After stumping for GOP, Ernst excited about future

By Erin Murphy, Gazette-Lee Des Moines Bureau

DES MOINES - Joni Ernst's name was not on the November ballot, so she did what she could to help her fellow Republicans succeed in Iowa.

Now, as a result of those efforts and others, Ernst will go to work next year with all-Republican control remaining at her current job in the U.S. Senate. And at her old job in the Iowa Senate, that now is under Republican control.

Ernst did her part on the campaign trail in 2016 in Iowa, lending a hand to fellow Republicans from presidential candidate Donald Trump on down the ballot through Statehouse candidates. Ernst donated both time and money.

'Of course, I wanted to help strengthen and grow our party in Iowa, and I think we were very successful in that,” Ernst said this week.

Republicans in Iowa enjoyed great success in the 2016 elections, maintaining a majority in the Iowa House and gaining it in the Iowa Senate, giving them control of the state's agenda for at least the next two years.

It's the first time the Iowa Capitol has been under all-Republican control in 20 years.

Iowa's four congressional Republicans up for re-election all won, including Sen. Chuck Grassley.

And Trump won convincingly in Iowa en route to his victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton.

'Great year, and I think we do have a very, very strong Republican Party this year and glad to see it,” Ernst said.

Like other top Iowa Republicans, Ernst embraced Trump's candidacy at a time some other prominent Republicans across the country were more hesitant. Even as Trump made controversial statements or news reports of remarks he had made in the past caused other Republicans to keep him at arm's length, Ernst joined Iowa Republican Gov. Terry Branstad and state party chairman Jeff Kaufmann in maintaining support.

'I was happy to support him because the platform that Mr. Trump was running on was the platform of America. It's what I heard when I was out across the state of Iowa” campaigning, Ernst said. 'They saw in Donald Trump a different kind of candidate that really tapped into their emotions and their feelings that government has left them behind. They were so disenfranchised. He gave voice to millions of Americans.”

Ernst said she did not condone some of the things he said but thinks Trump was speaking about the right issues.

'So I didn't waver,” she said. 'It was not a hard decision for me to make. I felt very comfortable going forward and supporting him.”

For a time, Ernst was rumored to be on the list of potential running mates for Trump. She declined before an offer was made but says now she thinks Trump will make a good president.

Now that Republicans in Congress can turn their attention toward governing with full legislative control in 2017, Ernst said she is looking forward to:

l Repealing and replacing the federal health care law known as the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare.

l Passing tax reform

l Strengthening the military.

l Addressing problems in the Veterans Affairs hospital system.

Ernst said she also was pleased to raise money for or donate to dozens of candidates for the Iowa Legislature, where she served from 2011 to 2014 as a member of the minority party.

'I truly enjoyed my time serving in the Iowa state Senate with so many great partners out there. But there was always a point in time where we ran into roadblocks trying to get any Republican initiatives forward,” Ernst said. 'We had some great successes working with our partners across the aisle, but we felt there really could have been a lot more successes, especially if we're talking about rules and regulations reform, when we're talking about tax reform.

'So I was really excited to be able to step up and help so many great candidates.”