CEDAR RAPIDS — Hillary Rodham Clinton urged Iowa Democrats Wednesday to get out the vote for Senate candidate Bruce Braley, stressing that “the choice could not be clearer” as the party seeks to hang onto a seat retiring Sen. Tom Harkin occupied for three decades.
In her second trip to Iowa since her third-place finish in the 2008 Democratic caucuses, the former first lady, U.S. senator and secretary of state appeared before about 400 people at a union hall in Cedar Rapids. Her speech made no mention of her likely 2016 presidential ambitions, focusing squarely on next Tuesday’s general election.
“It is truly six days of work for six years of service,” said Clinton, who also was scheduled to appear in Davenport. “What kind of senator you’ll have to replace Tom Harkin. Those are really big shoes to fill.”
Braley, a four-term congressman from Waterloo, is locked in a tight race against Republican Joni Ernst, a state lawmaker and lieutenant colonel in the Iowa National Guard. A new poll from Quinnipiac University released Wednesday shows Ernst with 49 percent of likely voters and Braley with 45 percent. The survey of 817 likely voters has a margin of error of 3.4 percentage points.
Money has flooded the state as the Republicans targeted Iowa in their drive for the six-seat gain to take over the Senate. The combined spending by the candidates and outside groups during the general election tops $68 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, making this the third most expensive race in the country.
Clinton stressed the differences between Braley and Ernst on economic and social policies, noting that he backs an increase to the federal minimum wage and supports access to abortion. Both issues, she said, were important to female voters — a crucial voting block for Democrats in this election.
“It’s not enough to be a woman, you have to be committed to expand rights and opportunities for all women,” Clinton said.
Clinton also attacked Ernst for avoiding “tough questions.” Ernst earlier canceled a meeting with the Des Moines Register editorial board and has not scheduled meetings with other newspapers. Ernst, who has met with some editorial boards, said last week that her time was better spent campaigning than meeting with the Register.
Ernst, who spent the day on the campaign trail alongside Arizona Sen. John McCain, thinks the minimum wage should be set by states and opposes abortion, though supports access to birth control. She said earlier in the day that Democratic economic proposals are failing when it comes to job creation and wage increases. Ernst also said she doesn’t think her socially conservative views are costing her voters.
McCain, who placed fourth in the 2008 Iowa caucuses, told a crowd of about 150 gathered at an American Legion in Coralville, that Ernst would be a welcome addition to the Senate Armed Services Committee. He said afterward that he was impressed by the size of the group.
“It looks like enthusiasm. I think if I’d had this kind of enthusiasm in 2008, I would have carried the state,” McCain said.