Jennifer Jacobs

jejacobs@dmreg.com

Bob Quast pulls a gun and a knife in his latest video for his long-shot U.S. Senate campaign.

"My new video truly addresses issues in Iowa while retaining a sense of humor," he told The Des Moines Register in an email.

In the video, he says: "If you are the sexual predator and sociopath who murdered my sister Lynette and you come to my front door to do harm to my girls, I'm going to use my Glock. To blow your balls off."

His head swivels to look at another camera. A sparkle of light flashes off one of his teeth as a bell tinkles.

"Liberals like Bruce Braley want to restrict our gun rights, including this magazine with 15 bullets," Quast says in the ad.

He goes on: "Please do not confuse me with Iowa's Republican candidate for U.S. Senate." He holds up a hunting knife; the scene switches to an image of a squealing pig. That's a reference to Republican Joni Ernst's "Squeal" campaign ad, a video that has gotten national attention for its mention of hog castration.

Quast, a former contractor for the U.S. Army from the Quad Cities area, said his campaign is about supporting term limits and the 2nd Amendment. He's seeking retiring Democratic U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin's seat in the U.S. Senate.

He said he'll run as an independent.

He intended to run as a Democrat, but fell short of the necessary eligible signatures required to get on the ballot. He has said 4,200 people signed his petition papers, but some were invalidated because they signed on the wrong county petition or didn't write down their address as required.

If he runs as an independent, the filing period to get on the ballot for the general election would be July 28 to Aug. 15.

Five Republicans and one Democrat - Braley - are running for Harkin's seat. The primary vote is June 3. The general election is in November.