(Des Moines, Iowa) — Iowa Senator Joni Ernst will not seek re-election next fall, according to a CBS News report citing sources close to the Republican lawmaker. Ernst is expected to make a formal announcement next week.
Ernst was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2014 and won re-election in 2020. She has served as Iowa’s junior senator since 2015. Before joining the Senate, she served as a member of the Iowa State Senate from 2011 to 2014 and as Montgomery County Auditor from 2005 to 2011.
A retired military officer, Ernst served as vice chair of the Senate Republican Conference from 2019 to 2023, and most recently served as chair of the Senate Republican Policy Committee from 2023 to 2025, making her the fourth-ranking GOP senator.
