Four State of the Union Response Pitfalls Joni Ernst Should Avoid
WEST DES MOINES, IA - NOVEMBER 04: Republican U.S. Senator-elect Joni Ernst thanks her supporters after she won the U.S. Senate race on election night at the Marriott Hotel November 4, 2014 in West Des Moines, Iowa. Ernst and her opponent Democrat Rep. Bruce Braley (D-IA) were locked in a months-long campaign battle that had them tied in the polls going into election day.
Photographer: Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesFor an up-and-coming politician, it is both a golden opportunity and an undeniable risk. Delivering the official party response to the president's State of the Union address means the chance to introduce oneself to a national audience, as well as the possibility of falling flat while doing so.
This year, the job of rebutting the president will fall upon freshman Iowa Senator Joni Ernst, who first attracted national attention prominence for an ad touting her experience with hog castration. While seen as a rising GOP star, when House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced last week that the that 44-year-old would deliver the Republican response to State of the Union, it was a reminder that the party wants to reach out to women, young people, and of course those from Iowa. But when Boehner shielded Ernst from reporters' questions about what she might say, it highlighted the fact that being the standard bearer for a political party can trickier than it might first seem.