The Scoop
Democratic Iowa state senator Zach Wahls is planning to launch a campaign against GOP Sen. Joni Ernst on Wednesday, according to an email to supporters that was viewed by Semafor.
In the email, Wahls said he and his wife were “wrestling” for months with a possible campaign before he decided to become the third candidate in an increasingly crowded primary.
“What can we do in this upcoming election cycle that will make the biggest impact in this crucial moment for our state and for our country? After a lot of discussion, encouragement, reflection, and prayer, we have decided to launch a campaign for the U.S. Senate against Joni Ernst in 2026,” Wahls wrote in the email.
In addition to Wahls, who previously served as his party’s leader in the state senate, veteran and former broadcaster Nathan Sage and state Rep. J.D. Scholten are vying for the nod to take on Ernst.
Democrats now consider Ernst a potentially vulnerable target after she responded “we are all going to die” to voters frustrated with President Donald Trump’s proposed Medicaid spending cuts.
Democrats have struggled in two previous races against her, however. The state has grown deeper red since Ernst’s win in 2014 and since President Donald Trump first won the state in 2016.
But because Democrats need to net four seats next fall to win back the Senate, their path to the majority could end up running through Iowa.
It’s not clear if the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee will take sides in the primary among Scholten, Sage and Wahls. Its chair, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., is not ruling out the possibility of DSCC endorsements this cycle, she told Semafor last week.
Notable
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