lol
Democrats should have no reason to factor in 2014 to 2016.
Ernst won by 10 percentage points but only received 588,575 votes. 588,575 votes is less than any Presidential victor in Iowa received dating all the way back to 1948. It's about the same number of votes Nixon received in 1960, losing by 13 points, with a 1960 population size.
2014 midterm turnout is abysmal and has no impact on 2016 outcomes. Only Republicans showed up to vote, and even then, their turnout was bad too.
You are absolutely right Monarch. Differential turnout was a big reason for Ernst's victory - evangelicals in rural western Iowa voted in droves while many of the poor workers in the Quad City area weren't paying attention. Hey, at least the bread bags voted...