MAGA activists are increasingly unhappy with U.S. Senator Joni Ernst and looking for someone to run against her in Iowa’s 2026 Senate primary.

If conservatives aren’t able to stop Ernst from winning the nomination, they may have a place to park their protest votes in the general election. Libertarian Thomas Laehn again confirmed to Bleeding Heartland he’s seriously considering a Senate bid.

HEGSETH NOMINATION PUTS HEAT ON ERNST

Activists on Iowa GOP’s MAGA wing have long grumbled about Ernst’s voting record. Jacob Hall of The Iowa Standard website recently reviewed “the many frustrations Ernst has created for conservatives” during her time in Congress.

Among other things, MAGA Republicans are unhappy Ernst voted to certify the 2020 electoral college results and supported aid to Ukraine, a debt ceiling deal, and bills recognizing same-sex marriage and reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act. Hall also faulted Ernst for saying in an interview this summer that transgender people should be able to serve in the military, and for recommending that President Joe Biden appoint U.S. District Court Judge Stephen Locher. Last year, Locher blocked the state of Iowa from enforcing a “staggeringly broad” school book ban and restrictions on teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity.

Although Ernst did not endorse a presidential candidate before the Iowa caucuses, she was widely perceived to favor Nikki Haley, and endorsed Trump only after Haley suspended her campaign in March.

But that’s old news.

What made Ernst the RINO-du-jour is her refusal to get behind Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of defense. As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Ernst could join Democrats to prevent nomination from reaching the floor. I doubt she would vote against any of Trump’s nominees, if it comes to that. But she has repeatedly declined to endorse Hegseth, calling instead for a “thorough vetting.”

Ernst and Hegseth have had at least two conversations about his nomination and are scheduled to meet again this week. Many observers believe Trump will pull Hegseth before a Senate hearing, due to questions about sexual assault allegations, his belief that women should not perform combat roles, and possible mismanagement of veterans’ groups he led before becoming a Fox News personality.

Joe Gould reported for Politico on Ernst’s remarks at a December 7 defense forum in California.

“I am a survivor of sexual assault so I have worked very heavily on sexual assault measures within the military, so I’d like to hear a little more about that, and I’d like to hear about the role of women in our great United States military,” Ernst said on stage.

Ernst said she wanted Hegseth to have a fair and thorough vetting process with a public hearing, calling that “incredibly important.”

“I am excited to sit down with him again, but there will be a very thorough vetting before he moves forward. So [I] look forward to seeing him in front of the committee as well — and I know that he’ll be there and have to answer some very tough questions.”

Ernst may be hoping Hegseth’s nomination will get pulled before she has to take a position one way or the other. But that wouldn’t appease the MAGA wing, who will blame her for tanking his chances.

UPDATE: On December 9, Ernst issued a statement saying she would support Hegseth “through this process.”

I appreciate Pete Hegseth’s responsiveness and respect for the process. Following our encouraging conversations, Pete committed to completing a full audit of the Pentagon and selecting a senior official who will uphold the roles and value of our servicemen and women — based on quality and standards, not quotas — and who will prioritize and strengthen my work to prevent sexual assault within the ranks. As I support Pete through this process, I look forward to a fair hearing based on truth, not anonymous sources.

I read that to mean Ernst will vote yes on Hegseth, but her office didn’t confirm that.

THAT ESCALATED QUICKLY

Conservative influencers with large national followings have jumped on the anti-Ernst bandwagon in recent days. Kyle Becker posted to 630,000 followers on X/Twitter a CNN clip from early 2021, in which Ernst said Trump’s bears “some responsibility by exhibiting poor leadership” on January 6. During that interview, she described the attack on the U.S. Capitol as “horrific” and an assault on democracy. Becker accused Ernst of wanting Trump to be prosecuted for the January 6 events, because the senator said “there are courses of action that could be taken against a private citizen.”

Benny Johnson posted Ernst’s iconic “Make ’em squeal” campaign ad to more than 3 million followers on X, adding his comments:

Joni Ernst ran on the promise of “castrating” the pigs in DC.

She lied.

After 10 years in Washington she has become a war pig. Absolutely filthy.

Now that Trump is trying to clean out the scum and mud — she is the one squealing.

#JudasJoniErnst

Podcast host Mark Levin accused Ernst of “actively campaigning against Hegseth” and shared an article about “The Republican senator giving Hegseth a headache” with his 4.5 million X followers.

Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk posted to more than 4 million followers on December 5,

Here is Joni Ernst praising trans in the military. She says she wants a [trans flag emoji] fighting force.

Maybe this is why she’s leading the charge against Hegseth?

People in Iowa have a well-funded primary challenger ready against her. Her political career is in serious jeopardy.

Kirk is among the prominent MAGA figures who have floated the idea of Kari Lake coming back to Iowa to challenge Ernst. Lake grew up in Scott County and graduated from the University of Iowa before building a television journalism career. She was the Republican nominee for Arizona governor in 2022 and U.S. Senate this year, losing both races. Lake never acknowledged her loss in 2022 but “came close to conceding” this year’s election result.

Longtime conservative radio host Steve Deace posted on X that Ernst has “been awful for a decade,” but cautioned that “taking out a sitting senator is very difficult.” In a December 6 post, Deace wrote,

Joni Ernst sucked as a Senator long before this. The rest of the country is just now finding that out. However, defeating an incumbent US Senator takes high name ID, connections, and funding potential. I’m one of the few people in Iowa with all three. I don’t want to be a Senator, but I am willing to primary her for the good of the cause if I’m assured I have Trump’s support going in. Or I am willing to throw my support and network behind someone else President Trump prefers to primary Joni Ernst instead. But I think we need to know up front the leader of the party, the President of the United States, is supportive of such an effort before launching it either way.

Deace and I agree about one thing: no Republican candidate would have any chance against Ernst without Trump’s backing. A challenger would also need major financial help to run a successful campaign. GOP State Senator Jim Carlin, a hard-core Trumper not endorsed by the former president, ran against Senator Chuck Grassley in 2022. Carlin raised little money and received about 26.5 percent of the vote in the primary election.

For now, Ernst is working hard to ingratiate herself with Trump and the billionaires running the so-called Department of Government Efficiency.

UPDATE: On December 9, Ernst posted pictures of herself with two of Trump’s most controversial nominees. She praised Kash Patel, saying he “will create much-needed transparency at the FBI” and “shares my passion for shaking up federal agencies, downsizing the D.C. bureaucracy, and having public servants work on behalf of the American people!”

In another post, Ernst said it was wonderful to catch up with Trump’s choice for director of national intelligence, saying Tulsi Gabbard is “a strong and proven leader!” For years, Ernst was a vocal advocate for U.S. military aid to Ukraine. But apparently it’s more important now to save her career by cozying up to an apologize for Vladimir Putin’s regime.

Meanwhile, Joshua Smith announced plans on December 5 to run against Ernst in the GOP primary. He spoke to Bleeding Heartland about the race on December 9.

BIRD BACKS TRUMP PICKS, SLAMS “DEEP STATE”

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, who was the highest-profile Trump endorser before the 2024 caucuses, lambasted efforts to undermine Trump’s cabinet picks in a guest column for the Breitbart website. Without naming Hegseth or any other nominee, Bird wrote,

In recent days, it’s become clear that D.C. politicians think they can ignore the voices of their constituents and entertain smears from the same outlets that have pushed out lies for years. […]

Trump has been building a qualified, talented, and powerful team to lead his America First agenda. […]

What we’re witnessing in Washington right now is a Deep State attempt to undermine the will of the people. We must not let Washington kill nominations before the Constitutional confirmation process even begins.

The column didn’t single out Ernst, and Bird’s spokesperson told the Des Moines Register “the article was meant generally to encourage ‘the entire U.S. Senate’ to confirm Trump’s appointees. She accused the Des Moines Register of ‘always trying to pit Republicans against each other.'”

LIBERTARIAN STILL “ACTIVELY EXPLORING” SENATE BID

Assuming Ernst wins the 2026 nomination, some of the MAGA crowd may be unwilling to hold their nose and vote for her in November. There were no third-party candidates on the ballot for Iowa’s Senate race in 2022, but next cycle could be different.

Libertarian Thomas Laehn is still “actively exploring a possible campaign for the United States Senate,” he told Bleeding Heartland on December 7.  Since he began discussing a Senate bid over the summer, Laehn said, “I’ve been encouraged by the response I’ve received from voters across the State (and across the political spectrum).” He expects to make a final decision “sometime during the summer or fall of 2025.”

Laehn became the first Libertarian to hold a partisan office in Iowa when he was elected as Greene County attorney in 2018. He was unopposed in that race and in his 2022 re-election bid. Laehn informed the Greene County board of supervisors in August of this year that he does not intend to seek a third term.

In a July interview, Laehn said he believed “the time is ripe” for a third-party candidacy, because Iowans “want real change. They’re tired of voting for the lesser of two evils on both sides.” At the same time, he said he needs time to see whether voters are interested in his message, opposing “the growth of presidential power,” “perpetual war” abroad, and the failure of Congress to assert some of its powers.

The Libertarian Party lost major-party status in Iowa after its presidential nominee Chase Oliver failed to clear the 2 percent threshold in last month’s election. So to qualify for the ballot as a U.S. Senate candidate in 2026, Laehn would need to either collect at least 3,500 signatures on nominating petitions (including at least 100 signatures in at least nineteen counties), or be nominated at a statewide Libertarian convention with at least 500 delegates attending.

Laehn said in an email, “The fact that the Libertarian Party has lost its legal status as a major political party is definitely a factor I will take into account when deciding whether or not to run, although I’m confident I could meet the signature requirements to get on the ballot.”

His exploratory committee had raised $19,648.64 through the end of September, according to Federal Election Commission filings.

The last time Iowa Libertarians nominated a candidate for U.S. Senate was in 2020; Rick Stewart received about 2.2 percent of the vote in the general election.

To my knowledge, no Democrat has announced plans to run against Ernst in 2026.

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Top photo of Senator Joni Ernst was first published on her official Facebook page on November 14.