Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) launched her Senate campaign following Sen. Joni Ernst’s (R-IA) retirement announcement, immediately reshaping Iowa’s political landscape ahead of 2026.

Hinson, a two-term congresswoman from northeast Iowa and former television anchor, is positioning herself as Ernst’s natural successor. Her bid, which was announced Tuesday on the “Simon Conway Show,” comes after the seat opened for the first time since Ernst was elected in 2014.

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“I’m running for the United States Senate to fight alongside President Trump and deliver on the America First agenda,” Hinson said in a post to X announcing her campaign. “From securing our border and deporting illegal aliens, to keeping men out of girl’s sports and cutting taxes for working families, I will fight every day for Iowans and our conservative values.

“President Trump is restoring the American Dream but our work isn’t over yet,” she added. “The Left will do anything and everything to resurrect their out-of-touch agenda and dismantle our progress. As Iowa’s next Senator, I will stop at nothing to Make America Great!”

She said on the “Simon Conway Show” she’d be hitting the road “as soon as I can” to campaign.

“I’m going to do that full 99-county tour starting on Friday,” she said, a reference to a tradition the senior Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) does every year.

The announcement underscores the broader political upheaval Iowa faces in 2026, when both the governor’s office and a Senate seat will be vacant for the first time in decades. The dual openings are expected to trigger musical chairs across the state’s congressional delegation and potentially draw national attention.

Hinson has cultivated strong ties with GOP leadership in Washington, serving on the House Appropriations Committee and aligning herself closely with President Donald Trump’s agenda. Her campaign is likely to emphasize her record on responsible budgeting, agriculture, and veterans’ issues, themes that have defined her tenure in Congress.

Last year, Hinson emerged as a potential candidate for a high-level leadership post, specifically the House GOP conference chair, a position responsible for shaping party messaging after Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) was tapped for a role in the incoming administration. But, Hinson chose to stay out of the race.

“I’m humbled that my colleagues would consider me for this important post, but I am not running for a leadership position. My focus is on serving Iowa’s Second Congressional District and working to ensure we carry out President Trump’s agenda,” she said at the time. 

At her annual “BBQ Bash” in Cedar Rapids, Rep. Ashley Hinson enthusiastically backed Trump’s newly enacted “One Big Beautiful Bill” (OBBB). She spotlighted tax breaks on tips and overtime pay, as well as expanded middle-class relief, but it was the bill’s massive funding boost for immigration enforcement that drew the most cheers from the crowd. However, polling suggests the package remains unpopular, largely due to cuts in Medicaid and SNAP spending.

Hinson signaled interest in running for Senate on Tuesday, shortly after Ernst announced her retirement. In a social media post, Hinson wrote that she has “stood shoulder to shoulder with the President to pass this America First agenda in the House” and pledged she would be Trump’s “strongest ally in the Senate.”

The Iowa congresswoman is likely to face a primary. Former state Sen. Jim Carlin, a trial lawyer who mounted an unsuccessful primary challenge to Sen. Chuck Grassley in 2022, had already declared his intent to take on Ernst in the Republican primary. Another early entrant is Joshua Smith, a onetime Libertarian candidate who announced plans to run as a Republican in 2026. And, according to NBC News, former acting U.S. Attorney General Matt Whitaker is also weighing a bid, though he has not made a decision.

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The Democratic primary lineup also features state Sen. Zach Wahls; Jackie Norris, chairwoman of the Des Moines School Board and former chief of staff to Michelle Obama; state Rep. Josh Turek, a former Paralympian with two gold medals in wheelchair basketball; and Nathan Sage, an Iraq War veteran and head of the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce.

The Cook Political Report shifted the Iowa Senate race from “solid Republican” to “likely Republican” in the aftermath of Ernst’s retirement.