The first Democrat filed to run against Sen. Joni Ernst (D-IA) in her reelection campaign for the Iowa Senate in the 2026 midterm election.

Nathan Sage, a Marine and Army veteran, announced his candidacy Wednesday. He is currently the executive director of the Chamber of Commerce in Knoxville, Iowa.

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“I never thought someone like me could run for Senate,” Sage said in his announcement video. “When I was 5, my dad got arrested for a bounced check — $50. He was trying to pay for new school clothes for my sister and I. We grew up poor, but I still believed in this country.”

“I’m fighting for a Democratic Party that people like me will actually want to be a part of,” he added.

Last year, Ernst said she planned to seek a third term but had not launched a reelection campaign.

Other Democrats are expected to enter the race in the once-purple state. Democratic State Rep. J.D. Scholten, who unsuccessfully ran for Congress twice in a deeply red district, said he is considering a run.

SENATE DEMOCRATS SEE HOPE FOR MIDTERMS WITH 2024 DOWNBALLOT RESULTS

Iowa has been trending more Republican over the last decade. Former President Barack Obama won the state in 2008 and 2012. However, in the 2024 election, President Donald Trump won the state by 13 points.

There is some hope for Iowa Democrats, though. Democratic State Sen. Mike Zimmer flipped a seat in the state Senate, beating his Republican opponent by four points. Trump won that same district by 25 points last year.