Joni Ernst got elected as a hog-butchering, motorcycle-riding, down home Iowan. But in the Senate, she’s become nothing more than another “aye” vote for Mitch McConnell. Ernst will have to prove she’s still in touch with her Iowan roots — a difficult challenge for a Senator whose first priority seems to be her party bosses, not her constituents.

Ernst will try and fail to appeal to competing factions in the GOP. Ernst has never shied away from Donald Trump or the far-right wing of the Republican Party. But she also hasn’t had to seriously contend with Trump policies that are devastating her state. Trump’s trade war is endangering vulnerable Iowa farmers, and Ernst hasn’t taken a meaningful step against him. She’s also supported his signature policy failures, including ACA repeal, the Republican tax scam, and the Trump shutdown.