Joni Ernst

In Iowa, a state where families are directly impacted by climate change, Senator Joni Ernst has repeatedly denied the reality of human-caused climate change, saying that “climate change may just be a natural occurrence” and even voting against acknowledging that human-caused climate change is real. Since she was first elected to the Senate, Ernst accepted more than $400,000 in campaign contributions from the oil and gas industry — while also voting to give Big Oil tax breaks totaling 25 billion dollars. Ernst also led Senate Republicans’ efforts to block Obama’s Clean Water Rule that protected drinking water sources for over 117 million Americans. She later praised Trump’s weak replacement rule, which allows farmers to use pesticides and fertilizers that risk running into waterways, polluting our drinking water, and causing cancer and other diseases. Ernst has earned a lifetime LCV score of 3%.