Iowa Poll: Nearly half approve of jobs Ernst, Grassley are doing, but disapproval grows

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About half of Iowans approve of the work the state’s two U.S. senators are doing in Congress, according to a new Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll.  

But the share of Iowans who disapprove of Republican U.S. Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst has risen by 4 percentage points each since March 2023. And each senator lost ground with Republicans and evangelicals as a growing share of those groups say they disapprove of their job performances.  

Overall, 47% of Iowans now approve of the job Grassley is doing in the Senate, down slightly from 49% a year ago. And 45% disapprove, an increase from 41% a year ago. Another 8% are not sure.  

The poll shows 48% approve of Ernst’s performance — up a tick from 47% a year ago. Another 43% disapprove, up from 39%. And 9% are not sure.  

Shawn Fesler, a 45-year-old poll respondent who identifies as a Republican and who agreed to a follow-up interview, said he’s among those who have a negative view of Grassley.  

“Senators and Congress should have term limits like the presidents do,” he said. “I don't really get behind the career politicians.” 

Fesler, an Ottumwa resident, said he has a more favorable view of Ernst. He likes that she has been more open to same-sex marriages and that she voted for legislation guaranteeing federal recognition of any marriage between two people if the union was valid in the state where they wed.  

The poll of 804 Iowa adults was conducted Feb. 25-28 by Selzer & Co. of Des Moines. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.  

Chuck Grassley, Joni Ernst lose ground with Iowa Republicans, evangelicals  

Both Grassley and Ernst have lost ground with Iowa Republicans and evangelicals over the past year, the poll shows.

Among Republicans, 70% approve of Grassley’s job performance and 23% disapprove. That’s down from a year ago, when 81% of Republicans approved and 11% disapproved.  

Among evangelicals, the drop-off is even more pronounced. Now, 57% of evangelicals approve of Grassley’s performance — down 18 percentage points from a year ago, when 75% of evangelicals approved.  

Thirty-six percent of evangelicals disapprove now, up 15 points from 21% in 2023.  

“Evangelicals seem to be backing off of their appreciation for the senior senator, which may be part of the reason his approval rating dropped a bit,” said pollster J. Ann Selzer.  

Ernst also saw erosion with both groups.  

Among Republicans, 66% approve of her performance, down from 75% a year ago.  

And the share of evangelicals who say they approve of Ernst’s job performance has fallen 6 percentage points from 64% in March 2023 to 58% today, putting her about on par with Grassley’s current numbers. 

Ernst previously faced conservative pushback for a string of votes she took related to same-sex marriage, firearms legislation and Ukraine funding in 2022 and early 2023. But Grassley’s votes have not made as many public waves. 

At the same time, Selzer noted, presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is not only holding his own with evangelicals, but his popularity is rising.  

“It’s not that evangelicals have tired of Republicans,” she said. 

Trump is not in office, so his job approval was not tested by the Iowa Poll. But the share of evangelicals who view him favorably has grown.  

In 2023, 58% of Iowa evangelicals viewed him favorably. That’s up to 70% today.  

Chuck Grassley’s favorability rating falls slightly. Joni Ernst’s ticks up 

Grassley also saw the share of those who view him favorably drop 5 percentage points.  

Among all Iowans, 46% say they have a favorable view of Grassley, down from 51% in March. Another 43% say they view him unfavorably, up from 41%. Another 11% are not sure.  

Among evangelicals, 55% view Grassley favorably and 37% view him unfavorably. That’s compared with March 2023, when 76% of evangelicals viewed him favorably and 20% viewed him unfavorably.  

Barb Davis, an 87-year-old Manchester resident and poll respondent, said she has mixed feelings about Grassley. 

“I think Chuck is a little too old to keep up with everything,” she said. “But basically, he's done a pretty good job overall, I guess. Sometimes I get angry with him, and other times, I think, 'Good job.'” 

Davis said she doesn’t identify with either major political party currently.  

“I would frankly be ashamed to call myself a Republican or a Democrat,” she said. “I think they have just gone off the wall. And that's why I kind of quit watching news and stuff. (Politicians) don't seem to want to do any good. They just want to tear the other party apart.” 

Ernst saw her overall favorable numbers tick up, with 47% viewing her favorably today compared with 45% a year ago. She is viewed unfavorably by 43%, down from 44% last year.  

But, as with Grassley, evangelicals have an increasingly unfavorable view of her.  

Among evangelicals, 56% view her favorably and 33% view her unfavorably. That’s compared with last year when 65% viewed her favorably and 25% viewed her unfavorably.  

Brianne Pfannenstiel is the chief politics reporter for the Des Moines Register. She is also covering the 2024 presidential race for USA TODAY as a senior national campaign correspondent. Reach her atbpfann@dmreg.com or 515-284-8244. Follow her on Twitter at @brianneDMR. 

About the Iowa Poll 

The Iowa Poll, conducted Feb. 25-28, 2024, for The Des Moines Register and Mediacom by Selzer & Co. of Des Moines, is based on telephone interviews with 804 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 804 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.