Iowa Republican Senate candidate Joni Ernst canceled a meeting with the Des Moines Register editorial board Thursday , a move that the newspaper 's publisher and president described as `` rare . '' Ernst was scheduled to meet with the editorial board Thursday morning and skipped out in a `` last minute '' move Wednesday afternoon , Des Moines Register publisher Rick Green confirmed to CNN . `` I think that Iowa voters were cheated because of the fact that she did n't appear and have more of a chance to articulate details on her strategy , vision and long term priorities , '' Green said . He said that her absence will `` not be the deciding factor '' in which candidate the editorial board chooses to endorse in the race . The Braley campaign pounced on Ernst 's cancellation of the Register in a conference call Thursday afternoon , calling her move a `` major change in strategy for the Ernst campaign . '' `` I know she made mistakes recently where she accidentally revealed her extreme positions ... but those are not good reasons to hide from an open conversation to help voters make decisions , '' said Sarah Benzing , Braley 's campaign manager . `` It 's one thing to stick with talking points at events . It 's another to sit down with editorial board members and answer tough questions . '' The Register endorsed Ernst in her primary election in May . The paper also picked Mitt Romney over Barack Obama in the 2012 presidential contest . A representative from the Ernst campaign did not return CNN 's request for comment on why Ernst did n't attend her meeting , but a campaign spokeswoman mentioned the Register 's editorials , many of which are critical of Ernst , in a statement to POLITICO . `` Recent editorials in the Des Moines Register make their position in this race perfectly clear , '' spokeswoman Gretchen Hamel said . `` And it 's one that many voters across our state seem to disagree with . '' Ernst , currently an Iowa state senator , is challenging incumbent Democratic Rep. Bruce Braley . The pair is locked in a tight race with a Quinnipiac University poll from Thursday morning showing Ernst leading Braley at 48 percent and 46 percent respectively . Ernst 's two point lead is within the poll 's margin error . Green said the Ernst 's last-minute decision to eschew the editorial board meeting was not unprecedented , but it was rare . `` Candidates do what candidates do , '' he said .
Iowa Senate candidate Jodi Ernst skips out on meeting with Des Moines Register . The Register 's publisher called the move ` ` rare , '' but said it wo n't affect the paper 's endorsement . Ernst is in a neck - and - neck race with her opponent , Democratic Rep. Bruce Smith . The Braley campaign pounced on Ernst 's cancellation in a conference call Thursday afternoon .