We need a United States senator who will fight for Iowa, and no candidate is more qualified than ISU alumnus Bruce Braley. Braley worked his way through college and lived here his whole life. He’s committed to fighting for Iowa’s middle class because that’s where he comes from. 

This November’s race to replace retiring Sen. Tom Harkin, who has endorsed Braley, will have a major effect on the future of our state so it is important to understand the facts. Earlier this week, Jonathon Laudner, the chairman of the ISU Republicans, authored a scathing and inaccurate piece in which he refers to Braley as an elitist. Laudner’s claims are completely devoid of facts.

The truth is, Braley’s own success was made possible due to hard work on his part and opportunities afforded to him by our great state. Braley grew up in a middle class family in Brooklyn, Iowa. He worked to pay his way through college driving dump trucks, washing dishes, fixing roads and bridges with the Poweshiek County roads department and performing other community conscious work.

After Braley graduated from law school, he became an attorney in Waterloo, Iowa, who represented a variety of Iowans: workers who’d been injured on the job, women who had faced discrimination at the workplace and families who were denied insurance benefits. For nearly 25 years, Braley worked to seek justice for people who had the deck stacked against them.

Then, with no prior political experience, Braley ran for Congress in 2006 because he was fed up with Washington ignoring the needs of Iowa. While serving in the U.S. House of Representatives, Braley has fought for Iowa students by working to keep college student interest rates low, extend tuition tax credits and increase funding for Pell Grants. He’s also fought to increase the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour, something any ISU students working their way through college today can appreciate.

So does the real story scream elitism like the ISU Republicans are leading you to believe? Nothing could be further from the truth.

Bruce Braley has never forgotten where he comes from. And he never will.

I’d like to respond to one last claim made by Laudner, which lacks any basis in fact: that Bruce doesn’t understand Iowa farmers. Bruce’s own grandparents were Iowa farmers. Growing up in rural Iowa, he worked at a grain elevator, detasseled corn and baled hay. In Congress, he worked tirelessly for three years to get a farm bill passed, fought for the Renewable Fuel Standard which has helped create more than 60,000 jobs and opposed regulations by the Environmental Protection Agency which would put unfair burdens on Iowa’s farmers. Bruce Braley doesn’t just talk about supporting Iowa’s farmers, he walks the walk.

Students have the opportunity to make a real statement this fall and elect someone who shares our values. Congressman Braley has already fought hard for the state of Iowa and will continue to do so as a United States senator.