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Woman who questioned Ernst now candidate for Iowa statehouse
Also, Congressman and gubernatorial candidate Randy Feenstra said his campaign has raised more than $3.2 million
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A northeast Iowa library director and registered nurse who sparked a viral exchange during a town hall last week with Iowa Republican U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst has announced she is running for the Iowa House.
India May is the director of the Ionia public library and a registered nurse who currently serves as a death investigator for Chickasaw County. May announced on Facebook her intention to run as a “progressive Democrat for Iowa House District 58,” currently represented by Republican incumbent Rep. Charley Thomson of Charles City. The district includes all of Chickasaw County and portions of Bremer and Floyd counties.
May’s announcement was first reported by Radio Iowa.
Ernst received national backlash over comments made at a Friday town hall in Parkersburg about reductions to Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program spending. While answering a question about Medicaid cuts, May shouted over Ernst that “people will die” as a result of the cuts. Ernst dismissively responded: "Well, we all are going to die.”
Ernst quickly followed up saying Medicaid spending will focus on the most vulnerable who meet the program's eligibility requirements.
The comment went viral on social media and drew national attention and widespread condemnation from Democrats who have criticized the impact the potential cuts will have on Iowa’s and the nation’s health care landscape.
On Saturday, Ernst leaned into her comments by posting a sarcastic apology video, where she appears to walking through a cemetery, mocking those upset over her flippant reply to constituents' worries about health care and food assistance cuts,
In her Facebook post, May said she attended Ernst’s town hall Friday in Parkersburg, when she was “overwhelmed by the repeated lies and dismissals of the real concerns about food insecurity and losing health care,” leading to her outburst.
May, on her campaign website and ActBlue online fundraising platform that help raise money for Democrats running for office, said she’s running for the Iowa House seat to protect public education, improve health care access and quality of life, and “to stop the attacks to schools, libraries, and services for the poor.”
Her website states her campaign is focused on listening to Iowans, “standing up to special interests that don’t represent our district” and “defending vulnerable people’s rights, revitalizing Iowa’s schools, supporting farmers and promoting timely, affordable, accessible health care for all.”
Forecaster changes Iowa’s U.S. Senate election
One national forecaster’s rating for Iowa’s 2026 U.S. Senate election has been changed from “safe Republican” to “likely Republican” in the wake of Republican incumbent U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst’s comments about Medicaid and a new Democratic candidate.
The change was made by Sabato’s Crystal Ball, a project of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia.
J. Miles Coleman and Kyle Kondik said the Crystal Ball’s shift was made because of Ernst’s town hall comment and the campaign announcement of Sioux City Democrat J.D. Scholten. The piece noted that Scholten nearly upset former Congressman Steve King in 2018 and has consistently outperformed the Democratic presidential candidate in his multiple western Iowa campaigns.
Ernst received national backlash over comments made at a Friday town hall in Parkersburg. While Ernst answered a question about proposed Medicaid spending reductions, a town hall attendee shouted over her that “people will die” as a result. Ernst dismissively responded, “Well, we all are going to die.”
“Aside from having a credible opponent, Ernst could face a more challenging environment than she faced in either of her previous two elections,” Coleman and Kondik wrote. “It’s possible that 2026 could be like 2018: Iowa did not have a Senate election that year, but Democrats did end up winning three of the state’s four U.S. House seats that year, and we suspect that if Iowa had had a Senate election, it likely at least would have been close.”
Ernst has not yet said whether she plans to run for re-election to a third, six-year term in the U.S. Senate.
Union endorses Willems for AG
Nate Willems, a Democratic candidate for Iowa Attorney General, has been endorsed by Teamsters Local 238, Willems’ campaign announced.
Local 238 is the state’s largest Teamsters affiliate, according to the Willems campaign.
“The Teamsters have always been on the front lines of defending workers and building strong communities. As attorney general, I’ll keep fighting to make sure every Iowan, no matter their ZIP code or job, gets the justice they deserve,” Willems said in a campaign news release.
Willems, an attorney and former state lawmaker from Mount Vernon, is the only Democratic candidate for Iowa Attorney General. Republican incumbent Brenna Bird has not yet said whether she will seek re-election; Bird also is weighing a run for governor.
Feenstra crosses $3 million in fundraising
Western Iowa Congressman Randy Feenstra has raised more than $3.2 million during his exploratory run for Iowa governor, his campaign announced recently.
Feenstra’s fundraising hit $1.1 million in the first 24 hours after he announced that he is exploring a run, and crossed $3.2 million in 16 days, according to the campaign.
Official state campaign fundraising reports for 2025 will not be filed until January.
“The outpouring of support from Iowans all across our great state — farmers, entrepreneurs and community leaders — has been truly humbling,” Feenstra said in a campaign press release. “Their willingness to invest in our campaign and our vision to take Iowa to new heights is extremely encouraging.”
Among other Republicans, former state lawmaker Brad Sherman is running for governor and state lawmaker Mike Bousselot is considering a run. Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds announced earlier this year that she does not plan to seek re-election.
Gazette-Lee Des Moines Bureau
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