Democrat Theresa Greenfield is trying to unseat Iowa’s first-term Republican U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst. Greenfield won a four-way primary in June. Her campaign ads lean hard on her childhood and growing up on a farm (in southern Minnesota). She also regularly talks about protecting Social Security in her ads. Her first husband died on the job and she credits those survivor benefits for helping her and her sons after his death. Currently, she’s a real estate executive who lives in Des Moines. Democrats see Sen. Ernst’s seat as a potential pickup in their fight to win the Senate in November.
Iowa Public Radio News is sitting down both of the major party candidates to discuss response to the derecho and the pandemic in this expensive and contested race that many political-watchers are calling a toss-up.
