Republican Sen. Joni Ernst won’t seek re-election in Iowa in 2026

WASHINGTON — Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, plans to announce that she will not run for re-election next year, according to three people familiar with her decision.

The move, first reported by CBS News, would open up another potentially competitive race in Iowa, months after GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds announced she wouldn’t run for re-election either. But while Democrats have been eyeing underdog bids in both races, they’ve struggled in recent statewide elections and haven’t won a Senate race in the state since 2008.

Another person familiar with the discussions said Ernst and her team had been wrestling with the decision for months. Ernst did not respond to a request for comment.

Ernst won re-election by more than six points in 2020. President Donald Trump carried the state by double-digits in 2024, although Democratic President Barack Obama won the state both in 2012 and 2008.

Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, is planning to run for the open Senate seat to replace Ernst, according to two sources familiar with her plans. A former local TV news anchor who flipped a Democratic-held House seat in Northeastern Iowa in 2020, some Republicans view Hinson as a strong contender.

NATO Ambassador Matt Whitaker would also consider running for the seat if Ernst declines to seek re-election, according to a source familiar with Whitaker’s thinking.

It is unclear if other Republicans will jump in the race. All four congressional seats are currently represented by the GOP, but Rep. Randy Feenstra is running for governor, and Zach Nunn and Mariannette Miller-Meeks so far have signaled they’re running for re-election to the House.

Multiple Democrats have already jumped into the race against Ernst, including state Rep. Josh Turek, state Sen. Zach Wahls, Des Moines School Board Chairwoman Jackie Norris and Nathan Sage, a Marine and Army veteran.

The 55-year-old Ernst took office after her victory in 2014, when the then-state senator defeated Democratic Rep. Bruce Braley. Running as a Washington outsider, Ernst ran a memorable ad where she played up her experience castrating pigs and promised to “make ‘em squeal” in Washington if elected.

While Ernst had previously promised to serve only two six-year Senate terms, she’s popular among Republicans in Washington who had hoped she would run again.

But she’s faced pressure from her party’s right flank, most recently during her public wavering over whether to back Trump’s pick to lead the Defense Department, Pete Hegseth. Hegseth faced allegations of sexual assault and that he had issues with alcohol, which he vehemently denied. Ernst, who has made combatting sexual assault in the military a key priority during her time in office, ultimately decided to vote for Hegseth.

And she drew national attention in May when she pushed back on a participant at a town hall meeting in Iowa who criticized Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” that included cuts to Medicaid funding and work requirements.

After the questioner asserted that people would die because of the legislation, Ernst replied: “People are not — well, we all are going to die, so, for heaven’s sakes.”

While Washington has been waiting for Ernst to announce her plans — she had hired a campaign manager but delayed her annual “Roast and Ride” event amid questions about her political future — she fundraised less last quarter ($722,000) than in any quarter during her 2020 bid.