Ernst

DES MOINES, Iowa — U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst said Tuesday that she will not seek reelection next year, confirming in a video post on social media that she will retire after months of speculation about her plans.

Ernst’s departure opens up a Senate seat in the state known for its long-serving incumbents. Ernst was first elected in 2014 to the open seat previously held by Tom Harkin, a Democrat who served for 30 years. Republican Chuck Grassley, Iowa’s senior U.S. senator, was first elected to the Senate in 1980.

Her announcement Tuesday followed reports last week that she was expected to announce her retirement in September.

It is the second unexpected retirement for Senate Republicans as they work to maintain their majority in the chamber, with Ernst joining Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who turned down a reelection bid after clashing with President Trump.

It also could have ripple effects down the ballot if third-term Rep. Ashley Hinson from the Cedar Rapids area in eastern Iowa jumps into the race, as is widely expected. Hinson’s decision could also complicate House Republicans’ efforts to keep control as Democrats look for opportunities to flip seats in once-competitive Iowa, where two of Iowa’s four congressional districts have been among the country’s most competitive in recent elections.

Several Democrats are seeking the party’s nomination for the seat, including state Sen. Zach Wahls; state Rep. Josh Turek; Jackie Norris, chair of the Des Moines School Board; and Nathan Sage, a former chamber of commerce president.

Two Republicans — former state Sen. Jim Carlin and veteran Joshua Smith — had already entered the primary to challenge Ernst.

Ernst, Iowa’s first woman elected to Congress, is an Iraq War combat veteran and retired from the Army National Guard as a lieutenant colonel. She served for several years in Senate GOP leadership and was considered a vice presidential contender for Trump’s first White House run.

But Ernst has faced pressure from all sides in the last year. She took heat after signaling a hesitance to support one of Trump’s Cabinet picks. She’s also been one of the faces of Democrats’ campaign against the sprawling tax and spending package after she made a retort about Medicaid cuts at a town hall.

Fingerhut writes for the Associated Press.

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.

DES MOINES, Iowa — U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, an Iraq War combat veteran and Iowa’s first woman elected to Congress, is expected to announce next month she will not seek reelection, leaving another vacancy in an Iowa seat that could have ripple effects down the ballot as Democrats look to the state for pickup opportunities.

As Senate Republicans work to maintain their majority in the chamber, Ernst is joining a wave of her peers making headaches for the party. Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina turned down a reelection bid after clashing with President Trump.

Ernst plans to announce in September that she will opt out of the race for a third term, according to three people familiar with her plans who spoke Friday on the condition of anonymity to preview the announcement.

Ernst, a former Army National Guard member and a retired lieutenant colonel, was first elected to an open Senate seat in 2014. She served for several years in the No. 3 spot in the Senate GOP leadership and was considered a vice presidential contender for Trump’s first White House run.

Her decision comes after Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, the state’s first female governor, said she would not run for reelection. It prompted the state’s many Republican elected officials to consider the open opportunity to run for higher office, a process that may begin again with Ernst’s departure.

Democrats have been looking for an opportunity to mount a political comeback in the once-competitive state, an uphill battle even in the potentially favorable midterm year. Ernst drew backlash after a retort about Medicaid cuts at a town hall. As Ernst explained that the legislation protects Medicaid for those who need it most, someone in the crowd yelled that people will die without coverage, and Ernst responded: “People are not … well, we all are going to die.”

The crowded primary field of Democratic candidates for the Senate have capitalized on that moment and Ernst’s Senate votes for early messaging. They’ll have to pivot once other Republicans enter the fray.

The election will be without an incumbent for the first time since 2014, when Ernst was elected in the first open Senate race in decades. Chuck Grassley, Iowa’s senior U.S. senator, has held his seat for 45 years.

Ernst emerged among a field of lesser-known candidates seeking the Republican nomination in 2014, rising to national recognition with advertisements that spoke of her experience slinging guns and castrating hogs. She won reelection in 2020 by more than six percentage points, coming in with just shy of 52% of voters.

Among Trump supporters, Ernst made waves earlier this year after signaling a hesitance to support his pick for the secretary of the Department of Defense, Pete Hegseth. Hegseth has said in the past that he did not think women should serve in combat roles, and he was accused of a sexual assault that he denies.

But Ernst, who is herself a survivor of sexual assault and has worked to improve how the military handles claims of misconduct, made clear she wanted to hear him respond to those points. It provoked a pressure campaign that underscored Trump’s power on Capitol Hill and included threats of a bruising primary.

It wasn’t the first time Ernst went toe to toe with Trump supporters. She also faced condemnation for her 2022 vote to protect same-sex marriage.

Still, Ernst would have benefited from nearly 200,000 more active voters registered as Republicans than Democrats, a significant shift from even a few years ago. Ernst announced a campaign manager in June, an October date for her annual fundraiser and had raised just shy of $1.8 million in the first half of the year.

Several Democrats are seeking the party’s nomination for the seat, including state Sen. Zach Wahls; state Rep. Josh Turek; Jackie Norris, chair of the Des Moines School Board; and Nathan Sage, a former chamber of commerce president.

Two Republicans — former state Sen. Jim Carlin and veteran Joshua Smith — had already entered the primary to challenge Ernst.

Kim, Fingerhut and Cappelletti write for the Associated Press. Kim and Cappelletti reported from Washington.

“I will support President [Donald] Trump’s pick for secretary of defense,” she said in the statement released Tuesday by her office.

“As I serve on the Armed Services Committee, I will work with Pete to create the most lethal fighting force and hold him to his commitments of auditing the Pentagon, ensuring opportunity for women in combat while maintaining high standards and selecting a senior official to address and prevent sexual assault in the ranks.”

Hegseth, 44, requires a majority vote of the 100-seat Senate, which the Republicans control by three seats, to be confirmed as secretary of defense. As all Democrats are expected to vote against him, only four GOP senators are needed to cross the aisle to prevent his confirmation.

With Ernst’s support, the probability that the Army veteran and Fox News host will be confirmed as the head of the Pentagon increases, as she was among a handful of senators whose votes on Hegseth previously unknown.

Ahead of her announcement, it was unclear which way Ernst’s vote would vote. she is a combat veteran, a survivor of sexual assault and a supporter of women in the military, while Hegseth has been accused of sexual assault, alcohol abuse and mismanagement of a veterans nonprofit organization’s finances. He has also made comments as recently as November that women shouldn’t serve in combat roles.

In addition to the allegations, Hegseth has been criticized as being underqualified for the job.

During his confirmation hearing Tuesday, Democrats grilled Hegseth over his previous disparaging remarks against women in the military, allegations of sexual assault and perceived inexperience.

Notably, he failed to name any members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations while being questioned by Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill, on his knowledge of the role the defense secretary and U.S. military play internationally.

Ernst made the announcement after what she described during the hearing as several productive and “frank” conversations with Hegseth.

During the hearing, Ernst did not veer from GOP talking points and concerns, such as Pentagon spending, while offering Hegseth opportunities to reiterate to his pledges.

In an interview with Simon Conway on WHO New Radio 1040, Ernst said she supports Hegseth’s stance of purging so-called woke issues and leadership from the Department of Defense, highlighting the false claim of the Biden administration focusing on electric tanks.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., also made a statement of support of Hegseth’s nomination following Tuesday’s hearing.

“Pete did a very good job answering difficult questions at today’s hearing while laying out a vision to reform the Pentagon and to be the warfighter’s biggest champion,” Graham said.

“Democratic attacks were overly personal and fall flat,” he added.

Trump announced Hegseth as his pick for the Pentagon in November, calling him “tough, smart and a true believer in America first.”

“Nobody fights harder for the Troops, and Pete will be a courageous and patriotic champion of our ‘Peace through Strength’ policy,” Trump said.