Aug. 29 (UPI) — Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, will not seek re-election when her term ends next year, people familiar with her decision have said.
Multiple sources have confirmed the decision to NBC News, CBS News and Politico.
Democrats’ hopes for a win in the state could be lifted, though they haven’t won a Senate race in Iowa since 2008.
Ernst, 55, won re-election by more than six points in 2020, and President Donald Trump won the state by 13 points in 2024. But the state elected President Barack Obama twice.
Democrats already have joined the race for Senate, including state Rep. Josh Turek, state Sen. Zach Wahls, Des Moines School Board Chair Jackie Norris and Marine and Army veteran Nathan Sage.
Senate Republicans and their leadership already were worried about her planning to retire and have been lobbying for her to run again, Politico reported. Rep. Ashley Hinson also has expressed interest in running if Ernst retires. She will announce her bid by the end of September, another anonymous source told Politico.
NATO Ambassador Matt Whitaker may also run for the seat, according to NBC News.
Ernst has faced political setbacks, including backlash from MAGA allies over her hesitation to confirm Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. In May she made headlines when she said, “We all are going to die,” when a town hall participant said the cutbacks to Medicaid in the “Big Beautiful Bill” would cause people to die.
Ernst, a former Army Reserve and National Guard officer, first ran for Senate in 2014 to replace retiring Democrat Tom Harkin. She won the office and had promised to only serve for two terms.