Patricia Lopez, Columnist

Ernst Is Part of a Bigger Problem for Republicans in Iowa

The senator reportedly won’t run again as voters in the Hawkeye State start to show their dissatisfaction with the GOP.

August 29, 2025 at 5:15 PM UTC

Patricia Lopez is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering politics and policy. She is a former member of the editorial board at the Minneapolis Star Tribune, where she also worked as a senior political editor and reporter.

Heading back to the farm.
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From the outside, Iowa looks to be solidly red. President Donald Trump won it handily in 2024 and the state has both a Republican governor and a GOP-controlled legislature. But that could change in 2026. On Friday, reports emerged that Senator Joni Ernst had decided, despite pleas from party leaders, not to run again. That would hand Democrats a chance at an open seat. Ernst committed an epic gaffe earlier this summer when she responded to a town hall question on Medicaid cuts — the result of Trump’s budget bill — with an exasperated, “Well we’re all going to die.” She has never recovered politically.

Republican Governor Kim Reynolds, who has been sinking in the polls, also will not run again, leaving another open seat at the top of the midterm ticket.