New TV Ad, Mobile Billboard Will Hit Joni Ernst On Health Care

For Iowans, politics at the State Fair is as inevitable as enjoying fried food on a stick. Like it or not, it’s there, and nearly inescapable.

On Saturday, fairgoers won’t bump into many people running for president, but they might see Sen. Joni Ernst — on a billboard, that is.

Along with a picture of Ernst, the mobile billboard will display her phone number in the Senate — (202) 915-9462 — and a message: “Tell Her To Stop Voting To Gut Our Health Care.”

“We need Senator Ernst to stop supporting increases in our health care costs, especially on older Iowans and people with pre-existing conditions,” said Emily Holley, executive director of Iowa Voices, in a statement. “And what better time to address our concerns than when Congress is in recess and Senator Ernst is in the state.”

The Iowa Voices organization launched its advocacy campaign last month with a press conference highlighting the health care experiences of Iowans directly impacted by policy decisions made in Washington and Des Moines.

Throughout the 2020 election cycle, Iowa Voices will travel across the state to “elevate the stories of working class Iowans to highlight how conservative health care and taxes policies have left them behind,” according to a statement.

Iowa Voices also will soon launch a new TV and digital ad highlighting the story of Ruth and her daughter, Ashleigh, who had fibroid tumors.

“She voted to allow insurance companies to discriminate against people like Ashleigh,” said Ruth, in the 30-second ad, referencing Ernst’s votes to repeal the ACA. “Money from the insurance industry speaks much more loudly to Joni than folks like my family.”

Iowa Voices has been active in the state since launching its initiative in June.

The group already released a TV and digital ad in July about a Navy combat veteran with an autistic son, and participated in Protect Our Care’s nationwide bus tour earlier this month. Holley, who experiences chronic pain, shared her story in front of the state Capitol about the importance of keeping the ACA intact.

By Elizabeth Meyer
Posted 8/16/19