Democrat Nathan Sage has officially withdrawn from the Iowa Senate race, citing financial hurdles that made it impossible to sustain a competitive campaign in what is shaping up to be a high-stakes 2026 election.
Sage, a military veteran and executive director of the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce, announced the decision in a video posted to social media on Sunday. His exit reshapes the Democratic field vying to replace retiring Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and underscores the financial realities of modern Senate campaigns.
“After long and thoughtful conversations with my family, my team, and trusted supporters, I’ve made the incredibly difficult decision to end my campaign for the United States Senate,” Sage said.
He pointed directly to fundraising disparities as the central obstacle. “As a true grassroots campaign, we simply were unable to raise the financial resources necessary to keep this campaign viable. In today’s political environment, it takes extraordinary sums of money to compete. … Too often, the system favors those with wealth, power, connection and established influence.”
Sage entered the race last spring, becoming the first Democrat to declare his candidacy for the open U.S. Senate seat. His campaign faced structural challenges from the outset. Iowa has trended Republican in recent federal elections, and political analysts have rated the contest as a steep climb for Democrats.
The Cook Political Report currently lists the open seat as “likely Republican,” signaling a clear advantage for the GOP.
Iowa last elected a Democratic senator in 2008, when Tom Harkin won reelection. The state has not backed a Democratic presidential candidate since 2012. In 2024, President Donald Trump carried Iowa by 13 percentage points, reinforcing the state’s rightward shift.
Iowa state Rep. J.D. Scholten previously launched a Senate bid before suspending his campaign last summer and endorsing fellow state Rep. Josh Turek. State Sen. Zach Wahls remains an active contender.
Fundraising data from the final quarter of 2024 indicates Wahls outraised both Turek and Sage, according to reporting by The Des Moines Register. On the Republican side, Rep. Ashley Hinson raised more than Wahls and Turek combined during the same period, signaling significant GOP financial strength heading into the primary season.
Hinson is widely viewed as the frontrunner in the June 2 Republican primary and has secured endorsements from Trump and Ernst, further consolidating establishment backing.
Despite suspending his campaign, Sage made clear he intends to remain politically engaged. He pledged to continue advocating for working-class Iowans and emphasized that his exit from the Senate race does not mark the end of his public involvement, saying “this is not goodbye.”
His withdrawal highlights a broader theme in federal elections: the escalating cost of U.S. Senate campaigns and the increasing importance of high-dollar fundraising networks in determining electoral viability.
With months remaining before the primaries, both parties now face a reshaped but still competitive contest for a seat that national strategists consider a key part of the broader Senate battlefield.
