Endorsed by Sarah Palin, which is all you needed to know Where do Republicans keep digging up these people? Joni Ernst, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Iowa, appears to believe states can nullify federal laws. In a video obtained by The Daily Beast, Ernst said on September 13, 2013 at a form held by the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition that Congress should not pass any laws “that the states would consider nullifying.” “You know we have talked about this at the state legislature before, nullification.