Iowa’s Republican candidate to take over for Tom Harkin’s U.S. Senate seat was joined by one of Harkin’s colleagues on the campaign trail in Pella this afternoon. Dozens of voters packed into the Pella Pizza Ranch to hear from candidate Joni Ernst and U.S. Senator Marco Rubio as the election nears.

Ernst says that this election marks a crossroads for the nation’s direction.

“We can do it the Iowa way, which is greater prosperity and opportunity, or we can do it the Washington D.C. way,which is failed policies, greater federal spending, and more taxes,” Ernst said.

Senator Rubio was at the event to assist in the last week of campaigning, and emphasized Ernst’s work as a state senator as some of Ernst’s qualifications.

“She’s someone we’ve been working behalf for months now, even in the primary cycle, we were impressed with her,” Rubio said. “She’s very qualified from her service in the state legislature and her service in the National Guard, but beyond that, just her understanding of national security issues impressed us early on.”

They were joined by local candidates Ken Rozenboom and Greg Heartsill and Iowa Attorney General Candidate Adam Gregg.