Iowa’s Ashley Hinson wins third term in Congress

CEDAR RAPIDS — Iowa Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson easily secured a third term to represent northeast Iowa's U.S. House seat Tuesday.

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Hinson, of Marion, defeated Democratic challenger Sarah Corkery of Cedar Falls and no-party candidate Jody Puffett of Delhi to represent Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District, according to unofficial results. The district includes Cedar Rapids, Waterloo, Dubuque and Mason City.

As of late Tuesday evening, Hinson had secured about 57 percent of the 2nd District vote to Corkery’s 42 percent and Puffett’s 1 percent.

Hinson, speaking Monday night in Cedar Rapids to a hotel ballroom filled with about 200 supporters on the eve of Tuesday’s election, stressed the need for border security and economic stability, advocating for Donald Trump's presidency and maintaining a Republican majority in the U.S. House.

Trump endorsed Hinson’s re-election campaign in September, posting on Truth Social that Hinson is “fighting hard to Secure our Border, Cut Taxes, Reduce Burdensome Regulations, Promote American Agriculture, and Defend our always under siege Second Amendment.”

Hinson, 41, has said Iowans can't afford four more years of a Biden-Harris administration if Vice President Kamala Harris wins the presidential election.

“I’m going to work my tail off for this district,” Hinson told supporters gathered Tuesday night at Spare Time Entertainment in Cedar Rapids. “… Tonight we sent a message — a loud and clear message that Iowans believe in strong, conservative leadership. We sent the message that it is your money, it is not the government’s money. We also sent a message that girls’ sports are for girls, not for biological men. And, most importantly, we sent the message that our rights come from God, not from the government.”

The former state lawmaker and former KCRG-TV news anchor was the favorite in the district, where registered Republican voters slightly outnumber Democrats.

Hinson flipped a blue seat red in 2020 by campaigning on kitchen-table issues and pledging to be a taxpayer advocate in Congress. Hinson won re-election in 2022 by 8 percentage points against Democratic former state lawmaker Liz Mathis of Hiawatha.

This time, she faced vastly underfunded first-time candidates running grassroots campaigns. National Democrats did not target the race in the same way they have in the 1st and 3rd districts, leaving Corkery with little outside support.

The race was expected to be less competitive than contests in Iowa’s 1st and 3rd congressional districts that are also up for election.

Corkery, 49, a breast cancer survivor, disability rights advocate and Cedar Falls small-business owner, focused her campaign on women's health care rights and public education. She regularly attacked Hinson over her record of voting to ban abortion and curtail reproductive rights.

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Both candidates cast the other’s views on abortion as extreme and unpopular with Iowans.

Corkery said the decision to terminate a pregnancy should be a conversation “between a person and a doctor,” with no defined cutoff point for when abortions become illegal.

Hinson supported federal legislation that states life begins at fertilization and would criminalize abortion, but would not allow the woman having the procedure to be prosecuted. It has no exceptions for rape, incest or the woman’s life, and does not spell out protections for fertility treatments.

Hinson clarified that she would not vote for the bill in its current form due to the lack of exceptions for rape, incest, maternal health and fatal fetal anomalies. She emphasized the importance of collaborating with colleagues to “promote a culture of life in D.C.”

Corkery, like many Democrats running in the wake of a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning a federally protected right to abortion, saw the issue as a “leverage point” and motivating factor for voters — particularly among older and independent women seen as key demographics for the campaign — that overrode economic anxieties.

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Puffett, 59, a retired insurance executive, ran out of frustration with government fiscal irresponsibility and Hinson’s support for a $95 billion foreign aid package. Puffett lamented that the package did not include money to bolster U.S. border security. She also mentioned supporting mental health services and foster care and taking care of Iowa veterans.

She emphasized her commitment to change and independence from political parties, and vowed to take a hard line on spending, reducing the federal debt and taxes.

Hinson has said her top priority, if reelected, is to support a Trump administration focused on lowering taxes, boosting the economy and securing the Southern border.

Trump has called for the historic "mass deportations" of immigrants from the United States — mobilizing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, along with the FBI, federal prosecutors, the National Guard and even local law enforcement officers, to carry out deportations. Hinson has said she supports prioritizing the mass removal of immigrants living without authorization in the country who have violent criminal records, working with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement before focusing on reforming the immigration and visa systems.

Hinson opposed a bipartisan Senate plan for border security and instead backed a House GOP-led initiative to enhance border security by ending "catch and release" practices and implementing stricter asylum rules. Additionally, she pushed for funding for drone technology and surveillance towers to aid Border Patrol in enforcing border security.

Hinson, who sits on the House Appropriations Committee, also focused on reducing inflation by slowing government growth and spending, and making permanent Trump-era tax cuts for small businesses, which are set to expire at the end of 2025.

Her campaign ran TV ads that portrayed the sophomore congresswoman as willing to work on bipartisan issues, cutting through distractions to focus on constituents' needs, ensuring taxpayer money is used effectively, and delivering on promises to improve infrastructure and address various issues important to Iowans.

Corkery and Iowa Democrats, however, criticized Hinson for opposing the bipartisan infrastructure law and insulin price caps for seniors. Hinson has said insulin price caps would raise premiums as companies try to recoup lost profit, and gives the government too much control over the private sector. She instead supports a broader bill made up of bipartisan provisions controlling prescription drug costs.

Hinson has said she opposed the infrastructure bill because of its large price tag, and has advocated for and helped secure funding for targeted infrastructure updates and district projects, as well as her efforts to improve maternal health care and child care.

Corkery did not immediately return a message seeking comment on the results Tuesday night.

Comments: (319) 398-8499; tom.barton@thegazette.com