Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) announced on Friday morning that she will not seek reelection in 2026.
In a video posted on social media, Gov. Reynolds told voters, “Serving as your governor has been the greatest honor of my life — an opportunity that, not so long ago, I never could have imagined.”
The politician expressed gratitude for the trust fellow Iowans placed in her before saying that she wanted to share a “personal decision” with her constituents.
“After a lot of thought, prayer, and conversations with my family, I have decided that I will not seek reelection in 2026,” Gov. Reynolds said.
“This wasn’t an easy decision because I love this state and I love serving you,” she added.
— Kim Reynolds (@KimReynoldsIA) April 11, 2025
Gov. Reynolds said that she is leaving office, in part, because she wants to be more present with her family. Des Moines CBS affiliate KCCI noted on Friday that the governor’s husband was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2023 but was in remission as of January.
Per the affiliate:
Brad Sherman, a pastor from Williamsburg who served one term in the Iowa House from January 2023 to January 2025, said he told Reynolds about his intentions to run last fall.
“I wanted her to know that I’m doing this primarily because I feel like God’s leading me to,” Sherman said in an interview with KCCI Monday. “It’s not like I have some huge vendetta against her. I don’t. I’ve always gotten along well with her.”
Iowa will soon become the first state to roll back previously passed civil rights protections based on “gender identity,” Breitbart News reported in late February. Earlier that same month, Gov. Reynolds blasted a local sheriff for violating state law by refusing to assist federal immigration enforcement. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been working with state agencies since January to implement President Donald Trump’s mass deportation policies, part of his larger effort to reverse the flood of illegal immigration unleashed onto America by the administration of former President Joe Biden.
President Trump won Iowa during the 2024 presidential election, marking his third such victory in the state since 2016.
“Iowa has heavily supported Trump in all three of his campaigns, voting for him over Hillary Clinton in 2016 by 9.5 points and over Biden in 2020 by 8.2 points,” Breitbart News reported in November. “The state had favored Democrats in presidential elections since the late 1980s, besides George W. Bush in 2004. However, the state has not been viewed as competitive since Trump won in 2016.”
