Carlin attempts to make case as Iowa’s most conservative U.S. Senate candidate

URBANDALE — Jim Carlin made the case he is the U.S. Senate candidate in Iowa with the truest conservative resume and is best fit to carry on President Donald Trump’s legacy.

He did so in speaking to a suburban Des Moines conservative group Wednesday, against the backdrop of a Republican primary in which he is facing a Congressional incumbent in Ashley Hinson who has been endorsed by Trump and is massively out-fundraising Carlin.

Carlin, a lawyer and former state legislator from Sioux City, said while speaking to the Westside Conservative Club on Wednesday that marriage should be reserved for only between a man and woman, made the disproved claim that the 2020 presidential election results were fraudulent, and said that some consideration should be given to state legislators — instead of voters — electing U.S. Senators.

Carlin also criticized Hinson for her vote to certify the 2020 presidential election results and her support for keeping former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming in a leadership post after Cheney voted to impeach Trump.

There was no significant fraud found in the 2020 presidential election results throughout state elections reviews — including by Republican-led state elections offices — and dozens of unsuccessful court challenges.

Hinson, in 2021, said she supported Cheney keeping her House Republican conference chair leadership position while saying she disagreed with Cheney’s support for impeaching Trump.

Hinson and Carlin are seeking the Republican Party’s nomination in Iowa’s 2026 U.S. Senate election.

Incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst announced earlier this year that she will not seek re-election to a third, six-year term.

Hinson, a former state legislator and TV news anchor from Marion who has served Eastern Iowa in the U.S. House since 2021, announced her campaign for the Senate on the same day of Ernst’s announcement. Carlin declared his candidacy in June, before Ernst announced her decision.

During his remarks Wednesday to the conservative group, Carlin said he believes that being “nice” in politics sometimes isn’t enough, and that he will “fight” for Iowa voters.

“Listen, I’m not trying to slam (Hinson). I think she’s a nice lady. But, like I said, nice is not what we need right now. Sometimes when you really feel strong about something, you’ve got to hold your ground and not cave,” Carlin said.

Carlin: ‘Worth looking at’ having state lawmakers choose senators

During a question-and-answer session at Wednesday’s event, Carlin was asked twice whether he believes the U.S. should return to having state legislators choose U.S. Senators, as was the case from the nation’s founding until the 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1913 placed that duty with voters.

Carlin, in his response, entertained the idea without taking a firm stance for or against it. Later, when talking to reporters, Carlin suggested the idea may have merit as a means of overcoming the influence of money in politics.

“I think it’s worth looking at,” Carlin told reporters. “What you want to do is put the defining of the office back in the hands of the people through the election process. And right now, I think the elections are largely controlled by Super PACs and big donors and by bundling of big donors, and we need campaign finance reform to correct that aspect of it. I think that’s the way we put the elections back in the hands of the people.”

Carlin also attempted to make the case that he is the best candidate to support Trump and carry on his legacy after Trump’s second term as president ends in 2028 — even though Trump endorsed Hinson less than a week after she announced her Senate campaign.

“I think President Trump has a lot on his mind right now. I know that he has advisers working for him,” Carlin told reporters. “I’ve always supported President Trump. Frankly, I love the work that he’s done. But I also know that some of the realities of his job put him in a position where he has to rely on the opinions of other people. And I don’t know that if he had the benefit of the information I presented here today that he’d come to the same conclusion.”

Ernst also has hinted at her plan to endorse Hinson.

In response to Carlin’s comments, a spokesperson for Hinson’s campaign on Wednesday wrote to The Gazette, “Ashley is proud to have earned President Trump’s endorsement and the support of Iowans across the state on her 99 County tour — she has already been to 29 counties and isn’t slowing down. Ashley is proud to fight for, and deliver on, the America First agenda and is honored to have the opportunity to serve Iowans in the Senate.”

Carlin argued throughout his remarks to the conservative group that he believes the federal government has grown too large and has been monopolized by corporations. He advocated for limiting and eventually doing away with the Federal Reserve and limiting the federal government’s involvement in health care and student loans.

Carlin also called for campaign finance reform, saying that the current system has allowed corporations to wield influence over the government. And he said he would support ending the Senate filibuster in order to pass a Republican-written federal spending package to end the current federal government shutdown.

Recently filed federal campaign fundraising reports showed Carlin raised roughly $45,000 from July through September and finished the period with just $1,728 in his campaign account. Hinson, meanwhile, raised more than $1.7 million in the same period and has more than $4 million in her campaign account.

Four Democrats are vying for their party’s nomination in Iowa’s 2026 U.S. Senate election: state legislators Zach Wahls of Coralville and Josh Turek of Council Bluffs, former chamber of commerce leader Nathan Sage of Indianola, and veterans advocate Bob Krause of Burlington.

Three prominent national elections forecasters — Sabato’s Crystal Ball, Cook Political Report and Inside Elections — rate Iowa’s 2026 U.S. Senate election as “likely Republican.”

Iowa’s primary election is June 2, 2026, and the general election is Nov. 3, 2026.

Comments: (515) 355-1300, erin.murphy@thegazette.com

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