Eddie Mauro, a candidate vying for one of Iowa’s U.S. Senate seats, thinks Joni Ernst isn’t making anyone “squeal” in Washington, D.C., except for the “very wealthy people that are squealing with glee all the way to the bank.”

Referencing the acting Iowa senator’s tongue-in-cheek viral campaign ad from 2014, Mauro also said during a Thursday morning campaign stop in Newton that voters gave Ernst a shot but argued the other people who are squealing are the “hard working Iowans who are struggling to get by on a daily basis.”

Mauro added, “She doesn’t have anything she can hang her hat on I can see that says, ‘Here’s what I’ve done for Iowans’ (or) ‘Here’s what I’ve done to make Iowans better.’ She had a chance to help protect vulnerable women — domestic violence survivors — and she gave in to the gun lobby.”

Ernst, who has said publicly she is a survivor of rape and domestic violence, had worked alongside U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., to modernize and reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, the Des Moines Register’s Brianne Pfannenstiel reported in December.

However, some Democratic legislators — particular Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer — and even local constituents claimed Ernst has prevented gun-related details for the updated VAWA, arguing the National Rifle Association lobbied the “boyfriend loophole” was too broad.

This “loophole” would prevent significant others from purchasing firearms if they have abused their partners. Ernst has said that she and Feinstein were very close to finding “language that would be acceptable to both Republicans and Democrats,” Iowa Starting Line’s Elizabeth Meyer reported in November.

“It doesn’t make any sense to me,” Mauro said. “So she turned her back on women … She’s turned her back on our schools, our teachers, which should be the future of this state, right? I think she turned her back on rural Iowa.”

The candidate, who said she has spent years living in Iowa communities like Carroll, Boone, Indianola, Seymour, Centerville and Des Moines, said Ernst has had plenty of opportunities, for instance, to stand up to President Donald Trump when it comes to the Renewable Fuel Standard.

Mauro, who launched his campaign in May 2019, has fired back at Ernst with his own campaign ad, using footage of the senator shooting a pistol at a firing range intercut with video of the candidate walking past missed rounds chipping away at fences and tree branches.

The Mauro ad criticizes the senator for “glorifying guns” in her own advertisements and alleges Ernst’s term “has been a non-stop assault on Iowan’s rights.” He added that voters need a legislator that can be truthful and frank with them.

“And we don’t get that out of Joni Ernst,” Mauro said.

The small business owner and former teacher describes himself as a progressive Democrat who has two priorities if elected to the U.S. Senate: “breaking the chains” of what he claims is a democracy “under siege” and addressing power and money in government “in a meaningful way.”

“A third of this state here lives just above poverty level,” Mauro claimed. “The number of people on free and reduced lunches are growing, not shrinking. And you would think that it would be shrinking if this economy is so phenomenal right now. Food banks around the state are seeing growing numbers of need.”

There are a plethora of reasons why Mauro is running for the senate seat. The state, he said, is yearning for leaders that want to address “the problems facing this country with the courage and urgency that we need in this moment and time.” Mauro argued Iowans “don’t have that kind of leadership today.”

He continued, “We’ve passed maybe three meaningful pieces of legislation in the last 10 years: the healthcare bill, a tax bill giveaway (and) a partial criminal justice reform bill … We deserve better than that. The people in these communities deserve better than that.”

Having visited more than 80 of Iowa’s 99 counties, Mauro said he notices people struggling to live paycheck to paycheck. The candidate also said he is fighting for affordable health care, quality education, a woman’s right to choose, protecting workers’ rights and climate change.

As a championship coach, Mauro used familiar sports terminology to put his apprpoach into perspective.

“My children’s generation might struggle more than my generation, and all the generations before us have always advanced the ball forward — and we’re not moving the ball forward for the next generation,” Mauro said. “That’s not acceptable.”

Contact Christopher Braunschweig at 641-792-3121 ext. 6560 or cbraunschweig@newtondailynews.com