Sen. Joni Ernst says Democrats gave 'middle America the middle finger' by voting to make South Carolina the first nominating state instead of Iowa

Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File

• South Carolina will now be the first state to nominate Democratic presidential candidates.
• Iowa was the first state to nominate presidential candidates for the DNC since 1972.
• GOP Sen. Joni Ernst said Democrats "gave middle America the middle finger" with the decision to move the caucus.

GOP Sen. Joni Ernst said that Democrats "gave middle America the middle finger" by making South Carolina the first state to nominate Democratic candidates for presidential races rather than Iowa.

Ernst's comments came on "Fox News Sunday" on Sunday, The Hill reported. Ernst told host Shannon Beam that she was "sorely disappointed" that the DNC voted to remove and make South Carolina have the party's first caucus for nominating a presidential candidate.

"I'm so proud that we're going to hear from more voices — voices of those who simply yearn to be heard. To be seen,"  Donna Brazile, a former acting chair of the DNC said of the caucus move to South Carolina, according to the Des Moines Register.

The DNC's decision to move the first-in-the-nation caucus from Iowa to South Carolina will mark the first time the caucus has been in a state other than Iowa since 1927. The RNC has also held its own first-in-the-nation caucus in Iowa since 1976.

"We have seen a number of pushes in the past to change this," Ernst said on "Fox News Sunday." "I'm glad that Republicans are staying the course. I feel Democrats have really given Middle America the middle finger."