A Des Moines Register “Iowa Poll” released Saturday night shows Republican Joni Ernst has a seven percent lead over Democrat Bruce Braley in Iowa’s U.S. Senate race. Ernst broke the news to supporters at a rally in Cedar Rapids.

She has been talking about “momentum” the past few days as she’s campaigned around the state. Democrats quickly called the new Iowa Poll results an “outlier” as no other public polls released this past week have given Ernst that much of an edge. The Democrats have stressed their get-out-the-vote effort to encourage unlikely voters to cast a ballot early and Braley himself made the pitch to the crowd gathered for a rally in Des Moines Saturday afternoon.

On Saturday morning Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid spoke by phone with a group of “Progressive Change Network” activists who volunteered to make calls for Braley, Saturday. Reid suggested Iowa’s senate race is the lynch pin to keeping the senate in Democratic control.

Former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack spoke at Braley’s rally in Des Moines on Saturday and Vilsack repeatedly used the word “critical” to describe the stakes. In 2013, Vilsack decided to remain as U.S. Ag Secretary rather than run for the seat Democrat Tom Harkin has held for 30 years. Harkin and Vilsack will campaign with Braley Sunday. Ernst will make three campaign stops with Governor Terry Branstad and other Republican candidates today (Sunday).

The Iowa Poll showed Branstad holding a 24-point lead over Democratic challenger Jack Hatch.