Report: Joni Ernst to Announce Retirement from Senate Next Week
Her official announcement is expected next Thursday.
Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa is preparing to step away from the U.S. Senate after two terms, according to multiple reports. The announcement is expected next Thursday, setting the stage for a wide-open 2026 race in a state that has become reliably Republican in recent years.
CBS News first reported the news:
Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa has told confidantes she plans to reveal next week that she won’t seek reelection in 2026, multiple sources familiar with the matter told CBS News.
Fox News confirmed with its own sources that Ernst has been weighing the decision for months:
Ernst, a retired Army Reserve and Iowa National Guard officer who served in the Iraq War, has been wrestling for months whether to run for re-election in 2026.
CNN also reported that Ernst has been quietly sharing her decision in recent days:
Ernst, 55, has been wrestling with the decision for months, but began telling friends in recent days.
Ernst had recently struck a defiant tone toward Democrats eyeing her seat, predicting Iowa would stay firmly in Republican hands:
“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.”
Iowa, once a battleground won by Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, has shifted sharply to the right in the Trump era. Republicans now hold both Senate seats, all four congressional districts, and nearly every statewide office. Ernst’s 2014 win, powered by her “make ’em squeal” ads, marked the beginning of that shift.
With Ernst stepping aside, Iowa will see its first open U.S. Senate race in more than a decade. GOP Rep. Ashley Hinson is already preparing a campaign, while several Democrats have entered the race.
Her official announcement is expected next Thursday.
This story will continue to develop. Check back for more.
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Comments
Oh well, Joni. You talked a mean game.
So long, farewell… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxjwb5cXTI0&list=RDkxjwb5cXTI0&start_radio=1
Never trusted her. A real grandstander.
This dumb bint actually thought she had a chance to be Secretary of Defense by trying to tank Hegseth.
We all saw it, funny how she starting ‘weighing the decision’ to retire immediately after that.
Good riddance to another RINO that TALKED a lot of nonsense but never managed to actually do any of it.
I remember her hog castration ads during her first run.
She should have castrated a hog on live TV instead of bragging about doing it as a youngster.
The whole Hegseth thing has already been mentioned, but before that she had been campaigning via the media for the SecDef job, which didn’t work.
Also, last November she was voted out of the Senate GOP leadership and had no prospects of getting back into it anytime soon; she had the #4 spot (Policy) and with McConnell stepping back as leader and Thune moving up from whip, she ran for the #3 spot as Conference Chairman, to replace John Barrasso (who moved up to whip). She lost handily to Tom Cotton. Unless something unexpected happens, Thune is leader for as long as he wants or until he is voted out, while Barrasso and Cotton, as well as Capito who is now in the #4 spot, can serve in their positions for up to 6 years.
She latched onto the Doge Caucus, but all she had to hope for in the next how many years was moving up the seniority and committee chains. She has no shot with the Trump admin. So she can say, “I only said I’d serve two terms” but if she was still in the GOP leadership she’d have run again.
Even my friends from Iowa don’t think very much of her, good riddance
Republic may be already lost. But I am so sick of these cockwombles thinking they are entitled to political position or status or are the Lords gift to the electorate/ business as usual careerists. Almost apathetic toward news of this type. Does it really matter at this point ?
btw thoughts and prayers
Two roles women should never be in the federal government:
1. President of the United States
2. Secretary of Defense (hopefully this goes back to Secretary of War).
I would also include Secretary of State, but we’ve already had women in that role and, while they weren’t effective, they really didn’t mess shit up either.
The people of Libya, and the staff at the US Consulate there, might disagree. Then there was the spilling of thousands of classified docs via a homebrew email server, and turning the Dept of State into a massive pay-to-play scheme. Yeah, Hillary Clintoon was the epitome of messing shit up.
didn’t she say in past would only serve 2 terms? not a huge fan of hers so whatever.
That 2008 election wasn’t “won” by Barack Obama. It was stolen, beginning with Iowa right out of the gate. How do I know? I was there. They weren’t even subtle about it…turned my precinct over to an Obama operative from another state, in blatant violation of their own rules. They couldn’t seem to get the numbers where they should be. It took a bit of massaging to get the count where they wanted it but it all worked out the way they’d planned it.
I left the Democrat party that night.