Republican Senate candidate Joni Ernst may be “as good looking as Taylor Swift,” but she’s the wrong choice for Iowans, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) said at a recent event.
Buzzfeed on Sunday night flagged Harkin’s remarks from the Story County Democratic Party barbecue last week.
“You know, in this Senate race, I’ve been watching some of these ads,” Harkin said, according to video of his remarks. “And there’s sort of this sense that, ‘Well, I hear so much about Joni Ernst. She’s really attractive, and she sounds nice.’”
“Well I gotta to thinking about that,” he continued. “I don’t care if she’s as good looking as Taylor Swift or as nice as Mr. Rogers, but if she votes like [Minnesota Rep.] Michele Bachmann, she’s wrong for the state of Iowa.”
Harkin’s comments were met with loud applause from the audience.
Ernst is facing Rep. Bruce Braley (D-IA) in one of the hotly contested races that will decide which party controls the Senate after the midterms. But Harkin, who is retiring, reportedly refused multiple requests to give money out of his own campaign account to help out Braley this year.
The TPM Polltracker average has Ernst leading Braley 47.9 percent to 45.8 percent.
Watch Harkin’s remarks below around the 18:15 mark:
