Joni Ernst won't seek reelection to Senate in 2026, sources say

[LetMyPeopleVote]

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https://www.cbsnews.com/news/joni-ernst-wont-seek-reelection-to-senate-in-2026-sources-say/

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.

Ernst's announcement is scheduled for Thursday, the sources said. Ernst, 55, has served in the U.S. Senate since 2015.

Spokespeople for Ernst did not reply to requests for comment.

Some Iowa Democrats have already jumped into the race, including state Sen. Zach Wahls, state Rep. Josh Turek, and Des Moines School Board chairwoman Jackie Norris.

Ernst has been evasive about whether she would run for a third term in 2026, but in public remarks earlier this month, predicted continued GOP control of Iowa.

[2MuchNoise]

1. Is SHE dead yet?

[EYESORE 9001]

2. No, but her political career was coughing up blood last night

[hatrack]

5. "She looked a bit Putin-and-Trumpish to me!"

/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/1000?cb=20200801103354

[kimbutgar]

3. She knew that comment was going to be used in a loop on ads against her

Perfect sound bite to do her in!

[Sneederbunk]

4. Ernst has good eyesight.

She can read the writing on the wall.

[luvallpeeps]

6. Aw. Too bad.

She had such a great slogan for her campaign.⚰️
⚰️MADA! MAKE America Dead Already ⚰️

[bucolic_frolic]

7. Putrid mind, putrid soul. /nt

[LetMyPeopleVote]

8. Ernst voted to confirm a number of idiots and voted for that stupid bill

Now maybe she can tell trump where to go

[betsuni]

9. "You see, growing up, I had only one pair of good shoes. So on rainy school days, my mom would slip plastic bread bags

over them to keep them dry. But I was never embarrassed. Because the school bus would be filled with rows and rows of young Iowans with bread bags slipped over their feet."

Remember the bread bags!

[LetMyPeopleVote]

10. How it started How it's going

Link to tweet

[LetMyPeopleVote]

11. Iowa's Joni Ernst to retire from Congress, despite pressure from Republican leaders

By any fair measure, the last year has been challenging for the Iowa Republican. Now, she's calling it quits.

Iowa’s Joni Ernst to retire from Congress, despite pressure from Republican leaders www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

— 🦋 Still Standing 🦋 (@imstillstanding.bsky.social) 2025-08-29T17:57:05.837Z

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/iowas-joni-ernst-retire-congress-pressure-republican-leaders-rcna228056

In early July, Politico reported that the two-term incumbent was considering retirement ahead of a possible 2026 re-election campaign, followed soon after by an intense intraparty effort to persuade her to run again. That lobbying apparently did not prove persuasive. NBC News reported:

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, plans to announce that she will not run for re-election next year, according to a person familiar with her decision. Her decision, 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.

For those keeping score, there are now 10 incumbent senators who are preparing to give up their seats next year, including five Republicans: Tennessee’s Marsha Blackburn (who’s running for governor), Ernst, Kentucky’s Mitch McConnell, North Carolina’s Thom Tillis and Alabama’s Tommy Tuberville (who’s also running for governor in that state).......

.As for Iowa’s political trajectory, Democrats face an uphill climb: While Barack Obama won the state twice, Donald Trump carried Iowa in each of the last three election cycles, including a 13-point victory last fall. A Democrat hasn’t won a Senate race in the state since Tom Harkin’s re-election bid in 2008.

Given the current GOP advantage, Democrats would need a net gain of four Senate seats in the 2026 midterms to reclaim a majority in the chamber. Watch this space.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

12. Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa announced on Tuesday that she will not be seeking reelection in 2026,

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