On January 26, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) announced his retirement after serving for close to 30 years. Since then, nine candidates have declared for the junior senator’s open seat. Republican State Senator Joni Ernst and radio talk show host Sam Clovis are the first candidates to sign the Taxpayer Protection Pledge. According to Politics1, the Republican primary field also includes: Mark Jacobs, Paul Lunde, Scott Schaben, Matt Whitaker, and David Young.

The primary is scheduled for June 3, 2014. The winner will go on to face Democratic Congressman Bruce Braley (IA-01) and Independent Jay Williams, who have no listed primary challengers.

The Cook Political Report and The Rothenberg Political Report rate the race as “Lean Democrat.” In the 2012 presidential election, Barack Obama won Iowa with 52 percent of the vote.