Sen. Chuck Grassley appeared on “Iowa Press” on Sept. 15, 2023. (Screenshot via Iowa PBS)
U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley said Wednesday he believes U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson is qualified to take the U.S. Senate seat following Sen. Joni Ernst’s exit from the race.
In a news conference Wednesday, the longtime Iowa Republican senator said he has enjoyed working with Ernst and is “disappointed” she is retiring. Last week, Ernst announced she will not seek reelection in 2026, which was shortly followed by Hinson, who has represented Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District since the 2020 election, announcing her campaign for the seat.
Hinson quickly gained the endorsements and support of many major Republican officials in Washington, D.C., including President Donald Trump, Senate Majority Leader John Thune and National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Tim Scott. Several Iowa Republicans, such as U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn and state House Majority Leader Bobby Kaufmann, have also backed her campaign.
Though Hinson has a clear lead in gaining institutional support, there are other Republicans competing to become the GOP nominee in the 2026 U.S. Senate race. Former state lawmaker Jim Carlin and Joshua Smith, a former Libertarian state legislative candidate, are also campaigning for the position. Carlin had also challenged Grassley in the 2022 U.S. Senate primary.
While Grassley said he believes “Ashley’s fully qualified to succeed (Ernst),” he stopped short of giving an endorsement, saying “I’ll leave it at that at this point.”
Ernst’s retirement and Hinson’s move to the U.S. Senate race have added to the number of open races in Iowa for 2026. In addition to having no incumbents in the U.S. Senate and 2nd Congressional District races, the governor’s seat will be open as Gov. Kim Reynolds announced she will not seek another term in 2026. Iowa’s 4th Congressional District seat will also be open as U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra has an “exploratory” committee pursuing a gubernatorial bid.
The two open congressional seats are in districts considered less likely to be competitive. Iowa’s 1st and 3rd Districts, represented by Republican U.S. Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Zach Nunn respectively, are considered by political forecasters to likely be the most competitive. Grassley said he believes Iowa Republicans will win in 2026, but acknowledged there were “tough races” ahead.
“We have these tough races at the top, and then Joni’s race, and then we already have two competitive races, normally, in southern Iowa (for) two districts,” Grassley said. “I don’t think Ashley’s will be competitive, but if it is, we’ll have to work through it.”