A former presidential candidate brought some star power to the race for Iowa's open U.S. Senate seat Wednesday afternoon.
U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) joined Republican Joni Ernst at the podium before a crowd of more than 100 supporters in Fort Madison.
Ernst is locked in a tight race with Rep. Bruce Braley (D-IA) to replace retiring U.S. Senator Tom Harkin.
McCain told the crowd he needs Ernst to join him in the Senate.
"She knows the challenges that the men and women in the military face," said McCain. "That kind of leadership experience is invaluable. Also, she has actually been in a combat zone in uniform. That’s very enlightening and very important."
McCain spent much of his time on military issues, alternating between Ernst's experience as a Lt. Col. in the Iowa Army National Guard being a big plus to what he called President Obama's failed foreign policy.
"I would just remind you, if you look the world in 2009 and you look at the world today, after six years of (President) Obama, something has got to change."
Ernst said there is plenty she wants to fix in Washington D.C. if elected. She said at the top of her list is military issues, both foreign and domestic, starting with making sure the federal government is properly taking care of military families.
"I understand that first hand from my experiences in the military. That is something that I think would be a great place for me to start.”
Ernst also used the visit to Fort Madison to tout her experience in county government as an auditor and in state government as a state senator.
She said Iowa is moving in the right direction and she wants to get the federal government doing the same.
"There are a number of things we could do nationally just to make our nation stronger economically."
Ernst said that starts with balancing the budget, something she said Iowa does each year.
Ernst and McCain spoke for about 30 minutes before shaking hands with the audience for another 30 or so. They also fired up the crowd by referring to Braley, on several occasions, as Bruce "Bailey," mocking a recent mistake made by First Lady Michelle Obama during a campaign stop with Braley.
