Sen. Ernst, please don’t vote out of fear

As a psychologist and Iowa resident, I have been thinking about Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst and the fear of losing power and losing political office.

Why is this fear so pervasive? Why does it cause some politicians to seemingly abandon their values and core beliefs to remain in office? How will they explain this to their children? How do they explain it to themselves?

As I have written, ( Iowa City Press Citizen, March 21, 2021) “ … what about re-election itself is so important that some politicians will compromise their value system and ignore their moral compass?”

I remain perplexed by this phenomenon. Sen. Ernst may be the latest politician exemplifying this tendency to potentially compromise their values in order to retain elected office.

It appears — though this remains a fluid situation — that Sen. Ernst’s position on Pete Hegseth’s nomination as secretary of defense may have shifted over time from having real concerns about his confirmation to now having a more favorable stance. She is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and her vote may be a key to the outcome. Is her reported change related to pressure being applied and her fear of losing office? Or is it because she is genuinely reexamining her stance?

It has been reported that Sen. Ernst has come under intense pressure to support the nomination of Pete Hegseth. In USA Today Brianne Pfannenstiel and Sabine Martin (Dec. 9) report that “ … The pressure campaign against U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst is mounting — including from some Iowa Republicans — as she refuses to commit to supporting Pete Hegseth…”.

Dave Price of the Gray Media Iowa State Capitol Bureaureported on Dec. 9, “ … U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst … has been receiving unusually strong criticism from Republicans for not yet publicly supporting … Pete Hegseth.”

Rick Morain, former publisher and owner of the Jefferson (Iowa) Herald writes at “Bleeding Heartland” (Dec. 18) “A share of Iowa’s Republican electorate appears ready to abandon Sen. Joni Ernst … in the 2026 Iowa Republican primary election….”

Psychology has examined the fear of losing power. In an important series of studies published in the European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology (2019) concluded “ … leader fear of power loss may stimulate leader self-serving behavior, particularly if leaders operate in an environment that they perceive to be competitive …” Once elected to office, fear of being voted out — which is a component of loss of power — may promulgate self-serving behavior. This self-serving behavior — in my view — may manifest as a willingness to compromise one’s value system to hold on to office.

The concept of being “primaried” may also enter the fray. In the case of Sen. Ernst, such a primary may specifically involve Kari Lake of Arizona. Laurie Roberts reports (Arizona Republic Dec. 10), “ … there’s a push on to get Lake to return to her native Iowa to challenge Sen. Joni Ernst in 2026.”

Confirmation hearings begin very soon — Jan. 14. I hope that whatever position Sen. Ernst takes is based on her beliefs, principles, and values, and not based on a fear that she may be voted out of office.

Fortunately, there are examples of politicians who have stood by their principles.

As I stated in 2021, and as reported by President Barack Obama in his memoir, when the Affordable Care Act came to a vote in 2010, Tom Perriello, a representative from a Republican district in Virginia, voted yes, fully realizing it could cost him his seat. He told the president, "There are things more important than getting reelected." Rep. Perriello lost his seat. However, in an OP-ED (Los Angeles Times, March 29, 2017) he wrote “My critics were right. I did lose my seat. But I never regretted my vote. Not once.”

In my own work over many years I have treated some patients who were experiencing anxiety related to a fear of losing power. Several of these patients compromised their value system in order to maintain power. Often, they paid a significant psychological price for abandoning their values and beliefs.

I hope Sen. Ernst will realize that there are principles more important than getting reelected. And that she will vote based on what she believes, not on what she fears.

John S. Westefeld is Board-Certified in Counseling Psychology and an Emeritus Professor. The views expressed here are his own.