Jackie Norris, (DMPS) board, abruptly ended her campaign for the U.S. Senate. She launched the run in August 2025 for the seat being vacated by Republican Joni Ernst, but on October 16 announced she would no longer be a candidate. Norris cited the fallout from a major hiring and legal scandal within her school district as the reason.

The triggering event was the arrest of former superintendent Ian Roberts, who had been hired by the DMPS in 2023 and is alleged to have been working in the United States without legal authorization. Federal authorities also say Roberts made a false I‑9 employment verification statement and was previously in the country under a removal order.  After the arrest, Norris said the crisis had “put the school board, our community, and me personally in the crosshairs of vicious and coordinated attacks,” draining her ability to focus on her Senate campaign.

.@hinsonashley BLASTS Iowa liberal Jackie Norris for fundraising off Ian Roberts — the illegal superintendent she hired who ICE found with a loaded gun and hunting knife.

"She's about as qualified to be a US Senator at this point as a goldfish is to run a marathon." pic.twitter.com/34AogIJM6W

— Senate Republicans (@NRSC) October 1, 2025

In her statement, Norris said she would instead devote her energy to managing the transition at the school district, passing a large bond measure for education improvements, and cooperating with ongoing investigations to determine how the hiring process failed to uncover Roberts’s status.  Her withdrawal reshapes the Democratic primary field in Iowa’s Senate race and highlights the political risks when school‐board oversight and immigration compliance become a public spectacle.