Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst said she doesn't mind her relative anonymity these days. | AP Photo Ernst all but withdraws from Trump veepstakes

Joni Ernst all but removed herself from Donald Trump’s vice presidential search, telling POLITICO in an interview that she wants to help Trump become president but that she’s focused on Iowa and the Senate, where the freshman senator said she's “just getting started.”

The GOP senator met with Trump on Monday and received effusive praise afterward, with Trump predicting he will “see her again.” But it likely won’t be as his running mate.


“I made that very clear to him that I’m focused on Iowa. I feel that I have a lot more to do in the United States Senate. And Iowa is where my heart is,” Ernst said Wednesday. “I’m just getting started here. I have a great partner with Chuck Grassley, we’ve been able to accomplish a lot. And I think that President Trump will need some great assistance in the United States Senate and I can provide that.”

The 46-year-old Ernst, who won the critical swing state race in 2014, said she will be offering tactical advice to Trump about how to win her home state. And she is expected to give a prime-time speech at the Republican National Convention, focusing on national security, according to a source familiar with those plans.

“I will probably participate more as an advocate," Ernst said of her role in the Trump campaign. "I would love to assist him out on the trail."

But though Ernst would bring a cheerful and disciplined style to Trump’s ticket, she said she has not received any vetting papers from Trump. She suggested that Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, a former House member, would make the most sense as Trump's No. 2, given his blend of executive and legislative experience.

“I will admit that I am a Mike Pence fan,” Ernst said. “He is so well rounded, served as a governor and I think he’s a great conservative. So I don’t think he could go wrong.”