Joni Ernst, the Republican candidate in the Iowa race for U.S. Senate, didn’t take well to comments from retiring Sen. Tom Harkin comparing her looks to those of pop singer Taylor Swift.
“I was very offended that Senator Harkin would say that,” Ernst said this morning on Fox News’ “Fox and Friends.”
Harkin, at 74 a seasoned Iowa Democrat, made the remarks last week at Story County’s annual fall barbecue.
“I don’t care if she’s as good looking as Taylor Swift or as nice as Mr. Rogers, but if she votes like Michele Bachmann, she’s wrong for the state of Iowa,” Harkin said.
The video went viral when BuzzFeed posted it yesterday.
Ernst, 44, who served as an Army company commander in Iraq in 2003, is in a tight race with the Democratic candidate, Rep. Bruce Braley, 57, for Harkin’s Senate seat. While speaking with Fox News this morning, Ernst also criticized Harkin for promoting a “phony” war on women.
“First, I am a woman and second, I have been to war; I am a combat veteran,” she said. “This is not a war on women and any time Democrats are using the word ‘war’ they need to do it to honor our servicemen and women.”
Watch the video to see Ernst’s full response.
