(Radio Iowa) – [UPDATED] – Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird will seek reelection in 2026 and will not run for governor. In April, a few days after Governor Kim Reynolds announced that SHE would not seek reelection, Bird appeared at an Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition gathering and told the crowd she was wrestling with a decision about her own political future. “I’ve had a verse on my mind. Sometimes as you pray, sometimes something comes to you, but one is, ‘Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.’ Have you ever prayed that one before? We probably all have at different times, but I am certainly listening,” Bird said.

Bird’s announcement that she’ll seek reelection comes a day before President Trump is scheduled to speak in Iowa. Bird was the only statewide elected official to endorse Trump before the 2024 Iowa Caucuses. Ever since, Trump has been predicting Bird will be Iowa’s governor someday. “This is, by the way, one of the truly most respected people in all of politics, beyond your state, beyond anywhere,” Trump said in October. In mid-May, Bird posted a video on social media featuring several of Trump’s remarks about her as Bird has attended White House events. “She’s so popular in Iowa,” Trump said. “She came out so early and I appreciate it very much.” Bird is serving in her first term as Iowa’s attorney general after defeating Democrat Tom Miller, the nation’s longest-serving attorney general.

Brenna Bird (IA Atty. General)

During public events, Bird has touted landmark policy changes and new laws she’s pushed for at the state and federal level, but Bird has said the conservative movement has more work to do. “I will stand for freedom,” Bird said. “I will fight for Iowa and we will fight alongside each other as we work to make America great again.” Those were Bird’s comments in mid-April. Bird today (Wednesday) told the The Des Moines Register she’s running for reelection because there’s more work to do as attorney general and she learned from being raised on a farm that you don’t stop halfway through a job.

Democrat Nate Willems, a lawyer from Mount Vernon who’s a former state legislator, launched a campaign for attorney general in early May. Iowa Congressman Randy Feenstra, a Republican who has formed an exploratory campaign for governor, issued a written statement Wednesday, calling Bird an exceptional and fearless advocate for President Trump and his conservative agenda and promising to do everything he can to see her re-elected.