Congress is out of session until Monday, November 9 for the midterm campaign. No new roll-call votes until then; the last were the House on Sep 16 and the Senate on Sep 30.

U.S. Senator from Iowa · Class II

Joni Ernst

Republican 2nd term Not running · open seat Chair · Small Business and Entrepreneurship

From public records: votes from Voteview, bills from congress.gov, money from FEC filings · votes updated Nov 4, 2026 · How we measure

Campaign money, 2025–26$2.0M raised · top PACs: Growth Energy, Moreno, Northeast Senate Victory Committee
100LoyaltyMed 100
98AttendMed 98
8BipartMed 9
2BreaksMed 2
In office
Senate 2015–now
11 years in CongressMore senior than 35% of the Senate
Committees
  • Small Business and Entrepreneurship Chair
  • Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 4th majority
  • Armed Services 5th majority
Age
56

2026 election

Not on the November ballot
General election Nov 3, 2026

On the ballot for this seat

See the full race

Activity

119th CongressJan 3, 2025 to Nov 4, 2026Method
By week
Statements
Bills introduced
Roll calls
Breaks with party
By yearStatementsStmtsBills sponsoredSpons.Bills passedPassedCosponsoredCospon.Roll callsVotesBreaks with partyBreaks
119th Congress2025–26, to date14810062089152
118th Congress2023–24not tracked—81029969125

Counts, not a score: statements as the Statements tab counts them, bills by introduction date, roll calls the member voted in, breaks on party-line votes.

1

What does she focus on?

MethodIssues tab →
Crime and Law Enforcement 23% 2%
Government Operations and Politics 34% 32%
Armed Forces and National Security 8% 8%

StatementsBills

Words go to Government Operations and Politics, Crime and Law Enforcement and Labor and Employment; bills go to Government Operations and Politics and Agriculture and Food.

  • She talks most about: Fraud Enforcement (Crime and Law Enforcement), Government Spending (Government Operations and Politics), Workforce Development (Labor and Employment), Constituent Services (Government Operations and Politics), Armed Forces & National Security (Armed Forces and National Security).
  • 100 bills sponsored, most on Government Operations and Politics.
2

Does she have influence?

MethodBackground tab →
ChairSmall Business and Entrepreneurship CommitteeFull committee
ChairRural Development, Energy, and Credit SubcommitteeAgriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
ChairEmerging Threats and Capabilities SubcommitteeArmed Services
MemberAgriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee4th majority

+2 more on Background

Chair of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, more senior than 35% of the Senate, in the majority.

  • 11 years in Congress: more senior than 35% of the Senate.
  • Majority: Republicans hold 53 of 100 seats.
5

Who does she work with?

MethodWho votes alike →

Her cosponsorships on Democratic bills

25% · peer median 19%

Closest across the aisle

Closest across the aisle Pro The members of the other party who vote most like Ernst.

Free account See Pro

Agreement on contested votes where both cast yea or nay, this Congress · Voteview

25% of her cosponsorships go to Democratic bills (peer median 19%); closest in her party: Armstrong and Lankford.

  • Other-party share of cosponsors on her own bills: not yet tracked.
  • Caucus memberships: not yet tracked.
3

Can she get things done?

MethodBills tab →

Her billsExpected for a peerLaw inside another bill

Introduced 87 · expected 59.5
Action in committee 21 · expected 8
Beyond committee 12 · expected 6
Passed Senate 6 · expected 1.5
Became law 2 · expected 0.5 · +1 inside another bill
EffectivenessRank 7 of 100 in the Senate

2.50expected 0.96 · average member 1.00

6 of 87 bills passed the Senate; 2 became law; 1 more became law inside another bill; effectiveness 2.50 against a peer median of 0.96.

  • On the move: S. 766 (became law), S. 4505 (out of committee), S. 4952 (out of committee).
  • Amendments offered and adopted, earmarks in dollars: not yet tracked.

119th Congress so far · bills from congress.gov

4

Where does she stand?

MethodVotes tab →
Position, all votesDW-NOMINATE +0.54

With her party on all 15 areas with 10 or more party-line votes so far.

Major bills of the Congress · final passage

Voted with her party on 10 of the 10 she voted on.

The same ten bills on every profile, chosen by a rule from the roll calls, statements and lobbying filings on file · Method · party column: Republicans yea–nay on that roll call.

Votes with Republicans on 100% of party-line votes, breaks 2 times (peer median 4).

  • Position: +0.54, inside the Republican middle 80%.
  • Most breaks by area: Armed Forces & National Security 1 of 41, Economics and Public Finance 1 of 184.

Distance from party, not an ideology score · areas under 10 party-line votes not shown.

6

Who backs her?

MethodMoney tab →

Where the money comes from, 2025–26

Ernst$2.0M raised28%21%32%19%
Senate median$3.0M raised23%28%15%19%

Small-dollar individualsLarge individualsPACs and other committeesTransfers and other

Small-dollargifts of $200 or less

50% of what she raised came from individuals; 28% came in gifts of $200 or less (chamber median 23%).

$2.0M raised, 32% from PACs and other committees (chamber median 15%).

  • Last general election for the seat (2020): won by 6.5 points.

47 PACs of the 113 that gave belong to organizations that lobbied on bills she faced a vote on, cosponsored or sponsored.

Top lobbying issues of the organizations behind the PACs that gave to her: Taxation, Budget/Appropriations and Trade.

  1. Growth Energy43% D
  2. Moreno0% D
  3. Northeast Senate Victory Committee0% D

What each PAC gave Pro Amounts, the full list and each organization’s lobbying are part of Pro.

Free account See Pro

Party split is the PAC’s giving to all federal candidates · FEC

What those organizations lobby on

66 bills

Ernst voted Yea on 10, and sponsored or cosponsored 56 with no recorded vote.

7

Do her words match her actions?

MethodPositions tab →

Positions are being checked before they go public; this question fills in when they are.