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2026 United States Senate election in Iowa

2026 United States Senate election in Iowa

← 2020 November 3, 2026 2032 →
 
Party Republican Democratic

Incumbent U.S. senator

Joni Ernst
Republican



The 2026 United States Senate election in Iowa will be held on November 3, 2026, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of Iowa. Two-term Republican Joni Ernst was re-elected in 2020 with 51.8% of the vote.

Background

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After voting for President Barack Obama in both 2008 and 2012, Iowa has trended increasingly Republican in subsequent years and is now considered a moderately to strongly red state at the federal and state level. Republican nominee Donald Trump won Iowa in 2020 by 8 percentage points, and in 2024 grew his margin to 13 percentage points. Republicans control every statewide executive office (except the state auditor's office), supermajorities in both chambers of the state legislature, and the entire congressional delegation. [1]

Senator Joni Ernst was first elected in the red wave of 2014, defeating U.S. Representative Bruce Braley by about 8 percentage points. She was re-elected in 2020 defeating Theresa Greenfield by 6.5 percentage points in what was expected to be a dead heat.[2][3]

In May 2025, Ernst sparked controversy after replying to a constituent upset by thousands of preventable deaths resulting from Medicaid cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act by responding, "Well, we all are going to die," during a town hall in north-central Iowa.[4]

Republican primary

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Candidates

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Declared

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Filed paperwork

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Publicly expressed interest

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Declined

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Endorsements

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Joni Ernst (undeclared)

Fundraising

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Campaign finance reports as of June 30, 2025
Candidate Raised Spent Cash on hand
Jim Carlin (R) $125,401 $124,689 $711
Joni Ernst (R) $6,747,240 $3,871,158 $3,404,497
Source: Federal Election Commission[13]

Polling

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Hypothetical polling

Joni Ernst vs. "Someone Else"

Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size[a]
Margin
of error
Joni
Ernst
Someone
Else
Undecided
Victory Insights (R)[14] December 6–7, 2024 600 (LV) 48% 27% 26%

Democratic primary

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Candidates

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Declared

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Withdrawn

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Endorsements

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Josh Turek
State legislators

Fundraising

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Campaign finance reports as of June 30, 2025
Candidate Raised Spent Cash on hand
Nathan Sage (D) $709,398 $375,015 $334,383
Zach Wahls (D) $656,638 $30,288 $626,350
Source: Federal Election Commission[13]

Libertarian primary

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Candidates

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Declared

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Fundraising

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Campaign finance reports as of June 30, 2025
Candidate Raised Spent Cash on hand
Thomas Laehn (L) $27,581 $10,188 $17,393
Source: Federal Election Commission[13]

General election

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Predictions

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Source Ranking As of
Inside Elections[21] Likely R July 24, 2025
The Cook Political Report[22] Likely R June 4, 2025
Sabato's Crystal Ball[23] Likely R June 3, 2025
Race To The WH[24] Lean R June 3, 2025

Polling

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Joni Ernst vs. Jackie Norris

Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size[a]
Margin
of error
Joni
Ernst (R)
Jackie
Norris (D)
Undecided
Public Policy Polling (D)[25][A] August 18–19, 2025 572 (V) ± 4.1% 45% 42% 13%

Joni Ernst vs. Josh Turek

Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size[a]
Margin
of error
Joni
Ernst (R)
Josh
Turek (D)
Undecided
Public Policy Polling (D)[25][A] August 18–19, 2025 572 (V) ± 4.1% 45% 41% 14%

Joni Ernst vs. Nathan Sage

Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size[a]
Margin
of error
Joni
Ernst (R)
Nathan
Sage (D)
Undecided
Public Policy Polling (D)[25][A] August 18–19, 2025 572 (V) ± 4.1% 45% 41% 14%

Joni Ernst vs. Zach Wahls

Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size[a]
Margin
of error
Joni
Ernst (R)
Zach
Wahls (D)
Undecided
Public Policy Polling (D)[25][A] August 18–19, 2025 572 (V) ± 4.1% 43% 42% 15%
Hypothetical polling

Joni Ernst vs. Generic Democrat

Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size[a]
Margin
of error
Joni
Ernst (R)
Generic
Democrat
Undecided
Public Policy Polling (D)[26][27][B] June 2–3, 2025 568 (V) ± 4.1% 45% 43% 12%

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear

Partisan clients

  1. ^ a b c d Poll sponsored by Wahls's campaign
  2. ^ Poll sponsored by Senate Majority PAC, which supports Democratic candidates

References

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  1. ^ Ta, Linh (November 6, 2024). "Iowa remains solidly Republican". Axios. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  2. ^ Barrett, Ted (November 5, 2014). "Joni Ernst wins Iowa Senate race". CNN. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  3. ^ Pfannenstiel, Brianne (November 2, 2020). "'Six more years!': Republican U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst wins reelection, beating Democrat Theresa Greenfield". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  4. ^ "MSN". www.msn.com. Retrieved June 3, 2025.
  5. ^ Hayworth, Bret (April 16, 2025). "Field Widens for US Senate Race in Iowa". Siouxland Public Media. Retrieved May 16, 2025.
  6. ^ Belin, Laura (December 9, 2024). "Joshua Smith to challenge Joni Ernst in GOP primary". Bleeding Heartland. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
  7. ^ "BERMAN, JOHN - Candidate overview". FEC.gov. January 1, 2019. Retrieved May 16, 2025.
  8. ^ Fisher, Zach (August 12, 2025). "Sen. Ernst says reelection decision coming in 'several weeks'". WHO-DT. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  9. ^ Fisher, Bob (August 25, 2025). "Hinson says she'll run for another term in Congress". North Iowa Now. Retrieved August 25, 2025.
  10. ^ Pfannenstiel, Sabine Martin and Brianne (January 27, 2025). "Donald Trump supporter Kari Lake postpones Iowa homecoming for MAGA event". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved February 1, 2025. Speculation swirled among MAGA-minded Republicans in Iowa who suggested on social media that Lake would be a strong potential primary challenger to Ernst...Lake's spokesperson Alex Nicoll told The Arizona Republic after news of the event that she's not planning to be a political candidate.
  11. ^ "- AIPAC Political Portal". candidates.aipacpac.org. Retrieved April 28, 2025.
  12. ^ "Maggie's List Announces First Round of 2026 Senate Endorsements". maggieslist.org. Maggie's List. Retrieved March 27, 2025.
  13. ^ a b c "2026 Election United States Senate - Iowa". fec.gov. Federal Election Commission. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
  14. ^ "NEW POLL: Less Than Half of Iowa Republicans Support Joni Ernst for US Senate in 2026" (PDF). Victory Insights. December 9, 2024. Retrieved April 29, 2025.
  15. ^ Smith, Allan (April 16, 2025). "Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst gets her first Democratic challenger for 2026". NBC News. Retrieved April 16, 2025.
  16. ^ Lesniewski, Niels (August 5, 2025). "Des Moines school board chair Norris enters Iowa Senate race". Roll Call. Retrieved August 5, 2025.
  17. ^ Opsahl, Robin (August 12, 2025). "Iowa Rep. Josh Turek, two-time Paralympian, launches campaign for U.S. Senate". KCCI. Retrieved August 15, 2025.
  18. ^ Koons, Cami (June 11, 2025). "Democrat Zach Wahls announces bid for U.S. Senate". Iowa Capital Dispatch. Retrieved June 11, 2025.
  19. ^ a b Gruber-Miller, Stephen (August 18, 2025). "Democrat J.D. Scholten drops out of Iowa's 2026 US Senate race and endorses Josh Turek". The Des Moines Register. Archived from the original on August 18, 2025. Retrieved August 18, 2025.
  20. ^ Foix, Chase (April 21, 2025). "US Senate hopeful speaks to Rotary Club of Sioux City". KCAU-TV. Retrieved August 7, 2025.
  21. ^ "Senate Ratings". Inside Elections. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  22. ^ "2026 CPR Senate Race Ratings". Cook Political Report. Retrieved February 11, 2025.
  23. ^ "2026 Senate ratings". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
  24. ^ "2026 Senate Forecast". Race to the WH. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
  25. ^ a b c d Plascencia, Cesar (August 22, 2025). "Democrat Zach Wahls Performs Best Against Ernst in Potential Senate Matchups". Public Policy Polling. Retrieved August 25, 2025.
  26. ^ "Joni Ernst Unpopular, May Face Tough Reelection". Public Policy Polling. June 4, 2025. Retrieved June 4, 2025.
  27. ^ "Iowa Survey Results" (PDF). Public Policy Polling. June 4, 2025. Retrieved June 4, 2025.
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Official campaign websites