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Republican Representative Ashley Hinson of Iowa on Tuesday took her party’s Senate nomination in the race to replace Sen. GOP retiree Joni Ernst.
Hinson, a former TV news anchor in his third term representing Iowa’s 2nd District, defeated former U.S. Sen. and U.S. Senate candidate Jim Carlin in the GOP Senate primary, the Associated Press reported.
The Republican-held seat in Iowa is heavily favored by Democrats, and the race is one of nearly a dozen key midterm elections that will determine whether Republicans hold on to their current 53–47 majority in the chamber.
Hinson had the support of President Donald Trump; Senate Majority Leader Sen. John Thune; the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the campaign arm of the Senate GOP; and Ernst when he attended his party’s appointment. Hinson, who in 2020 won a Democratic-held seat in northeastern Iowa, is seen as a rising star in the party.
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Rep. Ashley Hinson on Tuesday won the Republican Senate nomination in Iowa in the 2026 race to succeed Sen. GOP retiree Joni Ernst. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Iowa was once a top battleground state for the previous President Barack Obama he made his White House victories in 2008 and 2012. But the state has shifted to the right in recent election cycles, with Trump carrying the state by nine points in 2016, eight points in 2020, and 13 points in November 2024.
Republicans hold both state Senate seats – Ernst and longtime Senator Chuck Grassley – and all four of Iowa’s congressional districts, as well as all state offices except state auditor.
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But the powerful Democrats are entering a period, in which the GOP as the governing party will face traditional storms, a challenging political environment due to persistent inflation and sky-high gas prices due to what appears to be an unpopular war with Iran and Trump’s approval ratings.
And Iowa Democrats, in particular, are energized after flipping two GOP-held state Senate seats in a special election last year.
Hinson will face off in the general election against the winner of the expensive and contested Democratic Senate primary between Rep. Josh Turek, the country’s Paralympian, and Sen. Zach Wahls of the district.
Wahls, a progressive Republican who ran with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, is backed by libertarian Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. Turek, a more moderate Senate challenger who unseated a GOP-held Iowa House seat in 2022, is backed by former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, announced last year that she would not seek re-election in 2026 for a third term in the Senate. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Hinson is aiming to succeed Ernst, a retired Army Reserve officer and Iowa National Guard officer who served in the Iraq War and was first elected to the Senate in 2014.
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Ernst drew national attention in that campaign with his “make ’em squeal” ads as he won a high-profile Senate race to defeat retiring Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin.
Sally’s Fox News staff contributed to this report.
