Nearly half of Iowans approve of US Senators Chuck Grassley, Joni Ernst, Iowa Poll shows

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More Iowans approve of the way U.S. Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst are handling their jobs than disapprove, a new Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll shows.

Just under half of Iowans approve of each senator, with 48% approving of Ernst and 47% approving of Grassley.

Both Republicans’ approval ratings held steady from the last Iowa Poll to test their job approval, in February.

The share of Iowans disapproving of Ernst fell by 4 percentage points since February, to 39%. Grassley’s disapproval dropped by 3 percentage points, to 42%.

The poll of 806 Iowa adults was conducted June 9-14 by Selzer & Co. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

Chuck Grassley, Joni Ernst, see increased approval ratings from Republicans

Both senators are enjoying increased approval from Republicans.

Nearly three-quarters of Republicans (74%) approve of Grassley, while 19% disapprove. In February, 70% of Republicans approved and 23% disapproved.

Joel Van Nevele, a 52-year-old poll respondent from Oelwein, likes that Grassley visits all 99 counties every year and appreciates that he’s a retired farmer.

Van Nevele, a Republican and a contractor who travels frequently for work, recalls meeting Grassley on a flight to Washington, D.C., and shaking his hand.

“Basically, he’s an extremely powerful guy over there,” Van Nevele said. “But in my personal opinion doesn’t seem like he’s forgotten where he came from.”

Van Nevele said he voted for Grassley in 2022, but he hopes the 90-year-old won’t run for reelection again when his term is up in 2028.

“He’s getting up there in age and all that,” he said of Grassley. “And I do kind of hope this will be his last go-around because he’s getting up there.”

Grassley also gained back some ground among evangelicals since February. Now, 61% of evangelicals approve of his job performance and 31% disapprove. In February, 57% approved and 36% disapproved.

More independents disapprove of Grassley, at 48%, than approve, at 39%. And just 16% of Democrats approve of Grassley, while 76% disapprove.

Coleen Myers, a 79-year-old poll respondent from Ankeny, said she disapproves of Grassley.

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“I’ve been really unhappy with Grassley ever since way back when he was part of the senators who blocked Barack Obama getting Merrick Garland as a Supreme Court (justice),” said Myers, a Democrat who is retired from a career in marketing and office work.

Myers said she feels Grassley used to have more independence but is now more likely to align with Republican Party leaders, including former President Donald Trump.

“I’ve voted for Grassley years ago,” she said. “He seems to have lost his independence and he just seems to have bowed to what the Republicans want him to do.”

Seventy percent of Republicans approve of Ernst, up 4 percentage points from February, while 19% disapprove.

Van Nevele also approves of Ernst. He said he’s impressed by her military background and her work in pushing for legislation like tougher restrictions on immigration.

“Sometimes you kind of get a little bit of an impression that she’s thinking a little more of the bigger picture for the United States, not just for Iowa,” he said. “Which is not a bad thing.”

Independents are more likely to say they approve of Ernst (45%) than disapprove (41%). Fewer than one in five Democrats (19%) approve of Ernst, while 69% disapprove.

Myers said she doesn’t agree with Ernst’s approach to Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.

“When I’ve heard her talk about it, she doesn’t say anything at all about the thousands of Palestinians who have been killed, that kind of thing,” she said of Ernst. “She wants to be sure that we’re backing Israel. And I don’t particularly agree with that.”

Chuck Grassley, Joni Ernst see favorability numbers rise

Ernst and Grassley have both seen their favorability rise since February.

Just under half of Iowans (49%) view Ernst favorably, a 2 percentage-point increase from February. And 39% view her unfavorably, a 4-point drop from February. Another 12% are not sure.

Grassley is also viewed favorably by 49% of Iowans. He's viewed unfavorably by 40%. Since February, he’s seen a 3 percentage-point increase in Iowans viewing him favorably and a 3-point decrease in those viewing him unfavorably.

Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.

About the Iowa Poll

The Iowa Poll, conducted June 9-14, 2024, for The Des Moines Register and Mediacom by Selzer & Co. of Des Moines, is based on telephone interviews with 806 Iowans ages 18 or older. Interviewers with Quantel Research contacted households with randomly selected landline and cell phone numbers supplied by Dynata. Interviews were administered in English. Responses were adjusted by age, sex and congressional district to reflect the general population based on recent American Community Survey estimates.

Questions based on the sample of 806 Iowa adults have a maximum margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. This means that if this survey were repeated using the same questions and the same methodology, 19 times out of 20, the findings would not vary from the true population value by more than plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. Results based on smaller samples of respondents — such as by gender or age — have a larger margin of error.

Republishing the copyright Iowa Poll without credit and, on digital platforms, links to originating content on The Des Moines Register and Mediacom is prohibited.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa Poll: Chuck Grassley, Joni Ernst see approval ratings hold steady