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Ashley Hinson launches her Senate bid in Cedar Rapids, promises to be Trump’s ‘top ally’
Cedar Rapids event included prayers and tributes to slain GOP activist Charlie Kirk
Sep. 14, 2025 6:42 pm, Updated: Sep. 14, 2025 8:20 pm
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CEDAR RAPIDS — Iowa Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson formally kicked off her bid for the U.S. Senate on Sunday, rallying supporters in a hotel ballroom with a promise to be President Donald Trump’s “top ally” in Washington and a sharp attack on Democrats she said want to “push Iowa past the brink.”
Hinson, who is currently serving her third term in the U.S. House, cast her campaign as a continuation of Trump’s America First agenda, pledging to cut taxes, tighten immigration enforcement and defend conservative cultural priorities.
“I am running to be President Trump’s top ally in the United States Senate,” Hinson told the crowd. “… At heart, I’m 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.”
Hinson, 42, of Marion, is running to succeed retiring Iowa GOP U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst in the 2026 election. Ernst announced earlier this month she will not seek a third term in office.
Hinson is one of two Republicans in the 2026 Senate race. The other is Jim Carlin, of Sioux City, a staunch pro-Trump conservative who unsuccessfully challenged Iowa U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley in the 2022 Iowa GOP primary. Carlin criticized Grassley for not pushing to investigate unsubstantiated allegations of widespread fraud in the 2020 presidential election.
The Sioux City attorney and former state senator blasted Hinson as a “phony” after she received Trump’s “complete and total endorsement” of her Senate bid.
Joshua Smith, a former Libertarian, announced early this year he planned to run as a Republican to challenge Ernst in the GOP primary. Smith released a campaign ad, but has not yet filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to register a campaign for the seat.
Hinson pauses to honor slain GOP activist Charlie Kirk
Hinson and several speakers paid tribute to Charlie Kirk, describing his killing as a devastating attack on free speech.
Kirk, a nationally known conservative activist and founder of the student group Turning Point USA, was fatally shot Wednesday while speaking at a college campus in Utah. His killing has sparked intense national debate, with Republicans portraying him as a martyr to free speech, and critics recalling his history of inflammatory remarks about women, LGBTQ people and immigrants.
Hinson led a moment of silence to pray for Kirk and his family, calling him “a man of faith” who championed civil debate and inspired young conservatives.
“He passionately sought that unfiltered truth in the most American way possible, which was have that honest, civil debate and discourse with people … and he delivered results that changed millions of people's lives for the better,” she said.
Hinson said his legacy would live on in the American spirit and vowed to continue fighting for conservative values in his honor.
Pledges of support
Several speakers offered testimonials to Hinson’s record before she took the stage.
Bethany Hantz, an Iowa mother and midwife, praised Hinson’s work on maternal health issues, noting her support for legislation addressing stillbirths and expanding access to birth centers.
“Right now, many Iowa women are finding themselves driving over an hour to get to maternity care right,” Hantz said. “We have a shortage of labor and delivery units in the state. We have a an epidemic of stillbirths happening. Ashley Hinson has been a champion on the federal level for legislation that will increase access to good maternity care.
“… Ashley is exactly who we want right now,” Hantz said. “She is working to make this state better for my girls.”
Jones County Sheriff Greg Graver said Hinson has been a consistent ally of law enforcement. He linked her campaign to broader concerns about crime and public safety, referencing national headlines and the recent killing of Kirk.
“Ashley Hinson gives me hope, someone that I know fights for me, someone that has my back and somebody that will have your back,” Graver said.
Trish Cook, a Buchanan County farmer and pork producer, praised Hinson’s efforts to push back against California’s Proposition 12, which set new requirements for pork sold in that state.
“Ashley understands that food security is national security,” Cook said. “We need her in the U.S. Senate.”
Veteran Brian Seeman said Hinson’s record on veterans’ issues, including expanding rural mental health services, earned his support.
“Ashley will never let Iowa veterans down,” Seeman said.
Hinson outlines priorities
Hinson said she would continue working with Trump to deliver on conservative priorities, touting recent GOP efforts that make permanent provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, reduce federal income taxes on tips and overtime, expand the child tax credit, and boost funding for border security and immigration enforcement.
“Our priorities are your priorities,” Hinson said, listing border security, keeping transgender athletes out of girls’ sports, strengthening Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security for seniors, supporting farmers, and helping young families buy homes.
“These are common sense policies for common sense people.”
GOP leaders assert their “One Big, Beautiful Bill,” a sweeping tax and spending package passed and signed into law this summer, prevents an average $1,700 tax hike and could increase take-home pay for a typical family with two children.
The law permanently extends key elements of the 2017 tax cuts, including lower individual rates, a larger standard deduction and expensing for investment and research.
Democrats argue the bill massively slashes Medicaid and SNAP, jeopardizing access to health care and food aid for millions. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated the changes could cause millions of Americans to lose health insurance coverage and add trillions to the national debt.
Republicans have argued the spending reductions are necessary to ensure Medicaid’s long-term financial stability and that the spending cuts and also recently enacted work requirements will ensure the program is preserved for those who truly need it.
The Penn Wharton Budget Model projects that the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act“ will increase the deficit and cause an eventual decline in GDP and wages, with the greatest benefits of the tax cuts going to higher-income households. Supporters say the changes boost long-term growth and simplify filing for millions of households.
Analysts at the Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan, nonprofit tax policy think tank based in Washington, D.C., said the new law ”spends far too much money on political gimmicks and carveouts,“ and will increase economic growth but raise federal deficits.
Hinson criticized Democrats as “radical” and pointed to Iowa Democratic Senate candidate Zach Wahls by name, accusing him of “masquerading as a moderate.”
Wahls, a state senator from Coralville, sharply criticized Hinson’s record during a campaign event in Cedar Rapids on Thursday.
Wahls accused Hinson of siding with corporate and out-of-state interests over Iowa families. He also contrasted his grassroots campaign — pledging to reject corporate PAC money — with what he describes as Hinson’s reliance on powerful donors.
“My fight to clean up corruption in Washington and fix our broken economy has clearly struck a nerve with Ashley Hinson,” Wahls said in a statement to The Gazette. “... I’m the Democrat she doesn’t want to run against, because unlike Ashley Hinson, I’m focused on fixing our broken economy, lowering costs for Iowans, protecting our rural hospitals, and draining the swamp once and for all.”
Four other Democrats are running in the U.S. Senate election: state Rep. Josh Turek of Council Bluffs, former state lawmaker Bob Krause, Des Moines school board leader Jackie Norris, and veteran and former chamber of commerce leader Nathan Sage of Indianola.
“Ashley Hinson has to own the same thing that Joni Ernst did — Medicaid cuts, rural health care being decimated, veterans’ health care cuts,” Norris told reporters Saturday at the Polk County Democratic Party’s annual steak fry fundraiser in Des Moines. “It’s all of it. It’s the same thing. … So she has to own it and she has to defend it.”
Linking Iowa to Trump
Hinson repeatedly tied her campaign to Trump, who endorsed her Senate run earlier this month. She framed Iowa as a model for the nation.
“I’d like to make America look more like Iowa, because here, we know the difference between boys and girls. We know that families deserve to keep more of what they earn,” Hinson said to applause.
She also pledged to continue a statewide tour modeled on Iowa U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley’s tradition of visiting all 99 counties each year.
Hinson emphasized the stakes of the contest. “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,” she said. “ … I will continue that fight to make America affordable again. We need to lower the cost of prescription drugs so that every Iowan gets the care that they need. We need to expand mental health care services and get our veterans the care that they have earned. We need to depart every single criminal illegal alien from our country. … And we need to protect our kids from the left’s radical, woke gender ideology. We need to keep parents in charge of our kids.”
Hinson closed by casting her campaign as a grassroots movement to defend “the American dream.”
“This is really personal for me,” she said. “I’ve never lost sight of that mission. I am ready to keep fighting in the United States Senate for every one of you, for every Iowan, and for every American.”
Comments: (319) 398-8499; tom.barton@thegazette.com
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