Ernst retirement watch, Sioux City special, Nate Boulton comeback
Description
Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks began with reporting that Senator Joni Ernst won't seek re-election in 2026, other potential GOP candidates for U.S. Senate, and the first "principled conservative" endorsement for Jim Carlin in that race. They dug into a Democrat's convincing victory in an Iowa Senate district that voted for Donald Trump, and a Republican county supervisor's epic Facebook rant blaming his own party leaders for the outcome. Other topics covered: another Democrat running in IA-04, a recap of who's running in all of Iowa's federal and statewide races, a labor union endorsement for Rob Sand, Ashley Hinson's new way of talking about the budget reconciliation bill, Nate Boulton's planned political comeback, Trump still tangling with Chuck Grassley over "blue slips," and Laura's tour of the new federal courthouse in Des Moines.
United States
