Senator Joni Ernst stops in North Iowa for heated town hall

(ABC 6 News) – Senator Joni Ernst (R, Iowa) stopped in North Iowa Friday.

In a town hall, Iowans brought up issues close to home, but they also voiced heated concerns about controversial nationwide problems. Many asked Ernst about her statements questioning the 2020 presidential election results.

“The 2020 election – there is no evidence of fraud and we have to put these questions to bed,” one attendee said.

Ernst says she believes Iowa’s results were accurate. But she did not say the same for other states.

“The election has been certified, okay? But there may be discrepancies that need to be addressed by those states,” Ernst responded.
Some attendees called Ernst’s remarks dangerous as the country heads into a new election cycle.

”If there are lost elections out there, I do get concerned that there could be accusations of fraud or attempts at frau,” Ernst said when asked if she was concerned about potential unrest after the midterm elections.

Ernst also said these town halls used to be hyper-local. Friday, local conservatives asked her to stand against Republicans in Congress discrediting the 2020 election.

“Disrespect for evidence-based truths, the rule of law…I think we need from you, Senator Ernst, more whistle-blowing behavior,” another attendee said.

"The American public has a lot of questions about what’s going on in their federal government, and I think transparency is key to that,” Ernst said.
Ernst did also spend time getting back to her Iowa roots.

She heard concerns from the local Agency on Aging, and toured the Mitchell County Courthouse, rounding out the afternoon with a stop at the Howard County Jail.

These stops were part of Ernst’s 99 county tour that she does each year. This is her 8th year doing the tour.