IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Democrat Jackie Norris said Thursday she will end her campaign for Iowa’s vacant U.S. Senate seat and focus on her job leading Des Moines’ public school board. Superintendent’s arrest by immigration authorities.
Norris said Superintendent Ian Roberts was taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on Sept. 26. asked her to concentrate As board president overseeing Iowa’s largest school district, he made “our community and myself the target of a vicious and systematic attack.”
“These realities have taken time and oxygen away from the work I set out to do: standing up for our children, our families, and the backbone of our communities: educators and caregivers,” Norris wrote in a message posted to social media.
He added that he will continue to lead the board through the transition to interim superintendent, seek voter approval in November for a $265 million bond for school and program improvements, and participate in “an ongoing investigation to get the answers our community deserves” about Roberts’ hiring.
Norris’ resignation leaves several male candidates in the Democratic primary seeking the seat vacated by Republican Sen. Joni Ernst, who is retiring after two terms. They include state Sen. Zach Walls, state Rep. Josh Turek and retired Army veteran Nathan Sage.
On the Republican side, U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson is running for the nomination with former state Sen. Jim Carlin and others. Republicans are favored to retain their seats in the state, where Republican President Donald Trump won 56% of the vote and defeated Democrat Kamala Harris by 13.2 percentage points in the November 2024 election.
Ernst’s sudden announcement last month that he would not seek re-election in 2026 brought an unexpected start to his term. But the move won’t make Democratic campaign leaders around the country any more aggressive about the seat or make Republicans nervous.
Democrats need to win a net four seats to control the Senate majority, a challenge for the party, given that most of the states with Senate elections next year were held by President Trump in 2024. Democrats are focused on fielding candidates in pickup opportunities, such as Maine, which Trump lost last year, and North Carolina, which Trump narrowly won.
Roberts’ arrest by ICE comes at a low point for Norris, who served as former first lady Michelle Obama’s chief of staff and launched her campaign in August touting her accomplishments on the Des Moines School Board and her past as a classroom teacher.
Norris has been in the spotlight as the public tries to understand how the board was able to hire Roberts, a Guyanese native, in 2023, when authorities said he was in the U.S. illegally and working illegally. Days after his arrest, Norris faced criticism for posting a video ahead of the September 30 quarterly fundraising deadline for donations.
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AP Political Writer Thomas Beaumont contributed from Des Moines, Iowa.
