On Thursday, Des Moines School Board Chair Jackie Norris suspended her campaign to become the Democrat United States senator for the state of Iowa. This was in the wake of the arrest of Des Moines Schools Superintendent Ian Roberts for being in the country illegally, refusal to submit to a deportation order, and illegal possession of a firearm. Even though Norris was not the chair when Roberts was supposedly vetted and hired, and even though Roberts resigned as superintendent, the fact that the fabulist Roberts was able to thrive in this position, received high praise and promotion from Norris, and the fallout happened under Norris' watch, put a considerable strain on her national office run.
In Norris' campaign suspension statement, she claimed:
The most important thing to me is that Iowa elects a Democratic U.S. Senator who will put Iowans, and our state, first. Because in this moment we need a voice in Washington who will serve as a check on this President, and is focused on delivering for our families.
The way Norris delivered for the families in Des Moines by promoting a fraud and paying him handsomely to make the entire school district look like fools? Mmmkay.
Norris was the touted Democrat favorite, so her departure leaves five other Dem candidates to vie for the spot. But consider this damage done. As my colleague Adam Turner assessed in early October, in a red state like Iowa, with Ashley Hinson as the favored Republican candidate with high fundraising numbers, the race may as well be over.
In just four weeks, Ernst retired, Rep. Ashley Hinson jumped in, won endorsements from President Trump and the Republican leadership, and has raised more than $1.7 million. She is also sitting on $4 million on hand. Meanwhile, her leading Democrat opponent, Jackie Norris, made national news by being exposed for hiring an illegal alien with an extensive criminal rap sheet and history of immigration fraud, with bogus credentials, to serve as the Des Moines School Superintendent. This race may well be over before it even began.
Dive Deeper: The Chaos in the Senate Primaries
After Roberts' arrest, Norris' handling of this unprecedented and volatile situation was less than stellar. When news of Roberts' apprehension broke, Norris publicly asked that we employ "radical empathy" before judging Roberts and his actions. Tone deaf much? Norris' lack of clear judgment was reflected in the fact that she failed to continually vet the person who is tasked with a 30,000-student school district and who was campaigning for the Des Moines community to vote forward a $265 million bond referendum to fund the district. As things continue to unravel on Roberts and his past, we have found that much of what Roberts represented is pure fiction. Had the Norris-led school board conducted proper oversight, Roberts might have been discovered before the biological waste matter hit the circular wind conductor. Instead, they put the children, the district, and its funding in danger. The Norris-led school board was all set to hand Roberts $116,000 to hire as consultants a firm that claimed Roberts as a speaker and consultant. Conflict of interest, much?
The Des Moines school district has asked the Iowa State auditor to review the district’s finances to “confirm the strength of [its] current processes and procedures,” the district said in a news release.
The request came after three Iowa state senators asked the state auditor to review the district’s spending practices after former Des Moines superintendent Ian Roberts was arrested by federal immigration officials in late September. Roberts is accused of being in the United States illegally.
Since his arrest, reporting by several different news outlets have found that Roberts had falsified parts of his resume and credentials. Last week, the Associated Press reported that Roberts asked the Des Moines school district to pay for a $116,000 consulting contract with a company that marketed Roberts as a consultant and speaker.
Thanks to Norris' leadership, the Des Moines School District's finances are under scrutiny. No one wants this level of failure in a Senate candidate.
Des Moines school board chair Jackie Norris announced this morning she is dropping out of the U.S. Senate race, citing the need to focus fully on the fallout from the Ian Roberts controversy.
— Laura Powell (@LauraPowellEsq) October 16, 2025
In her statement, Norris casts herself as a victim, claiming that she and the broader… pic.twitter.com/0VilK9noS1
Des Moines school board chair Jackie Norris announced this morning she is dropping out of the U.S. Senate race, citing the need to focus fully on the fallout from the Ian Roberts controversy.
In her statement, Norris casts herself as a victim, claiming that she and the broader community have been “in the crosshairs of vicious and coordinated attacks.”
While there has been some baseless speculation about her motivations for supporting Roberts, I’ve seen nothing that fairly qualifies as “vicious attacks.” And there’s certainly no evidence of any coordinated effort among her critics. Most of what she’s faced has been legitimate criticism, and her characterization of the public’s response is an attempt to deflect accountability.
Of course, Norris played the victim. These supposedly strong, feminist-forward women suddenly become very weak when accountability is demanded.
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.
As Powell said in her X post above, these supposed "vicious and coordinated attacks" are not happening. Norris was not on the board that hired Roberts, but as RedState has continually reported, the vetting of ANYONE in that type of position is the board chair's responsibility, and Norris failed. As chair, Norris chose to outsource this to others and never questioned Roberts or his background — merely trotted him out as the poster child of how diverse and forward-thinking Iowans are. The fact that Roberts was able to rise to such a powerful and influential position, remained under the radar of law enforcement despite his criminal record, and was able to hide in plain sight despite his decades-long illegal stay in the country, is on her, and she deserves all the criticism lodged against her.
Read it Here: Surprise, Surprise: DHS Releases 'Iowa Educator' Ian Roberts' Rap Sheet and History of Immigration Fraud
For now, Norris' political rise has been neutered, and let's hope it stays that way. Elimination of these types of candidates needs to be done locally, before they fail up to the national level. Sadly, it may be too late for the state of Virginia. If the voters do not choose wisely, they will elect someone who can only be classified as a sociopath. I am talking about VA Attorney General candidate Jay Jones, who fantasized over text about murdering a Republican and his children, yet claims to be a protector for the people and children of Virginia. In my many years of covering politics, the cognitive dissonance of some of these candidates is still absolutely stunning. As my colleague Sister Toldjah reported, incumbent Virginia AG Jason Miyares may have divested Jones of any hope of winning; but as early voting continues in the state, November 4 will tell the tale.
Read More: Update: Jason Miyares Meets the Moment With Response to Jay Jones Texting Revelations
Virginia is a different state from Iowa, but Jones has an established record of malfeasance. The type of intense scrutiny that helped tank Norris' Senate run should have been applied to Jones long before he tried to run for attorney general. Yet, here we are. Virginians must wake up and rip the circuitry from any further fantasies Jones may be contemplating. Especially ones that involve aspirations to higher office.
Citizens must work to recognize and neutralize terrible candidates at the local level, before they have the chance to not just wreck a school board or a city, but a municipality, an entire state, and potentially, the nation. This is the battle happening in New York City, one in which it appears they have ceded. Failure to do this is how you get a Zohran Mamdami. Even worse, how you get a California Governor Gavin Newsom, Illinois governor, JB Pritzker, or trainwrecks like California gubernatorial candidate Katie Porter or former VP Kamala Harris. All politics is local, so vetting locally is the only way that quality candidates like Jason Miyares and Iowa Republican Senate candidate Ashley Hinson can rise to the top, while terrible ones like Norris and Jones can sink like a stone.
Editor’s Note: The Schumer Shutdown is here. Rather than put the American people first, Chuck Schumer and the radical Democrats forced a government shutdown for healthcare for illegals. They own this.
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