The mood was joyous Saturday night in Muscatine when word spread the new Des Moines Register Iowa Poll showed Republican candidates leading in nearly every federal race.
Sen. Joni Ernst’s campaign RV was en route from Davenport to Muscatine when the poll’s Senate results dropped at 6 p.m., showing Ernst leading Theresa Greenfield 46% to 42%, within the 3.4% margin of error. The presidential results were unveiled at 6:30 p.m., which showed Donald Trump leading by seven points, as Ernst, Gov. Kim Reynolds and congressional candidate Mariannette Miller-Meeks rolled into the Hy-Vee parking lot in Muscatine. And by 7 p.m., polling of the four U.S. House races was available, too.
Jeff Kaufmann, chair of the Republican Party of Iowa, riled up the crowd gathered under a tent in the Hy-Vee parking lot, reveling in results of the “very, very liberal, pro-Democratic pollster.” (The Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll is conducted by Selzer & Co. of Des Moines and sampled 814 likely Iowa voters.)
“Oh, it’s got to just cause them pain,” Kaufmann said of the poll results.
“They’re crying! They’re crying!” Reynolds replied, momentarily pulling down her face mask to yell out to the crowd.
Reynolds has spent days on the campaign trail with Ernst as the senator holds events around the state for her “Fighting for Iowa” RV tour. As the governor campaigns, Iowa continues to hit records related to the coronavirus pandemic, with 630 people hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Saturday. In front of Republican crowds, Reynolds is able to get positive affirmations from supporters telling her how well she has handled the crisis, rather than the scrutiny she would face taking questions at a town hall or during a press conference.
“I am fired up,” Reynolds said. “We have been criss-crossing the state. I’ve had so much fun having the opportunity to support Joni. I believe in her, she’s a great friend. I love what she’s done, and to be able to have the opportunity to travel the state with her over this last week … to Jeff’s point, we have to turn that momentum and that energy and that enthusiasm into votes.”
Ernst held seven events on Saturday, beginning in Independence, in Eastern Iowa, and ending along the Mississippi River in Muscatine. Ernst had another full day planned for Sunday, but several afternoon and evening events were canceled so she can attend President Trump’s rally in Dubuque.
Unlike at other events she has held this fall, on Saturday the senator kept her remarks relatively positive, telling voters how she went from a county-level position to the state Senate, all while serving in the Iowa Army National Guard. Ernst’s primary dig against Greenfield was the tens of millions of dollars she has raised this year, decrying how Iowa’s Senate race had become the second-most expensive in the country.
“At the end of the day on Tuesday, there will have been over $200 million invested in this race alone,” Ernst said on the floor of a classic car shop in Davenport. “It is the second-most expensive race in the United States for the race for Senate. We have a target on our back. I have a target on my back. It is because we are one of those swing states. It is a purple state. We need to show them that this is a red state.”
By Elizabeth Meyer
Posted 10/31/20
Iowa Starting Line is an independently owned progressive news outlet devoted to providing unique, insightful coverage on Iowa news and politics. We need reader support to continue operating — please donate here. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for more coverage.
6 Comments on "Reynolds Mocks ‘Crying’ Democrats As Poll Results Favor GOP"
Well, Reynolds’ covid policies are killing some Iowans and leaving others with permanent health problems, and she probably figures some of those dead and impaired Iowans are Democrats. So that’s cause for joy and mockery also.
I have been predicting all along that Trump would win Iowa again. Biden is an empty suit – after voting Democrat since 1976 I could not vote for Biden. I supported worthy Democrats on the rest of the ballot but not a senile old man. Biden is our party’s worst nominee since Mondale.
Even if he were an empty suit he’s still vastly superior to his opponent whom is a suit full of feces.
WHEN in your lifetime can you remember a president’s former Chief of Staff, former Secretary of Defense, 2 former National Security Advisors, former Director of National Intelligence, Former Chief of Staff of Homeland Security, Former Secretary of the Navy and SO many others in his administration beg people to vote for the candidate running against their former boss?? The answer to that is NEVER!! Why do you think that is?? It is because these people have seen firsthand how monumentally dangerous and unfit for office Donald Trump is!! Two former chairman of the Republican National Committee are voting for Biden. Tom Ridge, former Republican governor of Pennsylvania who was the first head of Homeland Security is voting for Biden. He is voting for a Democrat for the first time in his life as is former Republican governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Trump’s former Secretary of Defense, General Mattis, said we had not had mature leadership for 3 and a half years, and that Trump was the first president in his lifetime who had not tried to unite the country, but instead had tried to divide it. Mattis said Trump was a danger to the Constitution and that he was showing our adversaries “how to destroy America!” General John Kelly said Trump is the most “flawed” man he has ever known. That the depths of his dishonesty are “astounding.” John Bolton, Trump’s former National Security Advisor said Trump often makes foreign policy decisions based on his own business and financial interests “EVEN IF DOING SO WEAKENED THE NATION!” Dan Coats, Trump’s former Director of National Intelligence, continues to believe Trump is compromised by Putin and Russia. General Hayden urged people to vote for Biden because Biden will listen to his advisors. He said “Joe Biden is a good man. Donald Trump is not.” As for me, I heard one of the children the man in the White House separated from his parents at the border with no plan or intention to ever reunite them, say, when asked what he wanted for his birthday, ” My dad. “. I heard the Pro Publica tape of a terrified toddler crying, “Papa…Papa.” I will not vote for the monster who would do such a thing to a child!
If Biden is so unfit, WHEN in your lifetime can you remember a president’s former Chief of Staff, former Secretary of Defense, 2 former National Security Advisors, former Director of National Intelligence, Former Chief of Staff of Homeland Security, Former Secretary of the Navy and SO many others in his administration beg people to vote for the candidate running against their former boss?? The answer to that is NEVER!! Why do you think that is?? It is because these people have seen firsthand how monumentally dangerous and unfit for office Donald Trump is!! Two former chairman of the Republican National Committee are voting for Biden. Tom Ridge, former Republican governor of Pennsylvania who was the first head of Homeland Security is voting for Biden. He is voting for a Democrat for the first time in his life as is former Republican governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Trump’s former Secretary of Defense, General Mattis, said we had not had mature leadership for 3 and a half years, and that Trump was the first president in his lifetime who had not tried to unite the country, but instead had tried to divide it. Mattis said Trump was a danger to the Constitution and that he was showing our adversaries “how to destroy America!” General John Kelly said Trump is the most “flawed” man he has ever known. That the depths of his dishonesty are “astounding.” John Bolton, Trump’s former National Security Advisor said Trump often makes foreign policy decisions based on his own business and financial interests “EVEN IF DOING SO WEAKENED THE NATION!” Dan Coats, Trump’s former Director of National Intelligence, continues to believe Trump is compromised by Putin and Russia. General Hayden urged people to vote for Biden because Biden will listen to his advisors. He said “Joe Biden is a good man. Donald Trump is not.” As for me, I heard one of the children the man in the White House separated from his parents at the border with no plan or intention to ever reunite them, say, when asked what he wanted for his birthday, ” My dad. “. I heard the Pro Publica tape of a terrified toddler crying, “Papa…Papa.” I will not vote for the monster who would do such a thing to a child!