The 2014 United States Senate election in Iowa was held on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Democratic Senator Tom Harkin did not run for reelection to a sixth term in office.
U.S. Representative Bruce Braley was unopposed for the Democratic nomination; the Republicans nominated State Senator Joni Ernst in a June 3 primary election. Douglas Butzier, the Libertarian nominee, died on October 14 in a single engine plane crash near Key West, Iowa. He was the pilot and the only person aboard the plane. He still appeared on the ballot, alongside Independents Bob Quast, Ruth Smith and Rick Stewart. Ernst defeated Braley in the general election. This was the first open Senate seat in Iowa since 1974. Ernst was the first Republican to win this seat since Roger Jepsen in 1978. Ernst's inauguration marked the first time since 1985 in which Republicans held both United States Senate seats from Iowa.
The 2014 United States Senate election in Iowa was held on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Democratic Senator Tom Harkin did not run for reelection to a sixth term in office.
U.S. Representative Bruce Braley was unopposed for the Democratic nomination; the Republicans nominated State Senator Joni Ernst in a June 3 primary election. Douglas Butzier, the Libertarian nominee, died on October 14 in a single engine plane crash near Key West, Iowa. He was the pilot and the only person aboard the plane. He still appeared on the ballot, alongside Independents Bob Quast, Ruth Smith and Rick Stewart. Ernst defeated Braley in the general election. This was the first open Senate seat in Iowa since 1974. Ernst was the first Republican to win this seat since Roger Jepsen in 1978. Ernst's inauguration marked the first time since 1985 in which Republicans held both United States Senate seats from Iowa.
Democratic primary
Bruce Braley ultimately faced no opposition in his primary campaign and became the Democratic nominee on June 3, 2014.
Candidates
Declared
Bruce Braley, U.S. representative from Iowa's 1st congressional district
Withdrew
Bob Quast, businessman (running as an independent)
Declined
Chet Culver, former governor of Iowa
Jeff Danielson, state senator
Tom Harkin, incumbent U.S. senator
Dave Loebsack, U.S. representative from Iowa's 2nd congressional district (ran for re-election)
Kevin McCarthy, minority leader of the Iowa House of Representatives
Christie Vilsack, former First Lady of Iowa and nominee for Iowa's 4th congressional district in 2012
Tom Vilsack, United States secretary of agriculture and former governor of Iowa
Endorsements
Bruce Braley
Federal politicians
Leonard Boswell, former U.S. representative
Bill Clinton, 42nd president of the United States
Hillary Clinton, 67th United States secretary of state, 2008 presidential candidate, then-potential 2016 presidential candidate
Tom Harkin, incumbent U.S. senator
Dave Loebsack, U.S. representative
Statewide politicians
Chet Culver, former governor of Iowa
Michael Fitzgerald, Iowa state treasurer
Tom Miller, Iowa attorney general
State legislators
Ako Abdul-Samad, state representative
Marti Anderson, state representative
Daryl Beall, state senator
Bruce Bearinger, state representative
Deborah Berry, state representative
Dennis Black, state senator
Joe Bolkcom, state senator
Tod Bowman, state senator
Chris Brase, state senator
Dennis Cohoon, state representative
Thomas G. Courtney, state senator
Jeff Danielson, state senator
David Dawson, state representative
Dick Dearden, state senator
Bill Dotzler, state senator
Nancy Dunkel, state representative
Robert Dvorsky, state senator
John Forbes, state representative
Ruth Ann Gaines, state representative
Mary Gaskill, state representative
Michael Gronstal, majority leader of the Iowa Senate and chairman of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee
Chris Hall, state representative
Curt Hanson, state representative
Rita Hart, state senator
Jack Hatch, state senator
Lisa Heddens, state representative
Rob Hogg, state senator
Wally Horn, state senator
Bruce Hunter, state representative
Charles Isenhart, state representative
David Jacoby, state representative
Pam Jochum, president of the Iowa Senate
Anesa Kajtazovic, state representative
Jerry Kearns, state representative
Dan Kelley, state representative
Bob Kressig, state representative
Vicki Lensing, state representative
Daniel Lundby, state representative
Jim Lykam, state representative
Mary Mascher, state representative
Liz Mathis, state senator
Matt McCoy, state senator
Helen Miller, state representative
Dan Muhlbauer, state representative
Jo Oldson, state representative
Rick Olson, state representative
Tyler Olson, state representative
Scott Ourth, state representative
Janet Petersen, state senator
Todd Prichard, state representative
Herman Quirmbach, state senator
Amanda Ragan, state senator
Joe Riding, state representative
Patti Ruff, state representative
Kirsten Running-Marquardt, state representative
Brian Schoenjahn, state senator
Joe Seng, state senator
Mark Smith, state representative
Steve Sodders, president pro tempore of the Iowa Senate
Art Staed, state representative
Sharon S. Steckman, state representative
Sally Stutsman, state representative
Rich Taylor, state senator
Todd Taylor, state representative
Phyllis Thede, state representative
Roger Thomas, state representative
Beth Wessel-Kroeschell, state representative
Mary Jo Wilhelm, state senator
Cindy Winckler, state representative
Mary Wolfe, state representative
Frank Wood, state representative
Republican primary
The Republican primary was held on June 3, 2014. If no candidate won more than 35% of the vote, the nominee would have been chosen at a statewide convention. It would have been only the second time in 50 years that a convention picked a nominee and the first time since 2002, when then-State Senator Steve King won a convention held in Iowa's 5th congressional district to decide the Republican nominee for Congress. Having the nominee chosen by a convention led to fears that the increasingly powerful Ron Paul faction of the state party, led by Party Chairman A. J. Spiker, could have nominated an unelectable candidate.
The convention was scheduled to be held on June 14 but was then moved to July 12. Republican leaders, including Governor Terry Branstad and U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley, as well as four of the candidates for the nomination, criticized the move. Candidates Sam Clovis, Joni Ernst, Matthew Whitaker and David Young signed a letter to the Republican Party of Iowa asking them to move the convention date back, saying that "Essentially gifting [Bruce] Braley an additional 30 days to campaign in a vacuum, while reducing our nominee's time to raise funds and campaign as the general election candidate by an entire month – only serves to strengthen Braley's viability". Spiker responded that the move was necessary to accommodate the 27-day period that the Iowa secretary of state's office requires to certify the results of the primary. Spiker reiterated his position in September 2013, rejecting calls for a vote by the central committee to move the convention date. He said that nominating a candidate before the primary had been certified would break state law, "which outlines that a ballot vacancy does not exist until the canvass is completed and certified."
Secretary of State Matt Schultz was highly critical of Spiker, saying that "no political party should use the excuse of the final date of the statewide canvass to determine the date of its special nominating convention. Furthermore, to state that it is necessary to hold a special nominating convention after the conclusion of the state canvass is not only misleading, it is false." Following efforts by members of the central committee to call a special meeting to move the date back to June, Spiker agreed and a meeting was held on September 23. The central committee voted 16–1 to move the convention date back to June 14. Statewide Republican leaders and activists and members of the National Republican Senatorial Committee believe that the real reason for the attempt to delay the convention was to give the Ron Paul faction time to organize an insurgent effort to push through a candidate they support, which could have even been Spiker himself or State Party Co-chair David Fischer. The infighting has been traced back to the failure of the NRSC and allies of Governor Branstad and Senator Grassley to recruit a "top-tier" candidate for the race.
Ernst received widespread attention for a campaign ad she released in March 2014 where she employed a tongue-in-cheek comparison between her experience castrating pigs and her ability to cut "pork" in Congress. Many found the ad to be humorous and it was spoofed by late-night comedians including Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Colbert, while some found it to be in bad taste. Before the ad aired, Ernst had struggled in fundraising, and two polls of the Republican primary taken in February 2014 had shown her in second place, several points behind opponent Mark Jacobs. After it aired, a Suffolk University poll in early April showed her with a narrow lead and a Loras College poll showed her essentially tied with Jacobs. By May, she was being described by the media as the "strong front-runner".
In May 2014, Roll Call reported that the Republican primary campaign had become a proxy for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, with Mitt Romney and Marco Rubio supporting Ernst, Rick Perry endorsing Whitaker and Rick Santorum backing Clovis. Jacobs, who had no such high-profile endorsements, ran as the "outsider".
Ultimately, Ernst won the primary with 56% of the vote, negating the need for a convention.
Candidates
Declared
Sam Clovis, radio host
Joni Ernst, state senator
Mark Jacobs, former CEO of Reliant Energy
Scott Schaben, businessman
Matthew Whitaker, former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Iowa and nominee for treasurer of Iowa in 2002
Withdrew
Paul Lunde, attorney and nominee for Iowa's 4th congressional district in 1988 and 1992
David Young, former chief of staff to U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (ran for U.S. House)
Declined
Terry Branstad, governor of Iowa
Bob Brownell, Polk County supervisor
Steve Deace, radio talk show host
Bill Dix, minority leader of the Iowa Senate
David Fischer, co-chair of the Republican Party of Iowa
Steve Gaer, mayor of West Des Moines
Drew Ivers, finance chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa
Steve King, U.S. representative from Iowa's 4th congressional district
Ron Langston, businessman and former director of the Minority Business Development Agency
Tom Latham, U.S. representative
Bill Northey, Iowa secretary of agriculture
Kevin O'Brien, McDonald's store owner and operator
Kim Reynolds, lieutenant governor of Iowa
Rod Roberts, director of the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals and candidate for governor in 2010
Matt Schultz, Iowa secretary of state
A. J. Spiker, chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa
Matt Strawn, former chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa
Bob Vander Plaats, social conservative activist, candidate for governor in 2002, 2006 and 2010 and nominee for lieutenant governor in 2006
David A. Vaudt, chairman of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board and former state auditor of Iowa
Stuart Weinstein, orthopaedic surgeon, president of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
Brad Zaun, state senator
Endorsements
Sam Clovis
Individuals
Terry Amann, pastor at Walnut Creek Church
Dorie Day, widow of Colonel Bud Day
Steve Deace, radio talk show host
Louie Gohmert, U.S. representative (TX-01)
Rick Santorum, former U.S. representative and former U.S. senator (PA), candidate for president in 2012
Phyllis Schlafly, conservative activist and founder of the Eagle Forum
Bob Vander Plaats, social conservative activist, candidate for governor in 2002, 2006 and 2010 and nominee for lieutenant governor in 2006
Organizations
Citizens United
Eagle Forum
Gun Owners of America
Tea Party Patriots
Joni Ernst
National figures
George H. W. Bush, 41st president of the United States
Deb Fischer, U.S. senator (NE)
Sarah Palin, former Alaska governor, 2008 Republican vice-presidential candidate
Michael Reagan, son of Ronald Reagan
Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts and 2012 Republican presidential nominee