KDSN RADIO News
Reynolds says ‘family comes first,’ and that’s why she’s not seeking a third term
Governor Kim Reynolds “was intending” to seek a third term as governor, but in the past couple of months, she’s been weighing whether she could keep giving “100% to the job” if she were elected to serve until early 2031.
Reynolds spoke with a handful of reporters this afternoon as a few hundred kids and grown-ups roamed the grounds at the governor’s mansion for the annual Easter Egg hunt. “I would be lying if I didn’t say: ‘I love serving Iowans as the governor,’ and so it’s hard to walk away from something that you love, but family comes first and they are everything to me,” Reynolds said as youngsters who were successful hunters waited in line to trade in their eggs for a bag of candy.
Reynolds, who will turn 66 on August 4, announced Friday she will not run for a third term. Reynolds said she’s “been happy” to make her work as governor her “number one priority” since mid-2017, but after almost 10 years as governor, it will be time to leave in January of 2027.
“As I get older and my family is growing and my folks are aging, it’s time for me to pivot and to really put my family first and to be able to spend time with them,” Reynolds said.
Reynolds described the decisions she made during the COVID-19 pandemic as the most consequential actions she’s taken as governor, from reopening schools in the fall of 2020 to the televised news conferences she had that year.
“Just really talked to Iowans every single day, being honest with them, tell them what we were facing, but ultimately to put my trust in them to do what was right and because we feed and fuel the world, we had to keep the food chain moving. We were essential,” Reynolds said. “…I just came out of (the pandemic) a different governor — appreciative, not afraid to move on stuff that I believed them, so if you see things that need changed, then you go for it…make the case, take it through the legislature…and hopefully convince them we should be going in.”
The governor told reporters she’s “really proud” things like the tax cuts and state-funded savings accounts for private school expenses she proposed are now law, but she will miss traveling Iowa and meeting with Iowans the most. “I’m still emotional about it because I love it,” Reynolds said, fighting back tears. “I love what I’m doing, and I love this state, and I love Iowans.”
Reynolds said every once in a while, she’s struck by how surreal her rise through politics has been from Clarke County Treasurer, to state senator, to lieutenant governor, and to taking over as governor in mid-2017.
“I grew up in St. Charles. It is a small community in rural Iowa, and even Kevin and I, still, when we drive up the drive, we laugh sometimes because we can’t really believe that we’re serving in this capacity,” she said.
Reynolds described primaries as a healthy process for a political party and Reynolds told reporters she will not endorse a GOP successor, but once Republican voters choose a 2026 nominee for governor, Reynolds said she’ll be “all in” and will campaign for that person daily.
“It’s time to step back and pass that baton to the next person to step in,” Reynolds said. “…I think we’ve left the state in a good position, so I feel good about that as well.”
The 2026 General Election is 570 days away.
