Koch Industries is presenting a positive image of itself to Iowans as Senate majority leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) and the Democratic campaign team work to define the brothers who own the company as a malevolent force in the state’s Senate race.
“I’m excited that I’m at a place where my opinion matters,” an employee named Steve who works at “the ethanol plant in Fairbank, Iowa,” says in a television ad to explain why he likes working for Koch Industries.
With respect to government regulations, this ad is indistinguishable from any other corporation promoting itself during Sunday football games. The Washington Post reported in September that “the commercials are intended to help recruit applicants for 3,500 openings that Koch Industries has nationwide.”
But in Iowa, during one of the most contentious Senate races of the cycle, the ad could help blunt Democratic attacks on Republican nominee Joni Ernst.
“The Koch brothers are spending millions supporting Joni Ernst’s campaign. Why? Because Joni Ernst shares their priorities,” an ad from Reid’s Senate Majority PAC tells voters. “She’s on their side,” the ad also says.
Representative Bruce Braley (D., Iowa) took up the refrain Saturday night during his second debate with Ernst.
“I think it’s the worst thing that happened to our democracy,” Braley said of “secret donor money,” after protesting that Koch-affiliated groups are attacking him.
Ernst countered by reminding voters that Braley is being “supported by California billionaire extreme environmentalist who opposes the Keystone pipeline,” adding that Braley has flip-flopped on the pipeline.
That’s how the fight about the Koch brothers is unfolding in the Senate race. Against that backdrop, you can imagine how voters might take special note positive ads for the company; or, how they might hear a rebuttal to Braley’s charge that the Kochs are damaging American democracy in Steve’s gratitude that he is “at a place where [his] opinion matters.”
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