Joni Ernst surges into the lead in Iowa Senate race as GOP 2016 hopefuls come to town

On a night when Republicans got a dose of very good news in the election battle that could decide who controls the U.S Senate, three potential Republican presidential candidates flocked here to speak to more than 1,000 conservative Christians at an annual dinner. Iowa state Sen. Joni Ernst, the GOP candidate for U.S. Senate in what has been one of the tightest contests in the country, made a surprise appearance at the Faith and Freedom Coalition dinner, just minutes after the Des Moines Register released its first poll on the race, showing Ernst ahead of Democratic Rep. Bruce Braley, 44 percent to 38 percent.

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