- The Washington Times - Monday, November 3, 2014

One day out from Election Day, a new poll puts Republican Joni Ernst in a dead heat with Democratic Rep. Bruce Braley in the race to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin in Iowa.

Likely voters are deadlocked at 47 percent apiece, and independent voters are likewise split at 44 percent apiece, according to the Quinnipiac poll.

Mr. Braley is ahead, 56 percent to 36 percent, among those who have already voted in a race that is crucial to both sides in the battle for control of the chamber, where Democrats currently hold a 55-45 majority.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, said over the weekend that a victory for Ms. Ernst would likely cement the GOP’s status as the majority party in the U.S. Senate.

“Joni Ernst would mean — coming to the United States Senate — that Mitch McConnell would be leader of the United States Senate, who agrees with her on everything,” Mr. Reid said on a conference call with the Progressive Change Campaign Committee.

The remarks appear to presume victory for Mr. McConnell, the Senate Minority Leader and frequent sparring partner with Mr. Reid who has been leading in recent polls against Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes in Kentucky.

The Quinnipiac survey of 778 likely voters was taken from Oct. 28-Nov. 2 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

The poll follows the release of the highly-regarded Des Moines Register poll over the weekend showing Ms. Ernst with a seven-point lead. She leads by less than two points in Real Clear Politics’ average of recent public polling on the race.

• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.

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