Joni Ernst

Joni Ernst
Vice Chair of the Senate Republican Conference
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2019
Leader	Mitch McConnell
Preceded by	Roy Blunt
United States Senator from Iowa
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2015 Serving with Chuck Grassley
Preceded by	Tom Harkin
Member of the Iowa Senate from the 12th district
In office January 5, 2011 – November 28, 2014
Preceded by	Kim Reynolds
Succeeded by	Mark Costello
Auditor of Montgomery County
In office 2005–2011
Preceded by	Connie Magneson[1]
Succeeded by	Ted Schoonover[2]
Personal details
Born	Joni Kay Culver (1970-07-01) July 1, 1970 (age 54) Red Oak, Iowa, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Gail Ernst ​ ​ (m. 1992; div. 2019)​
Children	1[3][4]
Education	Iowa State University (BA) Columbus State University (MPA)
Website	Senate website
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army Iowa Army National Guard
Years of service	1993–2015[5]
Rank	Lieutenant Colonel
Unit	185th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion
Battles/wars	Iraq War

Joni Kay Ernst (née Culver; born July 1, 1970) is an American politician. She has been Iowa's U.S. Senator since 2015. She is a Republican. Prior to being a U.S. Senator, she was an Iowa state senator.

On November 4, 2014, she was elected to the United States Senate. Ernst is the first woman to represent Iowa in the United States Congress.^[6]

Ernst was born in Red Oak, Iowa.

References

1. "The Des Moines Register 04 Nov 2004, page Page 6". Newspapers.com.
2. Peterson, Mike. "Schoonover named to workforce development post". KMAland.com.
3. Hughes, Emer (November 3, 2014). "Gail Ernst, Joni Ernst's Husband: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know".
4. News, A. B. C. "Joni Ernst: Everything You Need to Know". ABC News. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
5. Jacobs, Jennifer (December 1, 2015). "Joni Ernst retires from the military". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
6. "Joni Ernst". Joni Ernst. Archived from the original on November 6, 2014. Retrieved November 7, 2014.