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Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, announced on Friday she will not seek re-election for another term.
“Today, I want to share a personal decision with you. One that was not made lightly, but comes with a full heart and a deep sense of gratitude,” Reynolds said in a video posted to X.
“After a lot of thought, prayer and conversations with my family, I have decided that I will not seek re-election in 2026,” she continued.
Reynolds thanked her family for standing by her side through every challenge.
“Now, it’s time for me to be there for them. To help them through the next stage of life. To watch every track meet and basketball game; to see them grow before they’re all grown. That doesn’t mean I’m slowing down just yet. I’ll be working hard for you every single day until my term ends,” Reynolds said.
WATCH:
— Kim Reynolds (@KimReynoldsIA) April 11, 2025
From the Des Moines Register:
Reynolds’ husband, Kevin, was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2023, although she told reporters in 2024 he was doing well after receiving treatment.
Reynolds began her career in public service as a clerk in the Clarke County Treasurer’s Office and then was elected county treasurer.
She served under Republican Gov. Terry Branstad as his lieutenant governor beginning in 2011, and she succeeded him to the top post in 2017 after he resigned to serve in President Donald Trump’s first administration as ambassador to China.
She became Iowa’s first female governor and won election to her first full term in 2018. She was reelected in a landslide victory in 2022.
🚨Just in: Iowa GOP Governor Kim Reynolds has announced she will not run for reelection in 2026 pic.twitter.com/GRzWrSvV14
— The Calvin Coolidge Project (@TheCalvinCooli1) April 11, 2025
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds announced on social media Friday that she will not seek reelection to another term as governor. https://t.co/xr78J55x0i
— Des Moines Register (@DMRegister) April 11, 2025
Per NBC News:
Looking to her party’s political future, Reynolds said she had “no doubt that Iowa and our Republican Party will remain in great hands” and praised the “next generation” of conservative leadership in the state.
Pastor and former GOP state Rep. Brad Sherman is the only major candidate in the race right now, but that’s expected to change now that the incumbent is no longer running. As Reynolds alluded to, there’s no shortage of prominent Republicans in the state who could be interested in the bid. On the Democratic side, state Auditor Rob Sand told Pluribus News earlier this year he’s weighing a gubernatorial bid.
While Reynolds has no shortage of allies in conservative circles and was especially popular among Republicans for much of her career, she’s faced some tough political trends from within her own party in recent years.
Reynolds was one of just a handful of prominent Republican officeholders to back Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential bid against Trump, a coup for DeSantis and a blow to Trump in the early nominating state.
Speaking about Trump in 2023, she told NBC News: “I believe he can’t win … and I believe that Ron can.”
But DeSantis lost Iowa, big. And in the months after her endorsement, Trump used his bully pulpit to criticize her and call her “the most unpopular governor in America.”
While Trump’s comment was an overstatement, Reynolds has seen lackluster favorability numbers in recent years.
Morning Consult’s new polling of the nation’s governors, released this week, found her disapproval rating at 49% (and an approval rating of 44%). That is the highest disapproval rating of any governor polled, for the fifth quarter in a row in Morning Consult’s polling, and she’s the only governor with a higher disapproval rating than approval rating in the poll.