In light of what's happening with Musk and Trump within the last month, the IA-SEN race should be one to watch in 2026 as Senator Joni Ernst is up for re-election then.
FYI, Ernst is the Chair of the Senate DOGE Caucus but not always completely in line with Trump. Additionally, Ernst won re-election back in 2020 by 6.5% points, a d…
In light of what's happening with Musk and Trump within the last month, the IA-SEN race should be one to watch in 2026 as Senator Joni Ernst is up for re-election then.
FYI, Ernst is the Chair of the Senate DOGE Caucus but not always completely in line with Trump. Additionally, Ernst won re-election back in 2020 by 6.5% points, a drop from 2014 when she won the Senate election to replace retiring Senator Tom Harkin by beating Democratic Senate Candidate Bruce Braley by 8.3% points.
I’ve heard in previous discussions that Abby Finkenhauer would have a shot.
However, in 2020 Finkenhauer lost re-election in IA-01 by a tad less than 3% points. That doesn’t suggest to me that she’s battle tested in IA beyond serving one term in the House during when Trump was unpopular heading to the 2018 midterms.
Michael Franken did lose to Senator Grassley in 2022 by around 12%. However, Grassley as an incumbent Senator has more seniority than Ernst and by contrast is much tougher to challenge. Not sure Franken wants to take another dive at running for the Senate again.
Truthfully, neither of them sound particularly promising to me. Would love to be proven wrong, of course, but neither comes across as a strong or compelling candidate. Fair or not, voters tend to give a penalty to candidates that lost office. I fear we'll need better in Iowa, even if we do see it move a bit back towards us in 2026.
Surely there's a promising state senator or mayor or someone out there for us?
IA-SEN:
In light of what's happening with Musk and Trump within the last month, the IA-SEN race should be one to watch in 2026 as Senator Joni Ernst is up for re-election then.
FYI, Ernst is the Chair of the Senate DOGE Caucus but not always completely in line with Trump. Additionally, Ernst won re-election back in 2020 by 6.5% points, a drop from 2014 when she won the Senate election to replace retiring Senator Tom Harkin by beating Democratic Senate Candidate Bruce Braley by 8.3% points.
Watch what happens with FDA DOGE cuts; GOP may be creating a 1980s farm crisis scenario all over again.
Is there anyone besides Rob Sand stand out as possible strong candidates for us?
And he appears to be eyeing the governor’s race.
I’ve heard in previous discussions that Abby Finkenhauer would have a shot.
However, in 2020 Finkenhauer lost re-election in IA-01 by a tad less than 3% points. That doesn’t suggest to me that she’s battle tested in IA beyond serving one term in the House during when Trump was unpopular heading to the 2018 midterms.
Michael Franken did lose to Senator Grassley in 2022 by around 12%. However, Grassley as an incumbent Senator has more seniority than Ernst and by contrast is much tougher to challenge. Not sure Franken wants to take another dive at running for the Senate again.
Truthfully, neither of them sound particularly promising to me. Would love to be proven wrong, of course, but neither comes across as a strong or compelling candidate. Fair or not, voters tend to give a penalty to candidates that lost office. I fear we'll need better in Iowa, even if we do see it move a bit back towards us in 2026.
Surely there's a promising state senator or mayor or someone out there for us?
Are Tyler Olson or Zach Wahls still in the mix?