Branstad backs Iowa senator Ernst as Trump’s running mate

DES MOINES - Gov. Terry Branstad is pitching Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst as a possible running mate for presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, who Branstad said Monday has been underestimated and likely would 'shake things up” in Washington if elected in November.

Branstad said he has contacted New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who Trump has designed as his transition team chairman, about setting up a meeting with Trump in which he would promote Ernst's credentials as a swing-state vice president pick.

'When I get an opportunity to visit with Donald Trump, I'll certainly indicate that we have a senator from Iowa that could be a great asset to the country and to him,” the six-term Republican governor said.

Trump has said 'he's interested in somebody with military experience, but then he thought having congressional experience would also maybe be more important. Well, she's got both, and she comes from a key state,” Branstad added.

'She's the kind of candidate that I think could be a great running mate to Donald Trump and certainly could be a great asset on the ticket in this battleground state of Iowa,” the governor said.

Ernst, 45, is a first-term U.S. senator from Red Oak who rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Iowa National Guard before retiring from the military last year. She also served six years as a county elected official and nearly four years in the Iowa Senate.

Ernst's office did not rule the possibility in or out.

'Sen. Ernst's focus is on serving Iowans,” said spokeswoman Brook Hougesen in an email statement Monday. 'She is continuing her 99-county tour across the state to hear Iowans' concerns and ideas firsthand, and is working to turn that feedback into action in Washington.”

Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds, a close Ernst ally, said the senator told her during an event Sunday that she is focused on serving Iowans in the office she has held since January 2015. The topic of Trump's running mate did not come up, she added, telling reporters: 'I have a great deal of confidence in Joni and she needs to be the one that makes that decision.”

Trump, a New York billionaire making his first bid for public office, has all but wrapped up the 2016 GOP presidential nomination with each of his 16 competitors suspending their campaigns.

Branstad said Monday he is backing Trump after earlier in the race ruling him out as the presumptive winner.

Branstad said a lot of Republicans underestimated Trump - including himself.

'I'm one that's willing to say I underestimated, I didn't believe this would work, but he has now won the nomination and I'm going to support him,” Branstad said.

'I'll be the very first to admit,” Branstad told reporters at his weekly news conference. 'This summer when he came to the Iowa State Fair, flew his helicopter around and all of this stuff, I thought this is not going to last. Well, I was wrong as have been most of the pundits and political people.”

Branstad called Trump an 'unconventional” candidate who has struck a chord with disaffected voters fed up with the political establishment on both sides of the aisle. He said he expects the 2016 race to feature 'the ultimate political insider” in Democrat Hillary Clinton versus a non-traditional candidate who is not afraid to be politically incorrect in bluntly addressing domestic and international issues.

'Now, do I agree with everything he's said? Oh, by no means,” Branstad noted, 'but the bottom line is still the American people need to choose a direction for this country. Do we want to continue the direction we're going and choose the ultimate insider, which is Hillary Clinton, or do we want somebody that is going to shake things up, that might be unpredictable but certainly is a new direction for America?”