there should be no federal involvement in education at all, and she would try to eliminate the Department of Education. Braley supports federal involvement in education but feels the "No Child Left Behind" program needs major reforms. He does not believe test scores are the end-all for accountability in education.
Although Ernst is an advocate of reducing spending, her record in the Iowa Legislature shows limited involvement in legislation toward that end. In Washington, Braley has worked to implement the pay-as-you-go plan and the Government Waste Reduction Act in order to help reduce the deficit. - Des Moines Register, 6/16/14
With the Kochs and Karl Rove spending big in Iowa, we need to make sure Braley is ready to win in November. Click here to donate and get involved with his campaign:
http://www.brucebraley.com/