Dueling campaigns

URBANDALE - A campaign protest turned into a good old-fashioned cheer-off when Joni Ernst supporters attempted to shout down a protest staged by Bruce Braley supporters today near Ernst's campaign headquarters.

Ernst, a Republican state senator from Red Oak, and Braley, a Democratic member of the U.S. House from Waterloo, are running in a tightly contested race for Iowa's soon-to-be-open seat in the U.S. Senate.

The Iowa Democratic Party organized a small protest Friday afternoon to draw attention to the fact that Ernst canceled her editorial board meeting with the Des Moines Register newspaper this week and has not met with many other large newspapers in the state. The campaign did reach a recent agreement to meet with the Quad-City Times editorial board.

The Democrats staged their protest right outside Ernst's campaign headquarters, and it did not go unnoticed. Shortly after the Democrats began speaking, a couple dozen Ernst supporters poured out of the office, carrying signs and chanting 'Joni.”

A video of what occurred shows that the Democratic speakers pushed on with their comments while the Republicans cheered as loudly as possibly from close behind.

Urbandale police even set up shop just across the street to make sure nothing got out of hand.

Nothing did. In fact, the only thing missing from the event was a 'We've got spirit, how about you?” cheer.