Joni Ernst involuntarily euthanizes 2026 re-election campaign
By 
DYSWIDT?
Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst has decided not to seek reelection to a third term, two people familiar with the decision say, and is poised to make an announcement next week.
Ernst, 55, has been wrestling with the decision for months, but began telling friends in recent days.
Her retirement creates an open Senate seat in Iowa. Rep. Ashley Hinson is making plans to jump into the race, one GOP official says. National Republicans, anticipating Ernst’s retirement, have long said they believe Hinson would be a strong candidate.
A crowded field of Democrats is already running. The party’s primary field includes state Rep. Josh Turek, a Paralympian wheelchair basketball player, state Sen. Zach Wahls, Knoxville Chamber of Commerce executive director Nathan Sage and Des Moines School Board chair Jackie Norris.
Not very long ago Iowa was still sort of purplish, but the inexorable march of time has produced a state full of elderly white people staring at Fox News and listening to right wing screech radio between the ethanol futures quotes.
Still, Ernst is only 55, which in terms of the US senate is the equivalent of being a 12-year-old NBA player, so I assume her internals are showing that that whole “we’re all gonna die so stop your sobbing” comment must really be hurting. Also too, amusing framing from CNN:
She was first elected in 2014 on a pledge to cut government spending with her signature slogan: “Make ‘em squeal.” As the Republican Party has evolved under President Donald Trump, Ernst has often struggled to strike a balance between GOP voters identifying with Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement and those who don’t.
I too struggle to strike a balance between my birdwatching and Sasquatch-hunting activities.