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United States Senate

Joni Ernst

US Senator

Republican Campaign Website →

🗺️ Iowa home

RESOLUTE Citizen Score

33 / 100 F

Raw: 26 of 78 dynamic max · 39 of 50 answered · -20 foreign-influence adjustment

Last verified: 2026-05-29 · from claim evidence

✝ God First 30/ 60

🇺🇸 America First 16/ 40

National Rank

#4,503 of 8,776 · bottom 48.7% among candidates with at least one scored answer

See the full rankings →

Score adjustments

Foreign-lobby money compromises America First. The U.S. has no formal mutual-defense treaty with Israel; AIPAC operates a super-PAC (United Democracy Project) that spent over $100M during the 2024 cycle on independent expenditures against U.S. candidates who criticize Israeli government policy. A candidate who has accepted that money has, in their own revealed preference, accepted a foreign-policy filter on their congressional vote. The same logic covers China-linked donations, where federal law also prohibits CCP members from contributing.

For every candidate with a documented donor record, two things happen: (1) the specific category question is marked False (foreign_policy_restraint[q4] for AIPAC + China; economic_stewardship[q5] — the WEF/ESG/Davos capture question — for Soros-network donors), so the per-category subscore drops by 2 points; (2) an additional dollar-bracket adjustment is applied to the total, making the penalty proportional to the magnitude of the funding. Both impacts are visible on this page.

Full methodology, bracket schedules, and primary sources →

Base score 46/100 → Adjusted 26/100

AIPAC / pro-Israel-lobby contributions-20
$595,161 documented · bracket 250k_to_1m
TrackAIPAC career-total report shows $595,161 from AIPAC and pro-Israel-lobby PACs.
AIPAC operates a super-PAC (United Democracy Project) that spent over $100M during the 2024 cycle on independent expenditures targeting U.S. candidates who criticize Israeli government policy. The U.S. has no formal mutual-defense treaty with Israel. RESOLUTE Citizen treats documented AIPAC contributions as a failure on foreign_policy_restraint/q4 (the foreign-lobby question) AND applies a dollar-bracket adjustment to the total score.
Sources: www.trackaipac.com/states/iowa · www.opensecrets.org/search?q=joni+ernst&type=donors

Contact This Official

Call202-224-3254 Send MessageOfficial Page X / Twitter@joniernst Facebook/senjoniernst YouTubeChannel

📍 Local district offices (5)

Cedar Rapids, IA · 319-365-4504 · 111 Seventh Ave. SE, Suite 480 52401

Davenport, IA · 563-322-0677 · 201 W. Second St., Suite 806 52801

Des Moines, IA · 515-284-4574 · 210 Walnut Street, Suite 733, 733 Federal Building 50309

Sioux City, IA · 712-252-1550 · 320 Sixth Street, Suite 194, Federal Building 51101

Council Bluffs, IA · 712-352-1167 · 2146 27 th Avenue, Suite 500 51501

Reach out directly. Your voice matters. Proverbs 29:2 — When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice.

Next Election

November 3, 2026

Primary · Seat up at next election

— until

Official Profile

Religion: Lutheran (ELCA — Mamrelund Lutheran Church, Stanton)

Education: Iowa State University (BA Psychology), Columbus College (MPA)

Birthplace: Red Oak, Iowa

Background: Retired Army National Guard lieutenant colonel with 23 years of service including deployment to Kuwait. Former Iowa State Senator and Montgomery County Auditor.

NRA Rating: A

X / Twitter: @joniernst

Senator since 2015. Heritage Action 94% current (major improvement from 63% lifetime). NRA A rated. Iraq War veteran (23 years Army/National Guard, retired Lt. Colonel). First woman to represent Iowa in Congress. Supports border wall. Pro-life. Signed onto Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. Some immigration wobbles on amnesty question lowered lifetime score. Strong Second Amendment supporter. Known for 'make 'em squeal' campaign slogan.

Category Breakdown

Sanctity of Life

10/10

Candidate affirms life begins at conception and personhood from conception

TRUE (+2)

1 claim

Opposes legalized abortion; voted for a fetal-personhood amendment in the Iowa Senate (2013) and has stated she would support a federal personhood bill recognizing life from conception.
- WikipediaEncyclopedia
- BallotpediaCenter
Verified 2026-05-29Dispute this claim

Candidate has voted for or actively advocates abortion abolition (not merely restrictions)

TRUE (+2)

Candidate opposes embryonic stem-cell research, IVF embryo discard, and chimeric experimentation

TRUE (+2)

Candidate opposes euthanasia, physician-assisted suicide, and quality-of-life rationing

TRUE (+2)

Candidate has never accepted Planned Parenthood, NARAL, EMILY's List, or abortion-industry PAC funding

TRUE (+2)

Biblical Marriage

8/10

Candidate affirms marriage as exclusively the lifelong union of one man and one woman as instituted by God

TRUE (+2)

Candidate opposes all forms of same-sex marriage, civil unions, and domestic partnerships in law

FALSE (0)

Candidate rejects transgender ideology and affirms biological sex (male/female) as immutable and God-given

TRUE (+2)

Candidate supports no-fault divorce reform and policies that strengthen the marriage covenant

TRUE (+2)

Candidate opposes promotion of LGBTQ+ identity in public policy, schools, military, and corporate-government partnerships

TRUE (+2)

Family & Child Sovereignty

2/10

Candidate supports universal school choice, homeschool freedom, and opposes compulsory public-school attendance

Not yet verified

Candidate supports parental notification and consent on all medical, mental-health, and gender-related interventions for minors

Not yet verified

Candidate opposes CRT, SOGI, "comprehensive sex ed," and gender-ideology curricula in K-12 public schools

TRUE (+2)

Candidate supports age-verification on pornographic content and criminal penalties for sexualized content marketed to minors

Not yet verified

Candidate supports faith-based adoption/foster agencies and opposes placement of children with same-sex couples

Not yet verified

Christian Liberty

2/10

Candidate affirms the right to publicly profess Christ in all spheres (workplace, military, public office, schools)

TRUE (+2)

Candidate supports conscience exemptions for Christian medical professionals, business owners, adoption agencies, and educators

Not yet verified

Candidate opposes compelled speech against Christian conviction (pronoun mandates, gospel-proclamation hate-speech laws)

Not yet verified

Candidate supports public-square Christian symbols, prayer in public bodies, and Sabbath/Sunday closure protections

Not yet verified

Candidate opposes state-funded promotion of non-Christian religious displays, curricula, or holidays in public institutions

Not yet verified

Economic Stewardship

2/10

Candidate opposes a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) and supports cash and decentralized crypto as legal tender

Not yet verified

Candidate supports sound-money policies including gold/silver as constitutional money and audit/abolition of the Federal Reserve

FALSE (0)

Candidate opposes deficit spending and supports a balanced-budget constitutional amendment

TRUE (+2)

1 claim

Founded the Senate DOGE Caucus to target government waste, has published a decade of annual 'Squeal Award' waste reports identifying trillions in wasteful federal spending, and is a longstanding supporter of a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution.
- U.S. SenateOfficial
- U.S. SenateOfficial
Verified 2026-05-29Dispute this claim

Candidate supports usury limits, anti-debt-slavery protections, and tithe-friendly tax structures

Not yet verified

Candidate opposes WEF/ESG/Davos economic capture and supports anti-trust action against monopolistic financial cartels

FALSE (0)

Election Integrity

6/10

Candidate supports hand-counted paper ballots and opposes electronic voting machines

TRUE (+2)

Candidate supports photo voter ID with citizenship verification

TRUE (+2)

Candidate supports single-day in-person voting with absentee only for verified medical/military exceptions

FALSE (0)

Candidate opposes mass mail-in voting, drop boxes, and ballot harvesting

FALSE (0)

Candidate opposes private election funding ("Zuckerbucks") and foreign-government election interference

TRUE (+2)

Border & Immigration

8/10

Candidate supports completed physical border barrier and active military border presence

TRUE (+2)

Candidate supports mandatory deportation of all illegal aliens, including those who entered as minors

TRUE (+2)

Candidate opposes sanctuary city/state policies and supports federal preemption against them

TRUE (+2)

Candidate supports mandatory E-Verify for all employment and benefit eligibility

FALSE (0)

Candidate opposes birthright citizenship for children of illegal aliens, tourist births, and opposes foreign ownership of U.S. farmland

TRUE (+2)

Self-Defense & 2A

8/10 ✉️ Petition your reps

Candidate supports constitutional carry without permit requirements

TRUE (+2)^[1,2]

Candidate opposes red-flag laws, magazine limits, "assault weapons" bans, and gun registries

FALSE (0)^[1,2]

Candidate supports repeal of the National Firearms Act (NFA), Gun Control Act (GCA), and other federal gun regulations

TRUE (+2)^[1,2]

Candidate supports castle doctrine and stand-your-ground laws with full civil immunity for lawful defense

TRUE (+2)^[1,2]

Candidate opposes ATF overreach, citizen disarmament initiatives, and U.N. small-arms treaty participation

TRUE (+2)^[1,2]

Foreign Policy Restraint

0/10

Candidate supports Article I congressional war-powers requirement before any U.S. military action

FALSE (0)

Candidate supports immediate withdrawal from forever wars and repeal of standing AUMFs

FALSE (0)

Candidate opposes foreign aid to nations hostile to U.S. interests or actively persecuting Christians

FALSE (0)

Candidate has never accepted donations from foreign-backed lobbies (e.g., AIPAC) or foreign-linked PACs

FALSE (0)

Candidate opposes U.S. participation in WHO, U.N. governance overreach, NATO expansion, and supranational governance

FALSE (0)

Industry Capture & Sovereignty

0/10

Candidate opposes pharmaceutical mandates of any kind (COVID, childhood, employer-required) and supports informed consent

FALSE (0)

Candidate supports repeal of pharma liability shields (1986 NCVIA, PREP Act) and restoration of tort accountability

FALSE (0)

Candidate opposes Big Ag consolidation (Bayer/Monsanto/Cargill) and supports anti-trust action against agricultural cartels

FALSE (0)

Candidate supports raw-milk freedom, small-farm protections, and opposes USDA / EPA overreach against family farms

Not yet verified

Candidate supports defense-contractor accountability, completion of Pentagon audits, and ending revolving-door appointments

FALSE (0)

Sources & Evidence

1 Center1 Official

Ballotpedia ProfileCenter

Congress.gov — Official RecordOfficial

Bias ratings sourced from AllSides and Ad Fontes Media. Classifications for government, reference, and advocacy domains are maintained by U.S.M.C. Ministries; see source_bias.json.

References & footnotes

Every answer above with a ^[n] marker corresponds to one of the footnotes below. Wayback-archive links preserve the page as it read at our access date so a reader can verify the citation even if the original URL changes or disappears.

[1]
Ballotpedia Center
Ballotpedia · accessed 2026-04-24 · Fetch Wayback archive
[2]
Congress.gov Official
Congress.gov · accessed 2026-04-24 · Fetch Wayback archive

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