DES MOINES, IOWA — On Tuesday, Senator Joni Ernst (R) announced that she was not seeking reelection, and hours later Congresswoman Ashley Hinson (R) IA-02 launched her campaign for that seat.

Hinson joined a field of two other Iowa Republicans, former State Senator Jim Carlin and veteran Joshua Smith. Both of those candidates have been in the race since the early summer, seeking to run challenge Ernst in the primary.

“The proximity tells you that it was a little scripted I think,” said Jim Carlin. “She had her stuff to roll pretty quick and I don’t think Sen. Ernst’s announcement caught her off guard. From what I understand some people are already working on running for Ashley’s seat. So, a lot of this stuff is planned out well ahead of time. Maybe for months, people have been talking about it for quite a while.”

Carlin challenged Senator Chuck Grassley (R) for his seat in the Republican primary in 2021, unsuccessfully.

He told WHO 13 News that Sen. Ernst did a good job on a number of issues during her time in office. When asked about the challenge of the campaign trail now with Congresswoman Hinson in the race, he viewed it the same as running against the incumbent. You can learn more about Carlin on his campaign website.

Hinson grabbed a numerous amount of endorsements from leadership in the U.S. House, colleagues in that chamber, along with sitting U.S. Senators endorsing her right after the announcement.

“There’s always the chance that someone else could get in. I don’t expect it to happen,” said Dave Kochel, a GOP Strategist with Redwave Communications. “I think she’s (Hinson) got a bunch of money ready to go. She’s lined up a ton of endorsements…it is widely understood that Ashley Hinson is a very gifted candidate, an excellent policymaker, a wonderful member of Congress representing Iowa. So I expect that she’s, you know, she obviously has two people to filed to run against her. She will have a primary and she will go out and do what she’s always done, which is earn every vote.”

Kochel worked on Hinson’s campaigns in her three elections running for Iowa’s Second Congressional District. He discussed more about Hinson’s announcement, and what had led Ernst up to the decision to not seek reelection. Kochel outlines how Hinson laid the ground work for another Republican to run in IA-02 and win. You can watch that full conversation with WHO 13’s Zach Fisher at the video link below.