As Iowa sees a surge in cases of Covid-19, the pandemic is affecting campaigning in the state’s closely-watched US Senate race.
With less than a week until Election Day, Democratic nominee Theresa Greenfield is putting the brakes on her RV tour Wednesday, after members of her campaign staff came in contact last week with someone who tested positive for Covid-19, according to her campaign spokesman Sam Newton.
“While masks and social distancing measures are required at all of our in-person events, our campaign is temporarily pausing our RV tour, including today’s events, at the advice of medical professionals in order to take appropriate precautions to ensure we protect the health and safety of Iowans and our team,” Newton said in a statement Wednesday.
Greenfield is regularly tested for Covid-19 and recently tested negative, according to Newton. He did not provide the date of her last negative test result. He added that Greenfield will be tested again for Covid-19 “to be safe.”
“She is eager to get back on her (Get Out the Vote) tour once we get test results and we’re absolutely certain it’s safe to do so, which is hopefully very soon,” Newton said.
Greenfield is locked in a close contest with Republican incumbent, Sen. Joni Ernst, who attended President Donald Trump’s rally Tuesday night in Omaha, Nebraska. Ernst was spotted at the outdoor rally without a mask. She did not address the crowd, but the President praised her during the rally.
Ernst shot to stardom in her 2014 campaign, winning a seat held by a retired Democrat and a key race to Republicans gaining control of the Senate. Now, Erst is in danger of possibly seeing her seat flipped in a race that’s central to Democrats’ fight to retake the US Senate.
Meanwhile, Trump, who won Iowa by 9 percentage points in 2016, is also facing a tight race in Iowa against Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. The former vice president is scheduled to campaign in Iowa on Friday.
CNN’s Jeff Zeleny contributed to this report.
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