Another GOP Contender Enters Race for Harkin's Senate Seat

Another Republican has joined the field of those seeking the GOP nomination for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Tom Harkin.

The Des Moines Register reports State Sen. Joni Ernst of Red Oak is kicking of a campaign.

“As a mother, soldier, and a conservative, the values I hold dear, and have fought more than 20 years to protect, are being threatened by the failed policies of this president,” Ernst says on her campaign website. “Washington has failed us. We need and deserve better leadership. And that’s why I am running for U.S. Senate.”

Iowa will have its first open U.S. Senate race in 40 years with the retirement of Harkin, a Democrat.

Some of the biggest names in the Iowa Republican Party have said they won't run for Senate, including Congressmen Tom Latham and Steve King, Gov. Terry Branstad, Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds, and Secretary of State Matt Schultz.

The newspapers says that opened the door for lesser-known Republicans to jump in. Among the declared candidates are David Young, who was U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley’s chief of staff for seven years; Matt Whitaker, a Des Moines lawyer who is a former U.S. attorney; Sam Clovis, a former radio personality and Sioux City college professor; and now Ernst.