Another top GOP senator has announced they won’t run for reelection next year, following North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis out of the chamber.
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) announced Friday that she will not seek reelection in 2026, ending speculation about a possible third term. Her decision gives Republicans a favorable chance to retain the seat, as Iowa has trended solidly to the right over the past decade.
Still, Ernst, 55, did not give a public reason for stepping down, and her office did not respond to a request for comment from CBS News.
On the Democratic side, several candidates have already entered the race, including state Sen. Zach Wahls, state Rep. Josh Turek, and Des Moines School Board chairwoman Jackie Norris, setting the stage for a competitive contest.
A new poll this week suggested Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) was in a tight race with Democratic state Sen. Zach Wahls, highlighting the challenges incumbents can face back home. The Wahls campaign poll showed Ernst leading him 43–42 in one scenario, while a separate set of responses gave Wahls a 2-point edge, according to Little Village. Ernst maintained leads over the other Democrats in the field.
Ernst has been vague in her public comments about her future, but she has asserted that Republicans will retain control of the Senate, regardless of her decision.
“Every day we get a new Democratic member of the House or Senate that decides to run for this Senate seat — bring it on,” she said at a meeting of the Westside Conservative Club. “Bring it on, folks. Because I tell you, at the end of the day, Iowa is going to be red.”
Sens. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) and Mitch McConnell (R-KY) have also announced plans to leave the Senate. Meanwhile, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) said she will run for governor of Tennessee next year, though her Senate term runs through 2030, CBS reported.
Ernst has told allies she always planned to serve two terms, believes she has met her goals in office, and now intends to move to the private sector. A former local official, she won her Senate seat in 2014 and eventually rose to the No. 3 position in GOP leadership. President Donald Trump considered her as a potential running mate in 2016, but she declined.
