Reynolds Will Not Seek Senate Seat

Iowa Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) has decided against seeking a U.S. Senate seat, the Des Moines Register reports.

Reynolds “has generally been viewed as the next Republican in line for a bid for the governor’s office and has decided not to change that career trajectory. She and Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad are nearly inseparable, which has led politics watchers to think he’s grooming her to be his eventual replacement.”

“But her decision today leaves the GOP still struggling to find a candidate to enter the hotly competitive race against Democratic U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley, who declared in early February he’d seek Harkin’s seat. Iowa has yet to send a woman to Congress, and Reynolds was the only woman listed in the top tier of possible U.S. Senate candidates.”