Well, well, well. Here we have another great Iowan. Similar to last episode’s Bob Quast, Joni Ernst was also running for the Iowa Senate Elections in 2014. The first question that came to mind when watching this was why are the craziest political ads done by Iowans? Coincidence?
Joni Ernst actually managed to win the elections with this weird ad. As a Republican, Ernst managed to get 588,575 votes, making up 52.1% of the total votes that year, managing to surpass Bruce Braley by a difference of more than 90,000 votes.
The video as a whole is entertaining, but this phrase is my favorite:
I grew up castrating hogs on an Iowa farm. So in Washington, I’ll know how to cut pork. Washington’s full of big spenders…let’s make ‘em squeal.
Sen. Ernst is known to be one of the most conservative members of the US Senate. She has previously been endorsed by figures such as Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney, David Oman, Kim Reynolds, and 23 state legislators.
Many people believe that this ad was one of the major factors in the successful campaign of Joni Ernst. Although the ad is 30 seconds, the video managed to reach 400,000 views in a matter of three days. In addition, it only cost Ernst $9,000 to air the video, which is a tiny amount compared to her total spending of $12,139,309.
It is known that Ernst, herself, is proud of her successful ad. In an interview that took place during a short break in the campaign, she stated “it is very edgy. I will admit that.”
