The primary ballot is set for Iowa’s first open U.S. Senate seat in a dozen years.
Two Republicans and two Democrats are competing for their party’s nominations in the June 2 primary election. And one Libertarian has announced he plans to file for the general election ballot in November.
The seat is open after Republican U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst announced last fall that she would not seek reelection.
The race had attracted a crowded field of candidates before narrowing as the March 13 ballot filing deadline approached.
Here’s a look at who’s running.
Former state Sen. Jim Carlin, Republican
Republican Jim Carlin announced a primary campaign against Ernst in June 2025, before she decided not to seek a third term. He is a former state senator, trial lawyer and the founder of the Iowa Liberty Network.
Carlin previously mounted an unsuccessful campaign against Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley in 2022, taking 27% of the vote.
U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, Republican
Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson announced her candidacy the same day Ernst declared she wouldn’t seek a third term.
Hinson, who represents northeast Iowa’s 2nd District in Congress, quickly racked up endorsements from Iowa and national Republicans, including President Donald Trump, Gov. Kim Reynolds and Ernst.
She holds a large fundraising advantage over Carlin.
State Rep. Josh Turek, Democrat
State Rep. Josh Turek, D-Council Bluffs, announced his campaign on Aug. 12.
Turek was elected to the Iowa House in 2022 and is serving his second term in a district carried by President Donald Trump.
The former Paralympian has won two gold medals in wheelchair basketball representing the United States in the Paralympic Games.
State Sen. Zach Wahls, Democrat
State Sen. Zach Wahls, D-Coralville, announced his campaign in June.
He was elected to the Iowa Senate in 2018 and led the Iowa Senate Democrats as minority leader from 2020 until 2023 when he was ousted by his colleagues after a dispute involving his firing of two longtime staffers.
He first burst onto Iowa’s political scene in 2011 at the age of 19 when he gave a speech on the Iowa House floor opposing an effort to ban same-sex marriage in the state and describing how he was raised by lesbian parents.
Greene County Attorney Thomas Laehn, Libertarian
Libertarian Thomas Laehn formally launched his campaign in October, saying Congress has ceded too much authority to the president.
The 43-year-old was elected twice as Greene County attorney as a Libertarian, where he became the first Libertarian to win a partisan elected office in the history of the state of Iowa.
Laehn will not appear on the primary election ballot since the Libertarian Party is not an official political party in Iowa. He can file for the ballot during the general election filing period.
Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on X at @sgrubermiller.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Meet the candidates running for Iowa’s open US Senate seat in 2026
Reporting by Stephen Gruber-Miller, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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