A spokeswoman for Sen.-elect Joni Ernst’s (R-IA) campaign resigned just days before the election over a drunk driving arrest, the Des Moines Register reported Thursday.
West Des Moines police arrested Ernst aide Gretchen Hamel after they found her passed out at the wheel at about 10:30 p.m. on Oct. 29. Hamel had crossed lanes and driven her car over a curb, according to a police report obtained by the newspaper.
Ernst’s campaign manager told the Register that Hamel resigned the next morning.
“This is a personnel matter which we will not discuss in the press. We wish Gretchen nothing but the best and appreciate her efforts,” Jon Kohan said in a statement.
Hamel also committed another bizarre driving offense the night of Oct. 13, according to the newspaper.
A separate police report obtained by the Register stated that Hamel told police a man named “Robert” had been driving her car and fled the scene after striking a sign post at an intersection in Urbandale, Iowa.
She later admitted to police that she lied and had been driving the vehicle herself, according to the report.
