Mitt Romney returned to the all-important state of Iowa Friday for the first time since he lost the presidential election in 2012 to showcase U.S. Senate candidate Joni Ernst to mainstream Republicans. He has made only one other appearance at a campaign stop this year, for Republican candidates in Idaho.

“By indicating my support for Joni as well as some other candidates from around the country we’re encouraging donors to help these candidates,” said Romney.

Romney lost Iowa’s 6 electoral votes to Democratic President Barack Obama in 2012.

Ernst, from rural southwest Iowa, has already built a lead in the five-way race for the GOP nomination to take on Democratic U.S. Republican Bruce Braley. The seat has been held by five-term Democratic Senator Tom Harkin, who is not seeking a sixth term.

The Iowa open seat is one of important seats in determining whether Republicans gain the 6 seats needed to take the majority in the U.S. Senate. The 6 seat gain would allow them to defeat Obama’s agenda in his final two White House years.

Romney performed well in Cedar Rapids and surrounding eastern Iowa in his two presidential campaigns, beginning with second-place finishes in the 2008 and 2012 caucuses. Romney has made a great deal of connections in Iowa over the past eight years. He even greeted many supporters in the audience at the events.

Romney has also given his support to candidates in Virginia, New Jersey, Idaho, Massachusetts, Florida, Nevada, Louisiana, Kentucky, Montana, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, California, New York, Georgia, Utah, Arizona, Utah, Oregon, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Colorado and Alabama. He has appeared at several private fundraisers for candidates from each of these states.

Romney is lending his support to a variety of establishment candidates throughout the country running in competitive GOP primaries. Thus far, the candidates he’s backed have all been successful in their election efforts..