Sen. Joni Ernst Will Not Run for Reelection in 2026

The Iowa Republican lawmaker, who first won her seat in the upper chamber of Congress in 2014, said it ‘was no easy decision.’
Sen. Joni Ernst Will Not Run for Reelection in 2026
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) speaks during a press conference following the Senate Republican weekly policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 9, 2024. Samuel Corum/Getty Images
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Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) announced on Sept. 2 that she will not run for reelection in 2026.

“My fellow Iowans, serving as your United States senator is the privilege of a lifetime, from growing up and working on my family’s farm in rural southwest Iowa to more than two decades of leadership in the U.S. Army Reserves and Iowa Army National Guard, where I deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom to my work as Montgomery County auditor, state senator, and now as your United States Senator,” she said in a video posted on X.
Jackson Richman
Jackson Richman
Author
Jackson Richman is a Washington correspondent for The Epoch Times. In addition to Washington politics, he covers the intersection of politics and sports/sports and culture. He previously was a writer at Mediaite and Washington correspondent at Jewish News Syndicate. His writing has also appeared in The Washington Examiner. He is an alum of George Washington University.
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