One day after ending his own run for the U.S. Senate, Nathan Sage endorsed Josh Turek for the Democratic nomination for Senate. In a statement on Monday, Sage said that both he and Turek come from working-class families “and it’s time we have more folks like us in Washington.” Sage, a veteran who served in […]
U.S. Senate
Jackie Norris ends Senate bid, will focus on Des Moines School Board issues
Des Moines School Board Chair Jackie Norris has dropped out of the race for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate. Norris, who launched her campaign for Sen. Joni Ernst’s seat on Aug. 5, announced her decision in a news release on Thursday. Norris’s withdrawal came one day after Axios Des Moines reported Norris had confirmed […]
Ashley Hinson pledges loyalty to Trump, throws Zach Wahls a jab at Senate campaign kickoff
U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, officially launching her U.S. Senate campaign in Cedar Rapids on Sunday, said Iowa Republicans can’t be complacent in 2026 if they want President Donald Trump to be able to accomplish his agenda. The Marion Republican announced her run earlier in September, hours after U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst said she would not […]
Hinson praises Trump as the ‘best president in history’ as he endorses her for Senate
Jim Carlin, the first Iowa Republican to launch a run for Senate this year, has spent the better part of a decade loudly proclaiming his loyalty to Donald Trump, including endorsing the false conspiracy theories Trump favors. Shortly after the November 2020 election, Carlin, then a member of the Iowa Senate, was a featured speaker […]
Ernst announces she will not run for Senate as Hinson hops into the race
Sen. Joni Ernst made it official on Tuesday: “After a tremendous amount of prayer and reflection, I will not be seeking reelection in 2026.” In a video message posted on social media, Ernst said representing Iowa in the U.S. Senate over the last 11 years was “the privilege of a lifetime.” While Ernst’s fellow Republicans […]
Report: Sen. Joni Ernst won’t run for reelection
Sen. Joni Ernst has decided not to run for reelection, CBS News reported on Friday, citing “multiple sources familiar with the matter.” Ernst has told “confidants” she will publicly announce her decision next week, according to the report. “Spokespeople for Ernst did not reply to requests for comment,” CBS White House correspondent Jennifer Jacobs wrote. (Jacobs […]
J.D. Scholten drops out of the Senate race, endorses Josh Turek
Eleven weeks after entering the 2026 race for U.S. Senate, J.D. Scholten has ended his bid for the Democratic nomination. Scholten, who represents Sioux City in the Iowa House, endorsed fellow western Iowa lawmaker Josh Turek in his announcement on Monday. “I’m ending my campaign because I believe it’s the right thing to do,” Scholten […]
Zach Wahls is running for U.S. Senate with plans to ‘challenge the establishment’ in both parties
Iowa Sen. Zach Wahls entered the race for Joni Ernst’s U.S. Senate seat on Wednesday. Wahls, who is in his second term in the Iowa Senate representing Coralville, North Liberty and other parts of Johnson County, is one of the state’s better-known Democrats and has often been mentioned as a potential candidate for U.S. House, […]
Jim Carlin, hardcore Trump supporter and 2022 Grassley challenger, announces run against Ernst: ‘Joni has joined The Swamp’
Jim Carlin is running for the Senate again. The Sergeant Bluff Republican ran against Sen. Chuck Grassley three years ago. Grassley defeated Carlin in the 2022 Republican primary, winning 73 percent of the vote and carrying all 99 of Iowa’s counties. This time, Carlin is challenging Sen. Joni Ernst. “Joni Ernst said she would go […]
Western Iowa Democrat J.D. Scholten is running for U.S. Senate
“Here’s my pitch,” J.D. Scholten said in a video posted online Monday, in which he announced he’s running for U.S. Senate. “I’m a baseball-playing, monopoly-busting, beer-drinking, Bible-reading, working-class proud prairie populist, who is sixth-generation Iowan from right here in Sioux City. And I fundamentally believe that we deserve more than a GoFundMe broken healthcare system, […]
‘I want clean water. I want clean air’: Democrat Nathan Sage brings Senate campaign to Iowa City
“At the end of the day, we’re all pissed off and we’re tired of what’s going on and we need a change,” Nathan Sage told the packed room at Big Grove Brewery and Taproom in Iowa City on Monday night. A steady drizzle of rain that grew into a booming thunderstorm didn’t discourage people from […]
‘We are entering a new Gilded Age — and it’s time to fight back’: Democrat Nathan Sage launches a run for Joni Ernst’s Senate seat
“I’m Nathan Sage, dad, mechanic, sports radio host, vet, child of a trailer park in Iowa,” the first Iowa Democrat to enter the 2026 U.S. Senate race says in a video posted online Wednesday morning. “And I’m going to kick corporate Republican Joni Ernst’s ass next November.” Sage, the executive director of the Knoxville Chamber […]

