Iowa voters cast their ballots in the primary election on Tuesday, determining two of the state’s highest-profile November matchups, including the open gubernatorial race and an open U.S. Senate seat.
Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) announced in April 2025 that she would not seek a third term. In Sept., U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst (R) announced that she would also not seek re-election.
‘We now have the most Republicans ever. … There is no excuse for [Democratic] turnout to exceed ours here, but if that happens again … uh-oh.’
Five Republicans faced off in Iowa’s primary election, seeking to succeed Reynolds.
A survey conducted by JMC Analytics and Polling from May 27 to 28 predicted that the Republican gubernatorial primary may head to a convention, with none of the candidates able to secure the required 35% of the vote.
Of those surveyed, 24% stated that they would vote for businessman and former conservative political director Zach Lahn, 22% selected state Rep. Randy Feenstra, 15% selected former director of the state Department of Administrative Services Adam Steen, 8% selected former state Rep. Brad Sherman, and 4% selected state Rep. Eddie Andrews. However, 27% of those surveyed said they remained undecided.
Feenstra was endorsed by President Donald Trump, who called the candidate “MAGA all the way!”
Live ballot tabulations showed Lahn and Feenstra in a tight race on Tuesday evening.
With roughly 90% of the votes counted and Lahn leading by approximately 1,400 votes, BlazeTV’s Steve Deace stated, “I’ve seen enough. @ZachLahn will be the GOP nominee for governor in Iowa.”
Decision Desk HQ projected at 11:30 p.m. Eastern that Lahn would win the election against challenger Feenstra. With 98% of the votes counted, Lahn led Feenstra by less than one percentage point, according to the Associated Press. Lahn secured over 37% of the vote, avoiding a state party convention previously predicted by the polls.
Feenstra reportedly called Lahn Tuesday evening to concede.
Lahn will face uncontested Democratic nominee Rob Sand in the upcoming November 3 general election.
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Ashley Hinson; KC McGinnis/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Former state Rep. Jim Carlin and Trump-backed U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson went head-to-head on Tuesday seeking to become the Republican nominee to fill Ernst’s open seat in the Senate.
The same poll from JMC Analytics and Polling showed 58% of those surveyed were planning to vote for Hinson and that Carlin trailed behind by 39 percentage points. However, 23% of respondents stated they were still undecided.
On Tuesday, Hinson pulled off a massive victory against Carlin in the election. Roughly 30 minutes after the polls closed, Hinson was projected to be the winner by NBC News and the Associated Press. With 99% of the ballots counted, Hinson won by over 48 percentage points.
State Rep. Josh Turek won the Democratic primary race against state Sen. Zach Wahls to battle it out against Hinson on the November ballot.
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Zach Wahls; Charlie Neibergall/Getty Images
Heading into Election Day, Deace shared his thoughts on the Iowa races and their national implications.
“We better hope the Democrats follow their heart with Zach Wahls and not their heads with Josh Turek, because the latter has run the best and most inspiring messaging I’ve seen from a Democrat statewide in Iowa in many years,” Deace wrote in a post on X. “Wahls is a construct of every Leftist fetish normies vote against if the economy isn’t totally in the tank. But if Turek is their nominee, the US Senate race in Iowa will be a way tougher pull for our side this fall. He gives normies a reason to vote for him and not just against Trump.”
He noted that Democratic voter turnout nationwide has far surpassed Republicans, which he called an obvious “potential danger sign for November.”
“But here in Iowa, we now have the most Republicans ever and more than a 200,000 voter registration advantage. There is no excuse for their turnout to exceed ours here, but if that happens again … uh-oh,” Deace added.
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