Hinson’s fundraising extends her dominance in Iowa Republicans’ U.S. Senate primary

Ashley Hinson raised $1.7 million in the latest federal quarterly campaign fundraising reporting period, easily outdistancing her fellow GOP candidate Jim Carlin

Ashley Hinson talks to the guest speakers after her U.S. Senate campaign kickoff at the Radisson Hotel in northeast Cedar Rapids on Sept. 14. (Elizabeth Wood/The Gazette)

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DES MOINES — Ashley Hinson is making quick work of Iowa’s 2026 U.S. Senate Republican primary campaign.

While the votes will not be counted for another eight months, Hinson has done everything in her power to stamp out any chance of another Republican mounting a serious challenge to her candidacy in the open-seat election. The Eastern Iowa congresswoman has secured the two most critical endorsements and has dominated early fundraising.

According to the latest quarterly congressional campaign fundraising reports published by the Federal Elections Commission after Wednesday’s filing deadline, Hinson raised more than $1.7 million over the latest period, which covered July, August and September.

She finished the period with more than $4 million in her campaign account.

Jim Carlin, a former state legislator from Sioux City and the other Republican seeking the nomination in Iowa’s 2026 U.S. Senate election, raised more than $45,000 in the period and at its end had just $1,728 in his account.

Iowa Republican and former state lawmaker Jim Carlin launched his campaign for the U.S. Senate at the Calvary Community Church in northeast Cedar Rapids on June 12. (Elizabeth Wood/The Gazette)

Add that to the fact that Hinson has been endorsed by Republican President Donald Trump and appears to have secured the endorsement of Republican incumbent U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, it appears Hinson is well on her way to locking up the party’s nomination.

Iowa Republican voters will get the ultimate say in the state’s primary election on June 2.

“Ashley built a $4 million war chest in just four weeks, and she is just getting started. Iowans are fired up to elect Ashley as their next senator, and we are humbled by the incredible support we’ve received from across the state,” Hinson campaign director Addie Lavis said in a press release.

A former local TV news anchor and state legislator from Marion, Hinson has been representing Eastern Iowa in Congress since 2021. Hinson announced her candidacy in Iowa’s 2026 U.S. Senate election on the same day that Ernst announced she will not seek re-election to a third, six-year term.

Although Hinson has only been a Senate candidate since that day — Sept. 3 — her quarterly fundraising report also includes donations from July and August.

Trump endorsed Hinson on Sept. 9, and Ernst at her final, annual fundraiser this past weekend indicated she also will endorse Hinson.

“Ashley’s common sense message — cutting taxes for working families, lowering the cost of prescription drugs and health care, securing our border and keeping our communities safe, and ensuring China can’t buy up Iowa farmland — is resonating with Iowans in every corner of this state,” Lavis said. “This will be a fight, but Ashley Hinson is putting in the work to be Iowa’s next U.S. Senator and keep all of Iowa red.”

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.”

Ernst raised more than $357,000 during the period, most of which was collected before she announced she will not seek re-election. Ernst finished September with more than $3.4 million in her campaign account.

Turek tops Democrats’ fundraising

Four Democrats are vying for their party’s nomination in Iowa’s 2026 open-seat 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.

A fifth Democrat, Des Moines Public School Board leader Jackie Norris, ended her campaign Thursday.

Democratic state Rep. and U.S. Senate candidate Josh Turek speaks to supporters and guests at the Hoff Family Arts & Culture Center in Council Bluffs on Aug. 18. (Joe Shearer/Council Bluffs Nonpareil)

Turek had the strongest fundraising period of the group, surpassing $1 million over the three months. Turek, who announced his candidacy on Aug. 12, finished September with roughly $652,000 in his account.

Turek’s campaign claimed the $1 million raised was the most for a first-time Democratic U.S. Senate candidate in Iowa in their first quarterly fundraising period.

“This campaign isn’t powered by corporate PACs — it’s powered by teachers, nurses, farmers, and working families from every corner of Iowa who are ready for a leader who will fight for them,” Turek campaign manager Brendan Koch said in a press release. “Josh is building a movement, and this milestone proves Iowans are ready for something different.”

Iowa state Senator and candidate for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate Zach Wahls speaks during a campaign event at RAYGUN in Cedar Rapids on Sept. 11. Wahls spoke briefly and then took questions from audience members. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette)

Wahls raised roughly $647,000 and has raised more than $1.3 million total since announcing his campaign in June. He finished September with $585,000 in his account.

Wahls’ campaign said he has received contributions from all 99 Iowa counties.

“Our campaign’s strength comes from the people of Iowa — not corporate PACs or Washington insiders,” Wahls said in a press release. “Iowans are responding to our message of taking on the corrupt political establishment — of both parties — and standing up for the working families who make this state great. That’s how we’ll build the campaign to defeat Ashley Hinson and deliver real change for Iowa.”

Democrat U.S. Senate candidate Nathan Sage discusses his background in the military and how he grew up in a working class family during the Cedar Rapids event at Lion Bridge Brewing Co. in southwest Cedar Rapids, on May 18. (Elizabeth Wood/The Gazette)

Sage raised $410,000 in the period and also surpassed the $1 million mark for the entirety of his campaign, which launched in April. He finished September with roughly $269,000 in his campaign account.

“Too many Iowans have been left behind and lied to by politicians from both parties and it’s time we have a Senator who is going to fight like hell to raise wages, lower health care costs, and get rid of big money in politics,” Sage said in a press release. “We are building a grassroots movement to bring real working-class representation to Washington that puts Iowans first, not party bosses or billionaire donors.”

The FEC’s campaign fundraising database online shows no fundraising records for Krause, who first declared his candidacy for the U.S. House in Eastern Iowa’s 1st District before declaring he will instead campaign for the U.S. Senate.

Libertarian candidate also running

Thomas Laehn, the Greene County Attorney, is running as a Libertarian. Laehn officially announced his candidacy on Oct. 8, after the reporting period ended. But he had formed an exploratory committee in December of 2023 and has been fundraising since then. He finished September with roughly $2,400 in his campaign account.

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

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