Ernst accepts Harkin’s apology for Swift quip

Iowa Republican Senate nominee Joni Ernst on Monday said she accepts Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin’s (Iowa) apology for comments he made comparing her to the singer Taylor Swift. 

Harkin earlier in the day acknowledged, “I shouldn’t have said those things.”

{mosads}”I do think it’s as good of an apology as we will get from Sen. Harkin, and I do accept that,” Ernst said on Fox News Monday night. “It is regrettable that he said those things in the first place, but you know what, just like Taylor Swift says, we’re going to shake this off. We’re going to drive on and share my message with Iowans.”

Originally Harkin, who is retiring at year’s end, said, “I don’t care if she’s as good looking as Taylor Swift or as nice as Mr. Rogers, but if she votes like Michele Bachmann, she’s wrong for the state of Iowa.”

Ernst earlier on Monday said she was “very offended.”

Ernst is in a tight race with Democratic Rep. Bruce Braley for Harkin’s seat. 

A Quinnipiac poll released Monday has the race tied, contrasting with a Des Moines Register poll released over the weekend putting Ernst up by seven points.

Asked about the two polls during the interview Monday night, Ernst said, “We have the momentum in the campaign, and The Des Moines Register has really been a gold standard in Iowa politics, and again with all the momentum we have in the campaign, I tend to lean more in that direction.”