you ever met joni ernst? joni ernst is a republican state senator who is running for the u.s. senate in iowa. she's running against bruce braley. this is a high profile race because it's been tight as a tick for months. right now before election day joni ernst turns out to have a sharon angle problem. a piece of tape has emerged where joni ernst like sharon angle before her is threatening to turn to armed violence against the government if she doesn't get what she wants through the political process. this was first published by the huffington post. it shows joni ernst addressing the crowd at an nra event in 2012. >> i have a beautiful little smith & wesson, my millimeter and it goes with me virtually everywhere. i do believe in the right to carry. and i believe in the right to defend myself and my family, whether it's from an intruder or whether it's from a government should they decide that my rights are no longer important. i believe in my right to defend myself from the government with my beautiful little smith & wesson, 9 millimeter. this raises a specific question for thi

republican state senator joni ernst is running against him, and she has steadily been pulling away fromraley in this race. ernst has come out on top in all but one poll. look at the numbers there. the candidates are far apart on minimum wage, the environment and healthcare, but ads have not focused on those issues. the ernst campaign has instead tried convince voters that she's the washington outsider, not braley. >> i'm joni ernst. i grew up castrating hogs on an iowa farm. so when i get to washington, i'll know how to cut pork. my parents taught us to live within our means. it is time to force washington to do the same. >> braley is accusing ernst of hiding from the press. >> joni ernst canceled a meeting with the editorial board. [music] >> everybody said everyone is ready. everyone strapped in? can we do this? michael shure and david unite david united state shuster. it points do, doesn't it michael, how important this race is? >> what the republicans have seen, tony, they've seen georgia tightening. they've seen what is happening in kansas. where else can we pick something off that

it is the ad that introduced joni ernst to the republican senate candidate. >> i am joni ernst grade i drew . pigs on atrating farm. when i get to washington, i will know how to cut pork. >> it has generated a lot of

but earlier today it was around two points for joni ernst. say she takes iowa, back to 52-48. i think last week you said -- >> i'm going here. >> 53-47, corey gardener. >> i said 52 or 53. north carolina, kay hagan still in the lead. >> colorado had a debate earlier today, mark udal and cory

bruce braley is facing state senator joni ernst. current senator tom harkin is retiring after five terms. the race is listed as a tossup. >> joni ernst is with us. >> hoping to win one of the most hotly contested races in the nation. >> i go to washington as a mom and a soldier. >> i will work with anybody who will help solve the tough albums we face. >> the campaign is getting national headlines. >> let's make them squeal. >> all to win a key seat long held by a democrat. joni ernst taking on bruce braley. still too close to call. tonight, head to head as the country watches. decision 2014. debate for iowa's next senator. >> those of you watching are waiting to hear from candidates in the hottest, closest senate races in the u.s. history. one that experts say may determine control of the senate. they are locked in a dead heat for the seat of tom harkin. the winner will be the first new senator and 30 years for iowa. there will be questions from our panel of journalists, each with decades of experience in iowa, in a format aimed at

you see joni ernst, the republican, leading by two points in this new nbc news/marist poll. recent polls that have also shown ernst ahead. she clearly has taken a small, but she does have a lead in this race right now. kathy, what has happened out there to put joni ernst ahead? >> well i think that this has been one of the most competitive senate races in the country. and with your poll maybe it is the most competitive senate race in the country. and joni ernst has taken a slight lead in this race. and there are several points in her farevor, some of which show up in your poll this morning. one is that barack obama's popularity is low in iowa. he is below 50%. secondly terry branstad republican governor in iowa is blowing the doors off right now. he is headed toward a very decisive victory if things continue as the trends have been. and also bruce braley and joni ernst are both still trying to introduce themselves to iowans. and joni ernst appears to have done a better job of that so far. she went through a very competitive primary, and iowans have gotten to know her. bruce b

how does joni ernst in a competitive senate race make these kind of comments?who cleaned her up? somebody did something. >> that was two years ago. >> no, i meant, how did she go from -- [ all speak at once ] >> look, she was, she has moderated her image since she won the republican primary. >> how? >> two years ago she was running in a republican primary in iowa. i was covering it. these red states pull candidates like ernst far to the right and they have to move back center for the general. >> what did they do to change her? >> they had a squealing pig ad in the primary. her general election ad is straight to camera, her sittingra am-rod straight, talking in a moderate way to voters. >> how far out does this take her politically? they're for gun rights, sportsmen rights, general second amendments but they're not the people that live out in idaho and plan for the ultimate stand-off, you know. >> that's right. iowa's not the idaho panhandle, i agree with you, chris. and i think robert would agree with me, that yes, they're conservative out there, and yes, there

it killed sharon engel in nevada. >> joni ernst has been a far stronger candidate.as this profile of, she'd be the first female elected senator from iowa. she's a combat veteran. she's a mom, she's got all these things that she really has. a year ago we were talking about republicans have nobody to run in iowa. now we're saying, okay, they have someone with a legitimate image and profile that slehe's created in a state that serves her well. >> what do you do if you're a voter? may be okay in certain parts of eastern idaho. what do you do if you see the woman? she's attractive, you like the way she speaks. then you read the articles about what she's said in the past? do you project the nice parts that you see in the ads? or do you say if she's talking like that when nobody's watching, she may vote like that when whshe gets to the senate. >> people want to go and vote for somebody that reminds them of themselves, that makes them feel comfortable. and braley, i honestly, you're right, he's not as radical, dramatic. he's also not particularly inspiring. he doesn't make

democratic congressman bruce braley and republican challenger joni ernst are in a tight race that recent polling has found to be a toss-up. iowa's open seat comes after five-term democrat tom harkin announced his retirement. here's more now about the race. >> host: want to go now to iowa where jennifer jacobs is joining us on the phone, chief political reporter for "the des moines register" there to talk about thein iowa senate race. another closely-watched race for control of the senate.ate.

and there is an interesting gender reversal with women voters, and supporting joni ernst. >> it is noecret that relations between president obama and the prime minister of israel benjamin netanyahu have been, let's call it rocky at best, but now the fight between the two frenemies have resolved to the name-calling resigned to the facebook section. the thing about b.b. is he's a chicken blank. he used a different word than chicken blank, but you get the point. he's not willing to do anything to reach an accommodation with the palestinians and the sunni arab states and the only thing he is interested in is protecting himself from political defeat. he's got no guts, welcome to washington where people freely discourage others, but they do so anonymously. i want to read you this response from the white house when they were asked about the accuracy of this comment the spokesperson for the national security council said in part, certainly that's not the administration's view, and we think such comments are inappropriate and counterproductive, but what's missing in the statement, of course, i

tonight, the iowa senate debate between was bravely and joni ernst. we will have that live tonight on c-span at 8:00 eastern. tomorrow night, a debate from isconsin where scott walker running for a second term against mary burke. governor walker was first elected in 2010. in 2012, he survived a recall vote. we will have the debates tomorrow night. live on c-span. of campaign 2014 coverage. follow us on twitter. like us on facebook. debate previews from our politics team. we are bringing you over 100 house, senate, and governor debate. share yourtantly reactions to what they are saying. stay in touch and engaged by following us on twitter, and liking us on facebook. ernor mike isov yearsimited after eight in office. running to replace him are asa hutchinson and mike ross. rock, andom little election special. the arkansas gubernatorial debate. this is presented statewide. channel seven's scott. universityide the theater, we welcome you to the 2014 gubernatorial debates. i'm your moderator. importantu have an decision to make. four weeks from today is el

the republican is still ahead, joni ernst, by one point in the latest poll. there. mrs. obama was there on friday. couldn't get bruce braley's name correct but she was there campaigning. and bill clinton's going in, hillary's going in. also romney's going in because it's 2016 -- >> and he's actually there tonight -- or today. and we have some video of that as well. he was there actually campaigning for bruce braley. i'm sorry, campaigning for joni ernst. >> this is a bonus for the republicans. they originally didn't count this one as one they had to win. they had six other ones of embattled democrats. alaska, arkansas, louisiana, north carolina, west virginia, and south dakota. that they could win quite easily. they thought. but the field has changed. there are other seats opening up. >> colorado as well. >> right. here's the thing on the big picture with these two expert pollsters, doug and pat. have you ever seen a time when almost every incumbent, both republican and democrat, is so low? they're all under 50. >> let me try to offer a little perspective qui

not a lot new her, she was a senator. >> on march 25th joni ernst released a first television ad. >> i'm joni ernst, i grew up cast rating loss on an iowa farm, so when i get to washington, i'll know how to cut pork. >> joni ernst, mother, soldiers, conservative. >> it wept viral, got half a million youtube views, was all over fox news and the daily show. >> it was mocked and panned outside of the state and in the state. the audience it was intended for was iowa conservatives, and they respond to this wholesale. >> i need your help. >> colorado's so unusual. we are the swingingest of the swing state. there's a reason for that. we are roughly divided they are democrat, republican, unaffiliated, and they redo the boundaries and making it competitive. mike coffman is taking spanish, learning korea doing outline these things to save his political career. >> we disagree on so many policies. >> by november if you watch tv you'll hate mike coffman and andrew romanoff, because they'll be portrayed as awful, terrible people that will say anything to get elected. >> kay hagan was on the ballot

it is helping joni ernst. she is in a tight race in iowa. could actually win it. >> don't even know what to say. let's move on. another tight race is in north incumbent senator kay hagan. there is the crossroads gps. what does that look like? >> this is an interesting ad. there has been a big role for outside groups in these campaigns. no more so than in north carolina. this is an ad by crossroads gps. the big effort here is to try to link democratic senate candidates to president obama. it is called spelling bee. >> can i hear it in a sentence? >> kay hagan was the deciding vote for obama care. [indiscernible] >> your next word is hagan. >> that ad was re-created in multiple states around the country. mark pryor face the same ad with the same little girl. was still an effort on democrats' parts to try to distance themselves from president obama so they could not be tagged like that. watch how allison lundgren grimes did it. >> i'm not barack obama. i disagree with him on guns, coal, and the epa. hold athat's not how you gun. mitch mcconnell

joni ernst is a great example. the hog castration ad, i didn't know about joni ernst except that she grew up on a farm castrating hogs. >> part of it is braley shot himself in the foot a couple of times. >> yep. >> i don't think most -- most iowans are pretty serious people. all things being equal, she doesn't win, but when you have a candidate that kind of appears a little better than everybody else and a candidate that castrates hogs, it's funny, too, because her implication, which she doesn't say, i'll go not just cut some pork, i'll go and castrate some of these guys. >> you're a very successful governor in vermont, but you're not from vermont, you grew up in new york, you came from a fairly educated, affluent family. >> right. >> vermont's a very different place. at some point you had to go talk to vermonters about who you were and be honest to yourself but also convince them that you're one of them. >> being a doctor helped a lot. i had a record in the legislature and as a lieutenant governor, that helped. ve

joni ernst big castration ad in iowa. >> i'm joni ernst, i grew up castrating hogs on an iowa farm.when i get to washington, i'll know how to cut pork. >> wow, up next, what's the mood of the country going into the election? it's only four weeks now. are we looking at a wave election, a big vote against president obama or not? that's ahead, you're watching "hardball," a special addition of the program, a place for politics. >>> welcome back to this special edition of "hardball," four weeks before the election. we vote in this country because it's right thing to do and because we want to send a message with our vote. either yes or no about the way things are going. what will the message be in november this year? what are the midterm elections really about? are they rebuke to president obama? what's the mood of the country right now? we have some geniuses with us right now. let's bring in the round table. ken vogel, reporter with politico which steals reporters from "the washington post." and steve mcmahon is a democratic strategist, a real one. let me go to this. what's the one word

next, here a pig, there a pig every where a pungent joni ernst ad.e'll be right back. ♪ >> last spring, she said she loved castrating pigs. she has another ad on the same scene and mark is going to marry poppins himself into the picture. >> it's a mess. it dirty, noisy, and it stinks. >> welcome back, it's nice to see you back in the environment that made you famous when you talked about castrating hogs. the visual is clear. you want to remind voters why they nominated you in the first place without saying i'm the one who castrates pigs. >> too many typical politicians. hogging, wasting, and full of bad ideas. it is time to start spending money we don't have -- stop spending money. they are full of pork? >> they are full of pork? i'm not really sure what your point is. >> i'm joni ernst. >> thanks for elaborating on how you balance the budget. >> cleaning up the mess is going to take a lot of iowa commonsense. >> i know it's a 30 second ad but this is one of your closing arguments? it's you and a bunch of hogs and you have a plan to balance the budge

bruce braley is running against joni ernst for the open u.s. senate seat. watch more live campaign tomorrow night. georgia, a candidate debate last week. this included amanda swofford. this is one hour. >> good evening. welcome to the georgia national

this question will be for joni ernst. one minute, please, to respond to this question from baby carlson. from the heart, how do you feel our country is doing? do you recognize the desperation and concern that the american people have? >> well, thank you, bobby. this is the season that i am running for united states senate, is that i do believe our country is going in the wrong direction. this is washington, d.c. waves, records of failure coming from this administration and followers like congressman braley versus our iowa values and the way we have conducted business in the past four years with my good supporter, we have implemented strong economic policy here in iowa, lowered taxes, reduced job-killing rules and regulations and a balanced budget. and we are putting more of our hard-working iowa wans back to work with new good-paying jobs. iowa has the fourth fastest growing personal income in the united states, while nationally the real wage has decreased over the past eight years that congressman braley has been there b

and joni ernst talks about privatizing it. >> yes, i have talked about privatizing social security. >> joni ernst is so extreme she'd risk seniors on the stock market. >> in addition to louisiana and new hampshire, they are adding $700,000 to the georgia race where david perdue released new ads over the weekend. >> like you, david perdue believes president obama and michelle nunn's policies are taking the country in the wrong direction. those without know it's hard to find one. >> republicans need a net gain of six seats in order to take control of the senate. and the latest nbc poll shows virtual dead heats in all key states. all are tied or in the margin of error of in joni ernst is up, gardner is up one point against udall. kay hagan and tillis are tied at 43% with the libertarian candidate at 7%. in arkansas, cotton is up 45% to mark pryor's 43%. and in kansas, greg orman one point ahead over republican pat roberts. and with just 8.6 million early votes cast in 27 states so far, big name surrogates are campaigning. senator elizabeth warren was in new hampshire over the weekend try

closer look at joni ernst. senate, ernst sponsored an amendment to outlaw abortion, even in cases of rape or incest. ernst even wants criminal punishment for doctors who perform an abortion. ideas, wrongadical for iowa. >> joni ernst promises to shut the department of education, hurting iowa students, abolish the epa, giving polluters a pass. wants why sarah palin ernst in washington. joni ernst. promises to them. too extreme for us. league of voters is responsible for this advertising. >> i get very upset. are you ready to apologize? >> you're damn right! >> that individual had no college education. ironic that there's this big push to shut down the house. any advanceve degrees in economics? there's hardly anybody working there. >> there's no towel service. >> a farmer from iowa. school.r went to law >> we're doing our own laundry down there. master's or have a ph.d. in health care policy. >> one of the most important gym.s i go is to the house >> have you published any

i mean, iowa could be electingwac the first female to congress by voting for joni ernst. is she, is she connecting with female voters in iowa? >> guest: with some but definitely not as many as you would like to. she plays better with men and republicans in iowa than she does with women. but i know that the campaign has been trying to work on that. they have a force of women who promote her on a regular basis, including our lieutenant governor. the: you talked about outside money coming from democrats. where the outside money for republicans coming from? which group? caller: the karl rove money coming in. the koch brothers money coming in. those are the big ones. the national republicans. wiou be watcng week to go,hat >> host: so with one week to go, jennifer jacobs, what will you be watching for? >> guest: i will be watching to see if the democrats continue to play up the social issues. of course, we will be watching to see if there are any mistakes. i don't think that these candidates can just make it through. >> host: all right. jennifer jacobs. you can follow reporting

joni ernst talks about privatizing it. t is so extreme, she risks senior retirement on the stock market. bruce braley stood up to those trying to privatize social security. he will protect social security for all of us. let's take that last ad. airing that with one week to go. what does that tell you? caller: the negative ads always -- they are worried whenever negative ads and say they're worried, for sure. is national democratic party spending the most. nearly the same amount of spending on the republican side, too. joni ernst has been the biggest target of negative ads in iowa. host: what about the female vote? iowa could be electing their first female to congress. connecting with female voters in iowa? caller: with some, but definitely not as many as she would like to. iowaoes better with men in than with women. i know the campaign has been tried to work on that. they have a force of women who promote her on a regular basis, including our lieutenant governor. the: you talked about outside money coming from democrats. wh

here's joni ernst, iowa republican.ember we ran that ad because we found it to be, you know, sort of catching, to say the least. were you nervous that that ad might backfire on you, jon if i? >> at all, martha. it is truly iowa, and it highlights my farm roots. grew up on a southwest iowa farm. but most iowans got it and, believe me, it was a great key to winning the primary too. just really tying in with the farm roots, but also the successes that we've had in iowa cutting spending and balancing the budget. martha: yeah. and as we put up at the beginning of this, this race is very, very tight, about 1.3, 1.5% difference right now between you and bruce braley, and no doubt that means that the big guns, the big money comes out. there's a huge ground game, democratic ground game very strong in iowa left over even there president obama's runs there. how are you going to compete with that? >> well, we compete by making a point that the president said just last week that his policies are on the ballot this year, and congress

joni ernst big castration ad in iowa. >> i'm joni ernst, i grew up casterating hogs on an iowa farm.ington, i'll know how to cut pork. >> wow, up next, what's the mood of the country going into the election? it's only four weeks now. are we looking at a wave election, a big vote against president obama or not? that's ahead, you're watching "hardball," a special addition of the program, a place for politics. creates something else as well: jobs all over america. engineering and innovation jobs. advanced safety systems & technology. shipping and manufacturing. across the united states, bp supports more than a quarter million jobs. when we set up operation in one part of the country, people in other parts go to work. that's not a coincidence. it's one more part of our commitment to america. watch this. sam always gives you the good news in person, bad news in email. good news -- fedex has flat rate shipping. it's called fedex one rate. and it's affordable. sounds great. [ cell phone typing ] [ typing continues ] [ whoosh ] [ cell phones buzz, chirp ] and we have to work the weekend. gre

the republican is still ahead, joni ernst, by one point in the latest poll.oing in there. mrs. obama was there on friday. couldn't get bruce braley's name correct but she was there campaigning. and bill clinton's going in, hillary's going in. also romney's going in because it's 2016 -- >> and he's actually there tonight -- or today. and we have some video of that as well. he was there actually campaigning for bruce braley. i'm sorry, campaigning for joni ernst. >> this is a bonus for the republicans. they originally didn't count this one as one they had to win. they had six other ones of embattled democrats 37 alaska, arkansas, louisiana, north carolina, west virginia, and south dakota. that they could win quite easily. they thought. but the field has changed. there are other seats opening up. >> colorado as well. >> right. here's the thing on the big picture with these two expert pollsters, doug and pat. have you ever seen a time when almost every incumbent, both republican and democrat, is so low? they're all under 50. >> let me try to offer a little perspe

the joni ernst is so extreme she risks retirement on the stock market, ending minimum benefit. bruce braley stop to those trying to privatize social security. he will protect social security for all of us. the democratic campaign committee is responsible for the content of this advertising. >> host: jennifer let's take that last ad buy that democratic campaign committee. airing that with one week to go what does that tell you? >> guest: the negative ads always say that they are worried whenever you see the positive ads it tells you that they are pretty confident in that they are worried for sure. the national democratic party and the senate majority is probably spending the most and then there is the amount of spending on the republican side, too. but ernst has been the biggest target of the ads in iowa more so than the democrats bruce braley. >> host: iowa could be electing the first female to congress by voting for joni ernst. but is she connecting with those in iowa? >> guest: not as many as she would like to. she plays better with those in iowa than she does with women, but

>>> i'm joni ernst. cast rating hogs on an iowa farm, so when i get to washington, i'll know how to cut pork. >> when i got to junior high, i started doing a lot of farm work. >> for more than 20 years joe manchin has gotten his hair cut by the same barber, his wife gail. >> i worked on a bridge crew. i drove trucks. i operated equipment. >> mcfadden is tough. >> let's get out there and hit somebody. >> when you get through, come on and give me a hand. >> i'm tom cotton. i approved this message. >> mark leeb o vich wrote this really interesting piece about how candidates are trying to outbumpkin each other in the midterm elections. arkansas tom cotton who went to harvard for law. and minnesota republican mike mcfadden a one-time investment banker whose law degree came from iowa. and bruce braley who is also a longtime lawyer. nobody wants to vote for a lawyer or harvard fancy man, so you get candidates that insist they're just down home folk. joining me former governor of vermont dr. howard dean also msn

i'm joni ernst. approve this message because cleaning up the mess in washington is going to take a whole lot of iowa common sense. >> so she's used to dealing with a lot of stuff, matt. why is this race so close? >> well, you know, i think it's really close because you have a democratic candidate who stumbled early and because joni ernst really just -- there's something about it her. that first ad she ran about castrating hogs, i have never seen an ad that propelled a candidate so far so fast -- >> it was fantastic. >> she got the establishment and conservatives. everybody was supporting her. so the right is completely aligned behind her. there is no schism, no sort of internal tea party battle against her for. i think she ends up winning. >> yeah, i think women really like that first ad. matt, thank you very much. >>> still ahead on "morning joe," a major warning. no front seat passengers until the air bags are fixed. the reason behind the urgent warning is alarming. >>> then the internet exploded w

i'm going to vote for joni ernst. carolina saidorth that he wants to debate and they never answered the questions. i have been watching all the debates. the democrats and the republicans never answer the questions. their canned speeches, they go into their talking points. it is just like, why even have a debate? it is just interesting. back to iowa. your response on joni ernst winning this race? also on the congressional districts. the one that most back -- mosbeck has. , it is one of the few open seats where you do not have an incumbent on the ballot. if it is a good republican year, that generally favors republicans. joni ernst has run a good campaign and has raised more money than bruce braley. i would give a small advantage to joni ernst. she leads by 2-6 points in most public polls. host: what about senator tom harkin? is he helping out bruce braley? guest: he is very popular and has a lot of clout. facesoblem bruce braley -- a lot of it is fundamentally he is a member of congress, he is someone who is an attorne

toase send joni ernst washington. host: the iowa senate race and where things stand, also mitt romney and this continued from we are are -- drumbeat hearing, at least in the media, of a possible 2016 bid. side, shethe ernst has been a good candidate from the beginning. she is an outstanding candidate. she has hustled across the state. i think she is going to be a wonderful candidate and i suspect she is going to win in november. i read the article. he seems far less bullish about running for president. he reflects on it. like any candidate, he could have been there. my phoebe -- my feeling from reading this is that he probably enjoys the scrum of being helpful with candidates. he was always generous with his time as a candidate. chuck from charleston, virginia, on our line for democrats. caller: good morning. i wanted to ask the question of brian nienaber -- ask a question of brian nienaber. "a marriageeadline issue splits gop." it seems like republicans are split into three camps. they say there is a small but growin

senator rob portman campaigned in iowa this weekend on behalf of senate candidate joni ernst. while portland said he's focused on the midterm elections, he told "the des moines register," he'll consider a possible presidential run. telling the paper, quote, i am worried about the direction of our country. and that's my passion. but i'm going to wait until after the election. now, portman became the first republican u.s. senator to back gay marriage last year. >>> we turn our attention to business news for you. we're learning that new information about the jpmorgan hack attack. plus what could be an awkward reunion for three former u.s. financial officials. we're going to get to those stories in a moment. first, steve, you're following big news from silicon valley. word of another split from there. start with that. >> absolutely. last week it was all about ebay splitting off paypal. this week is about hewlett-packard. for many years they said we're going to split this company. it appears ms. whitman may split it into a computer and printer company and hardware and services divi

i'll tell you, though, that this correction has nothing to do with joni ernst.re in our offices at 30 rockefeller center in our office closet actually, we have sort of randomly a really hideous, complete set of kitchen canisters. these exact same canisters were the folksy kitchen scene backdrop behind a republican candidate named sharon engle when she clutched a coffee cup and announced her political comeback. i would say watch this space, but i know all your watching right now is these hideous kitchen canisters. >> turns out, i was wrong about that. and here's how i know it. ahem. subject line, my canisters. quote, i was insulted that you referred to the canisters as ugly. as i had bought that same set many years ago, i wish i still had my cute, adorable canisters. quote, hey, rachel, my mother has a set, too. we could use a matching set. quote, dear rachel, if you don't have a use for those canister, i would love to get them off your hands. they were fact exactly the ones i wanted when i was first married. then there are your tweets. look. quote, if by hideous

look at joni ernst.elieves the minimum wage needs to be set by the states because iowa's cost of living is so low. i don't know how she comes to that conclusion. a federal mandate should help iowa. during a discussion about taxes in thursday's debate against democratic challenger congressman bruce braley ernst said the irs should be scrapped. >> i do believe that we need to lower taxes on our hard-working iowans immediately. immediately. which is something that we have done with this tax cut that we have implemented here in iowa. but then work over the long term to reform our tax system. i say scrap the irs. let's start all over again. >> every solution she has is throwing darts at the board, trying to get rid of programs that have had significant impacts and made a difference -- >> what's the solution to remedy income inequality in america? joining me peter moricci at the robert a. smith school of business. and journalist david k. johnson. peter, i read your article this week. you are bullish on this ec

. >>> one of the senate candidates we're going to speak with is joni ernst.ding in the polls in iowa with that very, very crucial race. much more, carl. >> reporter: hi, neil. all the candidates are masquerading that they're going to be winning in these close contested races. ernst probably has a little bit of a lead and joni ernst and bruce braley have been battling for months. another key state is colorado. in colorado they had a chance of protecting that seat and now mark udall is trailing against his challenger, cory gardner. the third state is north carolina and that's too close to call. nobody knows what's happening. here in iowa joni ernst has been getting a tremendous pounding from the democratic outside money. likewise the same has been true for bruce braley. here ms. ernst has been battling against the democrats' assertion that the republicans are waging a war on women and she said that's absolutely not true. we talked to her a great deal. you'll see some of this on saturday as well as the last couple of days of this race. if the democrats firewall

continues this evening live from iowa, where democratic congressman bruce braley squares off against joni ernst. live at 8:00 p.m. eastern here on c-span. a debate from the michigan governor's race. incumbent rick snyder against live at mark schauer, 6:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. >> this weekend on the c-span networks -- tonight at 9:00 p.m., colin powell talks about world affairs. sunday evening at 8:00 on "q&a," robert timber talks about how as a marine in vietnam a landmine explosion nearly killed him and changed his life. tonight on "afterwords," atul gawande on why he feels medical science should do more for the aging and dying. free-marketein on capitalism and its impact on climate change. tonight on american history tv war,span3, king george's how it helped establish regional identities and a viable fighting experience for the american revolution. and sunday night, president ford 's congressional testimony on the nixon pardon. find our television schedule at www.c-span.org, and let us know what you are thinking about the programs you are watching. call us, e-mail us, for send us a tweet.

but earlier today it was around two points for joni ernst. say she takes iowa, back to 52-48. i think last week you said -- >> i'm going here. >> 53-47, corey gardener. >> i said 52 or 53. north carolina, kay hagan still in the lead. >> colorado had a debate earlier today, mark udal and cory gardener. in kentucky right now, okay, you mentioned this race. this is mitch mcconnell and allison lundgren grimes, the real clear politics average is about 4 or 4.2 points. there was a poll that came out earlier today in the bluegrass poll that puts her up by two points. >> i would argue that's an outlier. >> could very well be. and to back up your point, mcconnell's been in the lead on the two polls prior to the one today. >> it was tape released today which i'm going to throw to here in a second, but i think will be a game changer. i think will be very difficult. >> you know, last week we talked about money. this race between these two candidates and all that outside money, $100 million. you know what else they think might top $100 million for a single senate race? >> where? >> north c

>> another former secretary of state, contender lisa rice announced her endorsement of joni ernst for senate today. in a statement, she said, quote, joni ernst has dedicated her life to the service of others, bravely leading troops in iraq and safely bringing them home to iowa. we need more leaders like joni who understand america's role abroad and the threat posed against us. the only other senate candidate that condoleezza rice has endorsed is republican dan sullivan in alaska where some polls show democratic incumbekc senator mark bagich with a lead. they will hold a debate later tonight. ted cruz and mitt romney are expected to campaign for dan sullivan in alaska. and joining me now from anchorage, alaska, is a reporter from the alaska news. going into this debate tonight, what will be the key issues in this debate tonight? well, you know, from mark bagich, his campaign theme has been true alaska. so you will probably hear things pretty consistent with what he's being saying over the course of the last few months. you know, he's arguing that he's been sort of independent of the ob

case in point, joni ernst.etting her true colors shine in a race against congressman bruce braley. >> we've already talked about closing the door to the irs. i think that would be a wonderful start. >> those are entry level jobs. i think $7.25 is a great starter wage for many high school students. >> closing the doors to the department of education at the federal level. >> obamacare is a job killer. it is a job killer. obamacare is a job killer. let's shut down the federal epa. >>> i do believe in the right to carry. and i believe in the right to defend myself and my family, whether it's from an intruder, or whether it's from a government, should they decide that my rights are no longer important. >> in rural america, you got to go to the guns and talk about that. shockingly, this race is close. the latest poll out of iowa, has joni ernst leading by 2 points with just days away from the election, those numbers could get a shock. former president bill clinton will return to iowa saturday for a barbecue fund-rais

you can't really tell who's telling the truth. >> chuck talked to joni ernst who benefited by a serieses by braley early this campaign but has to persuade iowa voters she isn't too far to right to replace retiring democrat tom harkin. >> very early when you were running for senate you took some conservative positions. this agenda 21. you even talked impeachment. you walked them all back. what should voters now take away from that? >> well, i would say a lot of those issues weren't issues that were pushed by me, they were questions that were asked by media or by other members of certain groups. >> in this case, i think it was conservative groups. is abortion a priority for you? >> i would say focusing on economic policy is very much a priority with me. because that's what i'm hearing from iowa. >> so the personal thing was a mistake? >> no, it's not a mistake. it is stating that i do believe in life. i will never say that's a mistake. because, again, i'm someone who is always going to promote life. >> ernst lost her primary campaign with ad, you probably remember that described her chil

joni ernst is one of my favorite candidates. she has a guy i worked with david pulansky working with her. he ran michele bachmann's victorious straw poll. he knows that state well. he knows how to get his vote out. that's more important than more money spend on advertising at this point in time. >> joni ernst just said she was not going to sit down with the des moines register's editorial board. does it make a difference or not? >> well, it doesn't make a difference because the des moines register would beat the daylights out of her for months now and had two editorials the week before pounding her. so why sit down? at the end of the day, the des moines register is not going to be for her. it's not going to make any difference. don't think you're going to find people who say i have to wait for the des moines register. that's just not the role of papers anymore. >> as you say -- >> i also think she's going to win this race. i think she's going to be a star of our party. tremendous candidate and has not made -- for a first-time ca

. ♪ >>> i'm joni ernst. i grew up castrating hogs on a farm.how to cut pork. >> and this woman captured america's attention with that provocative campaign ad and this morning, joni ernst, iowa's gop candidate for senate, is unleashing a sequel to that ad. >> it's a mess. dirty, noisy. and it stinks. not this. i'm talking about the one in washington. too many typical politicians hogging, wasting and full of -- but let's just say bad ideas. >> joining us now gop iowa senate candidate joni ernst. good morning. >> good morning, peter. how are you? >> very often when we see political ads this time of the year they start to go negative. black and white pictures of your opponent with terrible music in the background. why did you decide to zig and zag and do this instead? >> well, this is -- it's a lot of fun. we're finishing very strong here in iowa. we started out very strong, a so we wanted to do something catchy to wrap up the election cycle. >> so you burst on the scene, one of the more exciting new candidates in the midterm elections which have b