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 More importantly, most Republican Senate candidates are not
running in Iowa, the influential swing state that kicks off the
presidential nominating race. Potential 2016 contenders have flocked
to Iowa for months, looking to exert as much influence - and gather
as many favors - as possible.
So, more than six weeks before the election, Ernst has had quite a
coronation. She has drawn support from Florida Senator Marco Rubio,
Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Kentucky Senator Rand Paul. Not to
mention former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, Texas Governor Rick Perry
and 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney.
They have flooded Ernst with financial and political aid.
The story is similar in the other influential early voting state of
New Hampshire, where Republican Senate candidate Scott Brown's list
of supporters also includes Romney and Rubio. Paul and New Jersey
Governor Chris Christie campaigned with him recently.
Ernst, Brown and their Republican colleagues are the latest
beneficiaries of the traditional early trek to Iowa and New
Hampshire by aspiring national leaders hoping to get a head start on
the nomination battle.
But this year stands out because the Senate races in both states are
surprisingly close and critical to Republican efforts to win a
majority. More than a dozen 2016 Republican White House hopefuls are
jockeying for position.
"We've had a lot of them that have helped us, and we appreciate
that," Iowa's Republican Governor Terry Branstad said of the
national figures as he campaigned in Iowa City with Ernst.
"But my advice is: don't focus on 2016, focus on 2014. Do all you
can to help our Republican candidates, and when we do well and you
play a good role in helping people, it's a good start," Branstad,
heavily favored in his re-election race, told Reuters.
Democratic efforts to woo local power brokers have been more low-key
as possible contenders wait to see if early favorite Hillary Clinton
runs, although Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley has actively
supported candidates in Iowa and New Hampshire and Ready For
Hillary, an independent group supporting Clinton, has sprinkled both
states with money and staffers.
Presidential contenders have used midterm elections to build
influence in Iowa since at least 1986, when then-Arizona Governor
Bruce Babbitt sent two employees to work for the state Democratic
Party ahead of 1988's contest, said Jeff Link, a longtime Democratic
strategist in Iowa.
Babbitt's bid failed, but his precedent endures.
'THE TRADITIONAL WAY'
"The formula has been: set up your political action committee, then
help (local candidates) with resources and infrastructure," said
Kevin Madden, a Washington-based Republican strategist who worked on
Romney's campaigns in 2008 and 2012.
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"If you have campaign volunteers from your PAC network, or if you
have money to cut to candidates, that can help build the framework
of a state-wide campaign, which can be part of a nationwide
campaign."
Ernst has received $10,000 from Rubio's political action committee,
which also funded Ernst television ads in May and June. Romney
campaigned with Ernst in June, while Cruz and Perry appeared
separately in August.
Perry's Iowa visits have included appearances for 15 county
Republican committees and two county wings of Americans For
Prosperity, a group backed by the libertarian billionaire Koch
brothers.
Hampton, Iowa, radio station program director Shawn Dietz has gotten
endorsements from both Perry and Paul in his bid for state Senate.
"It's always good to have that attention that comes along with
somebody national," said Dietz, a supporter of Rand Paul's father,
retired Texas Rep. Ron Paul, in 2012.
Because so many high-profile figures are still desperate to make an
impact in Iowa and New Hampshire, local candidates get to be picky,
instead of scrambling for support like Senate candidates in other
states.
"If you're in a non-early (voting) state and you're in a statewide
race, you're asking for help," said Matt Mackowiak, a Republican
operative who has worked in Iowa. "When you're in one of those early
states, these people are asking to come help you."
National support for Ernst's and Brown's opponents, Democratic Rep.
Bruce Braley and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, will likely intensify.
Clinton's recent Iowa stop alongside Braley - her first visit since
2008 - was viewed as a sign of her interest in 2016.
Ready For Hillary has donated to many state party committees and had
a presence at 84 county conventions in Iowa alone.
But despite the outside involvement, Ernst and Braley remain
neck-and-neck.
"I appreciate the support," Ernst told Reuters amid the din of the
Iowa University marching band and an excited crowd of supporters.
"But (while) at the end of the day it's wonderful to have that type
of support out here, I'm asking for Iowa votes."
(Editing by John Whitesides, Caren Bohan and Ken Wills)
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