Des Moines School Board Chair Jackie Norris is ending her run for the Democratic nomination in next year’s U.S. Senate race in Iowa.
In August, she joined a crowded field of candidates hoping to earn the party’s nomination to run for the seat that will be vacated by Republican Sen. Joni Ernst.
But the arrest of former Superintendent Ian Roberts has changed her plans.
Norris said she is now ending her campaign to focus on the district’s response to Roberts’ arrest by ICE officers and revelations about his false claims of citizenship and lack of authorization to work in the U.S. at the time he was hired by Des Moines Public Schools.
Roberts, a native of Guyana, also faces federal charges for possessing four firearms while living in the U.S. without legal status.
DMPS is currently suing the search firm that assisted the district in hiring Roberts, claiming that it failed to fully vet him as a finalist for superintendent.
“The recent Des Moines Public Schools superintendent crisis demanded my full attention as board chair and, overnight, put the school board, our community and me personally in the crosshairs of vicious and coordinated attacks,” Norris said in a statement.
Norris has served on the Des Moines School Board since 2021. She worked on the political campaigns of former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack and former President Barack Obama, and she served as the chief of staff for former First Lady Michelle Obama.
Norris said working on the school board’s response to Roberts’ arrest has taken away from the work she intended to do as a candidate.
“To that end, it’s clear I need to focus on the work at hand: leading the board through this transition, working to support the passage of the Reimagining Education bond and fully participating in ongoing investigations to get the answers our community deserves,” she said.
Five candidates remain in the Democratic field: state Rep. Josh Turek, state Sen. Zach Wahls, Nathan Sage and former state lawmakers Bob Krause and Richard Sherzan.
GOP U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, former state Sen. Jim Carlin and Joshua Smith are running for the Republican nomination.
Greene County Attorney Thomas Laehn is running as a Libertarian.
