Iowa Senate Primary

Last September, the two-term Iowa senator Joni Ernst announced that she was stepping down. A few months earlier, she had faced criticism for responding to constituent concerns about Medicaid cuts by saying, “Well, we all are going to die.” On the Republican side, Ashley Hinson, a congresswoman representing the state’s Second District, is facing Jim Carlin, a former state senator who previously attempted to primary the Republican senator Chuck Grassley in 2022. Hinson has the support of much of the G.O.P. establishment and has been endorsed by Ernst, Grassley, and Donald Trump.

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On the Democratic side, Josh Turek, a state rep, is facing Zach Wahls, a state senator. Turek, who was born with spina bifida, played for the U.S. men’s national wheelchair-basketball team and has been endorsed by several establishment figures in the Party, including former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Senator Ruben Gallego. Wahls has received endorsements from progressive figures, including Senator Elizabeth Warren and a number of labor unions.

Iowa Gubernatorial Primary

Kim Reynolds, the incumbent Republican governor, announced last year that she was not seeking reëlection, following her husband’s treatment for lung cancer. The Republican primary to replace her has five candidates, including the front-runners Randy Feenstra, a congressman from the state’s Fourth District, and Zach Lahn, an Iowa farmer. Feenstra has the support of much of the G.O.P. establishment, including President Trump and Ernst. Lahn has received support from the group MAHA Action. Eddie Andrews, a state representative, Brad Sherman, a former state rep, and Adam Steen, a businessman and the former director of Iowa Administrative Services, are also running.

On the Democratic side, the state’s auditor, Rob Sand, is the presumptive nominee. Sand, a former assistant Iowa attorney general, is attempting to be the first Democrat to occupy the governor’s mansion in more than fifteen years.