U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, officially launching her U.S. Senate campaign in Cedar Rapids on Sunday, said Iowa Republicans can’t be complacent in 2026 if they want President Donald Trump to be able to accomplish his agenda.
The Marion Republican announced her run earlier in September, hours after U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst said she would not seek reelection in 2026. After entering the race, Hinson quickly consolidated support from national Republican leaders, gaining endorsements from Trump, Senate Majority Leader John Thune and National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Tim Scott.
Hinson has pledged to be Trump’s “strongest ally” in the U.S. Senate if elected, saying she will support the president’s agenda on issues like immigration, education and agriculture. At the Sunday event, she reiterated her support for the Trump administration’s agenda, saying her campaign was “embarking on a journey to continue fighting alongside President Trump, to transform the America First agenda into our America First future.”
“I’m incredibly grateful to have earned the support of our great president, President Donald J. Trump,” Hinson said. “I am honored to fight alongside him to fix what Joe Biden broke. We are putting America first, and we are making America great again. Mr. President, I want to say thank you for your support. I will not let you down.”
Speaking to supporters, Hinson said she was focused on issues like border security, deporting undocumented immigrants, and stopping transgender women from competing in women’s sports. She also said she would continue her work on issues like supporting Iowa farmers and “strengthening Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security for our seniors” if elected to the Senate.
Hinson, who was first elected to represent Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District in 2020, described herself as a “mama bear who refuses to stand by and allow my kids to grow up in a country run by liberals who want to ditch the American experiment and set up some kind of crazy liberal dystopia.” She said “radical left lunacy” has harmed states like California and New York — and that Democrats running for the U.S. Senate seat want Iowa to become more like these states.
“That’s the vision the Democrats in this race in Iowa are fighting for,” Hinson said. “They want to push Iowa to the coasts. They want to push our country past the brink. Guess what? I’m not going to let them do that.”
There are currently four Democrats competing to become the party’s nominee in the 2026 Senate race — state Sen. Zach Wahls, D-Coralville; state Rep. Josh Turek, D-Council Bluffs; former Knoxville Chamber of Commerce Director Nathan Sage and Des Moines school board chair Jackie Norris.
All four candidates spoke at the Polk County Democrats’ Steak Fry in Des Moines Saturday about the race and said their approaches to the campaign trail will not change despite shifts in the competition.
Hinson called out Wahls specifically at the event, referring to the state senator a “far-left” Democrat who is pretending to be a moderate, “hoping to fool Iowans into believing that they share our values.” She made a joke that Iowans “rejected the last Walz,” referring to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate in the 2024 presidential election who has a similar last name, and said “we’ll do the same for this one.”
Wahls told reporters Saturday Hinson has supported the same policies as Ernst that are unpopular with Iowans which contribute to a “broken economy” and political corruption in Washington. “Whether it’s Joni Ernst, Ashley Hinson, I think Iowans understand that Washington leaders have failed our state and they’re ready to change,” Wahls said.
While Hinson has emerged as a frontrunner for the GOP nomination after Ernst left the race, former state legislator Jim Carlin and former Libertarian candidate Joshua Smith are also vying for the Republican nomination.
Hinson said Iowans support her and Trump’s policies — and have shown their support by electing Republicans across the ballot in recent election cycles — but she also warned the 2026 election will be difficult, and said “Democrats are not just going to fade silently into the night.”
“Sure, today, it seems like they are pretty much a joke, right?” Hinson said. “They don’t have a leader, they don’t have a message, and they really don’t have a clue what to do about it. … We cannot rest on our laurels, though, and I think we all know that we have not come this far to only go this far. We have to keep Iowa red when it comes to the Senate, when it comes to our governor’s race, all of our statewide offices, our congressional seats and our leaders in the legislature. If we keep Iowa red, we will help make sure President Trump can have a full four years of wins and deliver results for you that will last for a generation and beyond.”
Robin Opsahl covers the Iowa Legislature and politics for Iowa Capital Dispatch, where this story first appeared.
