GOP women’s group rolls out six-figure campaign for Ernst

Winning for Women Action Fund, a super PAC devoted to electing GOP women to office, rolled out a six-figure campaign supporting Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) in her uphill reelection bid on Tuesday. 

The digital, mail and multimedia messaging service campaign will tout Ernst’s Senate record, highlighting what the group described as a strong, bipartisan record. 

“Senator Ernst has a long record of standing up and delivering for everyday Iowans,” a Winning for Women spokesperson said in a statement released exclusively to The Hill. 

“From helping Iowans impacted by the derecho to leading efforts to stop sexual assault in the military, she’s not scared to reach across the aisle to get real results. That’s why she was recently named one of the most bipartisan Senators of the last 25 years. Joni Ernst has always put Iowa first, and it’s why WFW Action Fund is proud to stand with her.”

The group has thrown its weight behind a number of other high-profile races with Republican women, including Oklahoma state Sen. Stephanie Bice‘s (R) contest against incumbent Rep. Kendra Horn (D-Okla.), as well as Rep. Kay Granger’s (R-Texas) reelection effort. 

Ernst is seen as one of the most vulnerable GOP incumbents, and Democrats are targeting her as they try to win back the Senate majority this fall. Her opponent is Democrat Theresa Greenfield.

The race is the second most expensive Senate race in the country, with campaigns and political groups booking over $155 million in advertising, according to an analysis from the firm Advertising Analytics.  The firm found that Democratic-aligned groups have reserved $90.8 million worth of television, radio and digital ads on behalf of Greenfield in the state, while GOP groups have reserved $64.7 million supporting Ernst. The analysis came out prior to the news of Winning for Women Action Fund’s campaign. 

There have not been many polls conducted for the Iowa Senate race, but a Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa poll released on Sunday shows Greenfield narrowly leading Ernst 45 percent to 42 percent among likely voters in the state. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates the race as a “toss-up.”