Latest Loras College Poll has Ernst, Braley virtually tied

DES MOINES - Joni Ernst and Bruce Braley are virtually tied in Iowa's U.S. Senate race, according to the latest Loras College Poll results, published this morning.

Ernst received 42.4 percent of the vote and Braley 42.1 percent in the poll, which surveyed 600 likely voters between Oct. 1 and Oct. 3.

Most recent polls on Iowa's open-seat U.S. Senate race have showed narrow margins. The most recent Loras Poll was one of the few outliers; its September poll showed Braley with a 4-point lead. Since then, Quinnipiac and Setzer and Co. have showed Ernst with a 6-point lead.

Ernst, a state senator from Red Oak, and Braley, a U.S. House member from Waterloo, are competing for the seat being vacated by the retirement of longtime Democratic U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin.

'Our latest results indicate that state Sen. Ernst has recaptured some of the momentum she possessed at the beginning of this important race for control of the U.S. Senate,” Loras College Poll director Christopher Budzisz said in a news release.

Budzisz noted both candidates' approval ratings are above water despite the barrage of negative advertisements thus far in the race. Braley has a 37/36 favorable/unfavorable rating, while Ernst's is 43/37.

Ernst was chosen by more no-party voters, 43 percent to 34 percent for Braley. However, Budzisz noted some voters said they are registered with a party but consider themselves more 'independent.”

'Amongst all those voters who responded that they view themselves as politically independent or with an unsure affiliation, regardless of their specific registration, the news for Congressman Braley is better as he and Ernst exactly split this group 37.7 percent to 37.7 percent,” Budzisz said.

Braley and Ernst will participate in the second of their three debates on Saturday in Davenport.

Election Day is Nov. 4.