DES MOINES, Iowa (Gray Media Iowa State Capitol Bureau) — U.S. Senator Joni Ernst, a Republican from Red Oak serving her second term, will not seek a third term, according to a story first reported by CBS News.
The report stated that Ernst will make her plans official next Thursday.
There has been speculation for months that Ernst would not run again after first getting elected in 2014. The decision would mark another significant change in Iowa politics.
It would follow the announcement by Governor Kim Reynolds, a Republican, that she would not run in 2026.
Ernst and Reynolds both previously served in the state senate. They are also historic figures in becoming the first women in the state to hold their respective positions.
Jim Carlin, a former Republican state senator from Sioux City, has already announced that he would run in the U.S. Senate primary set for next June.
Four Democrats have also declared their campaigns: state Representative Josh Turek of Council Bluffs, state Senator Zach Wahls of Coralville, former news and sports journalist Nathan Sage of Indianola, and Des Moines School Board Chair and former Barack and Michelle Obama staffer Jackie Norris of Des Moines.
(This breaking news story will be updated throughout the day.)
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