Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) will run to replace Senate Republican Conference Chairman John Barrasso (R-WY) as the No. 3 Senate Republican, her office confirmed to the Washington Examiner on Monday.

Ernst currently chairs the Senate GOP Policy Committee, making her the No. 4 in the conference. Members of leadership have been announcing their intentions to seek new positions in November, the result of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) stepping away from the top job at the end of the year. 

She will face off for Barrasso’s job against Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), who announced his intention to seek the position last week. Both senators were elected in 2014 and are close McConnell allies, though Ernst has a reputation for being far more willing to speak to the press than Cotton. Despite the two being friends, Ernst took a dig at Cotton after he went public with his campaign, accusing him of not giving her a heads-up about his plans.

Both Ernst and Cotton say that they have been encouraged by colleagues to get in the race to lead the conference, though neither is the immediate front-runner. Still, Ernst projected confidence in an interview announcing her bid for the job. 

“Absolutely, this is winnable for me. And we shouldn’t be afraid of elections for heaven’s sake,” Ernst said on Sunday. “I’ve never been the establishment’s chosen candidate. I’ve always been that outsider.”

McConnell, the longest-serving Senate leader of all time, announced last Wednesday that this Congress would be his last as the top Senate Republican. The news sparked renewed interest in his possible successors, including Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-SD), Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), and Barrasso, the latter of whom said last week that he would seek Thune’s whip position rather than McConnell’s leadership role. 

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The contest for McConnell and Thune’s respective roles has created a number of openings. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), who currently serves as GOP conference vice chair, announced on Monday that she would seek Ernst’s role leading the policy committee. 

“The Republican Policy Committee plays a critical role as the policy and legislative ideas factory for our conference. I am going to ask for the support of my colleagues to chair the RPC in the next Congress,” Capito posted on X. “It is critical that our conference advance conservative principles that Senate Republicans, hopefully in the majority, can implement next year.”