Sen. Joni Ernst's re-election looms as she weighs Pete Hegseth's bid for defense secretary
GOP Sen. Joni Ernst is facing some intra-party unrest in Iowa as she weighs whether to support Donald Trump's secretary of defense pick, Pete Hegseth.
Republican Sen. Joni Ernst faces some intraparty unrest in her home state, Iowa, as she weighs whether to support President-elect Donald Trump's pick for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, fueling speculation that she could face a challenge from the right as she runs for re-election in 2026.
Ernst's allies are not worried about a potential primary challenge, noting that she remains popular among Republicans in the state and that she boasts strong conservative credentials. But conversations with a dozen Iowa Republican leaders and strategists revealed anger toward Ernst among grassroots conservatives who want Republicans to back Trump's Cabinet picks — and eye-rolling from some other Republicans who say rank-and-file Republicans are not worked up about Ernst to the degree some activists are saying.
The episode illustrates the pressures Republican members of Congress have faced throughout the Trump years — pressures that are redoubling as Trump prepares to retake office with the GOP more firmly in his grasp than ever before. Elected officials are fully aware of Trump's penchant for seeking revenge against perceived disloyalty, and so are activists who can use high-profile situations as pressure points against those politicians.
And all of this is happening in an era when voter anger and antiestablishment sentiment have made primaries much more dangerous for incumbents.
“This is my issue: She’s not fully supportive of President Trump and his agenda and the selection of his team,” said Bob Vander Plaats, an evangelical power broker in Iowa.
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