A confession, four new candidates, & the bromance divorce

I may have been wrong about, “we are all going to die.” Its staying power may live on for a while.

(“We’re all going to die” t-shirt sold by Raygun)

And not just because Iowa t-shirt entrepreneur Raygun is capitalizing on the Iowa Senator Joni Ernst remark. I initially thought this would have died down, and the media writ large would have moved on to something else.

But maybe not. Ernst held a town hall event in Parkersburg, Iowa, last week. A woman in the audience said that Americans will die because congressional Republicans proposed cutting funding for Medicaid and food assistance. “People will die,” the woman yelled.

That is when Ernst responded with the words that have echoed across the country: “Well, we all are going to die, for heaven’s sake.”

The next day she followed that up with a snarky video from a cemetery and said that she didn’t realize some people don’t realize that everyone will die eventually.

Hillary Clinton 2.0?

Could this be the 2026 campaign’s “basket of deplorables” that Hillary Clinton infamously called Donald Trump supporters? That comment enraged MAGA and became a rallying cry.

Did Ernst just do the same thing for Democrats and some Independents?

I can see how Ernst could be exasperated in the moment last week at her town hall in Parkersburg, Iowa, with Democrats yelling at her like they have been doing at other events.

(Sidenote: why would Republican politicians keep doing these if they just get berated by the organized opposition?)

But Ernst’s decision to make a sarcastic video the next day could take this to another level. The “own the lib” crowd loves this stuff and doesn’t want to back down. And that may be important for Ernst since she apparently is running for another term and now faces a Republican challenger who will come after her from the right.

GOP Challengers

Jim Carlin, a former state Republican state senator, announced his campaign for Ernst’s seat. Carlin ran against Iowa’s other senator, Chuck Grassley in 2022, and lost about 3 to 1 against Grassley in the primary.

Ernst already had another Republican challenger. Joshua Smith of Indianola, a former Libertarian candidate and podcast host, announced his campaign in December.

Democratic Challengers

She also now has a new Democratic challenger. State Representative J.D. Scholten launched his campaign on Monday and said that he did it sooner than he was planning because of Ernst’s comments.

Nathan Sage, an Independent-turned-Democrat and executive director for the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce, already announced his campaign in April.

But, Wait…There Could Be More

State Senator Zach Wahls of Coralville could get into the race later this summer. So could former Obama staffer Jackie Norris of Des Moines.

There will be a lot to watch during this senate campaign, both with Ernst and the handful of others aiming to take her seat.

If Ernst does go forward with her third campaign for the position, she should still be considered a favorite. Incumbents usually are in Iowa. And Republicans have increased their support in the state since she first got elected in 2014.

Let’s see if the power of the incumbency tops the attention on “we are all going to die” or whether the impact of those words will show that it won’t be just t-shirts that will make sure that Ernst has to wear her verbal choices until election day.

Governor’s Race

Two Iowans, a longtime Democratic staffer and a Republican state representative, both launched their campaigns for governor this week. I found both launches non-traditional. And I interviewed both of them as part of the new episode of “Inside Iowa Politics.”

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