(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Republican Joni Ernst is seeking the number three leadership position among her G-O-P peers in the U-S Senate. “This is the main communicator job or position for the Republican  Conference in the Senate,” Ernst says.

Ernst is currently the fourth-ranking G-O-P Leader and her title is Senate Republican Policy Committee chair. Her decision to seek a higher rung on the leadership ladder in the next congress comes after Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell announced he would step down as Senate Republican leader at the end of the year. As G-O-P conference chair, Ernst would help guide the message Republicans present to voters.

“This is a great opportunity for me to communicate what’s going on in middle America. We’re tired of hearing all about the coastal elites,” Ernst says. “It is time to hear directly from folks in Iowa, hear what’s going on on the ground.”  Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton is seeking the same position as Ernst. “It is a competition. It is an election and we have all the way ’til this fall to get our message out,” Ernst says. “It is going to be a very long campaign for this leadership position, but I’m up for the challenge.”

Ernst was reelected to a second term in the U-S Senate in 2020. She has not announced whether she’ll run for reelection in 2026.