Luntz: Iowa will decide U.S. Senate control

ANKENY - Iowa voters will decide who controls the U.S. Senate for the next two years, a prominent national political consultant and media contributor said Thursday shortly after hearing the candidates speak.

Frank Luntz, a political consultant who regularly conducts voter focus groups on television news broadcasts, delivered the keynote address at the Iowa Association of Business and Industry's Advanced Manufacturing Conference at Des Moines Area Community College's FFA Enrichment Center.

Luntz also stuck around to sign copies of his book and to hear speeches from Iowa's U.S. Senate candidates, Joni Ernst and Bruce Braley.

Based on the state of multiple races across the country, Luntz thinks the Ernst-Braley race, which most polls have shown to be too close to call, will be the tiebreaker for control of the U.S. Senate.

Speaking to 250 business leaders at Thursday's event, Ernst, a Republican state senator from Red Oak, called for reduced regulations. Braley, a Democratic U.S. House member from Waterloo, stressed the need for a national manufacturing strategy.

Luntz's take on the candidates' remarks: Ernst set a good tone but failed to offer details, while Braley offered good details but declined to take questions from the audience.

Braley did not take questions from the audience but did field some from the media after speaking. Ernst took a few questions from the audience but did not meet the media because of a busy schedule, her campaign manager said.

Luntz also bemoaned the negative campaign advertisements that have flooded the airwaves nationwide, including in Iowa.

'It's a poison,” he said.

Ernst said Iowa has done a far better job creating a business-friendly atmosphere than the federal government. She cited recent state tax cuts and legislation to place more scrutiny on new regulations.

'What we need to do is follow Iowa's example with this and take it to the national level. What we did right away here in Iowa was of course the largest tax decrease. So what we did was lower taxes on our hardworking families and businesses. And that really has made our economy boom here in Iowa,” Ernst said. 'So I do believe that at the federal level, first we need to start by lowering taxes immediately on our hardworking families, but then working over the long term to scrap the existing tax code and work toward something that is fairer, flatter and simpler, something that is much more competitive.”

Braley called for a national manufacturing strategy, something he has done before, noting other nations have such long-term plans. Braley also advocated for investment in infrastructure, including the creation of a national infrastructure bank.

'A national infrastructure bank can make guaranteed loans, leverage private capital, sell and issue general purpose bonds and sell project bonds,” Braley said.