# Iowa's open Senate race

News · Heat 6.4 / 10 · 6 shows · 55m airtime

Iowa's open Senate race, set after Joni Ernst's retirement, was rated a toss-up by the Cook Political Report and matches Republican Representative Ashley Hinson against Democratic state Representative Josh Turek, a Paralympic gold medalist. Hinson called for an end to the war in Iran, then voted against a congressional resolution to end it, and that vote remains the contested point. The discussion has moved to the ground game: RealClearPolling has Turek ahead 46.4 to 45.8, Democrats cast 54 percent of the first 33,000 early ballots, and Hinson is campaigning on a bus tour, $209 million in rural health money and a $200 million revenue upgrade. Trump first canceled his Iowa trip, then said he will go to Dubuque.

Page: https://boilpoints.com/point/iowas_open_senate_race_2976805656

## Segments

- [What Next](https://boilpoints.com/u/whatnext), 2026-09-29, 11:11 to 19:58: **Adds the toss-up rating and Hinson's Iran stance**. Goes deep on the Iowa Senate race: the Cook Political Report's toss-up rating, Hinson's call to end the Iran war, and Turek's prairie-populist ads and break with his party on trans women in sports. Adds the toss-up rating and Hinson's on-record position. New angle: The Cook Political Report rated the Iowa Senate race a toss-up, and Ashley Hinson called for an end to the war in Iran.
- [The Fox News Rundown](https://boilpoints.com/u/thefoxnewsrundown), 2026-10-04, 3:05 to 7:43: **Maps the Iowa House districts**. Turns to the Iowa House map around the Senate race: Nunn defending the third district, Hinson vacating it for Ernst's seat, and Miller-Meeks defending the first against Bohannan. Miller-Meeks, in her own words, cites the 2020 six-vote margin and early-year gas prices near $2 a gallon. New angle: Miller-Meeks won her district by six votes in 2020 after recounts; Iowa gasoline was around $2 a gallon early this year.
- [The Fox News Rundown](https://boilpoints.com/u/thefoxnewsrundown), 2026-10-04, 11:28 to 13:44: **Defends tariffs with the steel mill**. Miller-Meeks defends the tariffs in Iowa: the steel mill announcement is the largest in American history, 1,700 permanent jobs at over $49 an hour, while farmers face extraordinarily challenging diesel prices and need targeted tariffs and market access. New angle: The Iowa steel mill will create 1,700 permanent jobs at over $49 an hour.
- [The NPR Politics Podcast](https://boilpoints.com/u/thenprpoliticspodcast), 2026-10-06, 12:15 to 17:45: **Frames Iowa's open Senate and governor races**. Turns to Iowa, where Joni Ernst's retirement has opened a Senate race between Ashley Hinson and Josh Turek, and Kim Reynolds' retirement has opened a governor's race between Rob Sand and Zach Lane. Frames both as part of broader Midwestern Democratic momentum. New angle: Iowa's open Senate race pits Ashley Hinson against Josh Turek, and the governor's race pits Rob Sand against Zach Lane.
- [Pod Save America](https://boilpoints.com/u/podsaveamerica), 2026-10-09, 58:29 to 1:01:13: **Finds the contradiction in Hinson's Iran vote**. Goes to the Iowa Senate debate and finds the contradiction: Hinson voted against a congressional resolution calling for the Iran war to end while saying she wants it brought to an immediate and successful end. New angle: Hinson voted against a congressional resolution calling for the Iran war to end.
- [The Fox News Rundown](https://boilpoints.com/u/thefoxnewsrundown), 2026-10-19, 6:30 to 9:02: **Calls Iowa the race to watch**. Kraushaar's races-to-watch tour leads with Iowa, where he calls Ashley Hinson one of the strongest candidates in the country and says a Democratic win there would signal a Category 5 wave. He notes Obama won Iowa twice and the state has among the most Obama-Trump counties. New angle: Ashley Hinson's congressional seat is now rated a toss-up.
- [The Fox News Rundown](https://boilpoints.com/u/thefoxnewsrundown), 2026-10-20, 1:08 to 2:40: **Rounds up the race through Turek's own pitch**. Rounds up the Iowa Senate race through Turek's own pitch: Medicaid cuts, Iran-war gas and diesel prices, and an undecided Republican at a Turek event. Adds the 2008 last-Democratic-senator marker and the new Fox ratings on Iowa's three districts. New angle: The last Democrat Iowa sent to the Senate was in 2008, and Fox now rates Iowa's 2nd District a toss-up.
- [The Fox News Rundown](https://boilpoints.com/u/thefoxnewsrundown), 2026-10-20, 2:40 to 6:08: **Plays her closing affordability pitch and bus tour**. Hinson's own closing pitch, in her words: the six-point affordability plan, the Fighting for Iowa bus tour from Des Moines to Davenport, and the argument that Turek is too liberal. She concedes Iowans are frustrated and leans on her district's four members of Congress since 2014. New angle: Hinson launched a Fighting for Iowa bus tour last week, starting in Des Moines and crossing the state.
- [The Fox News Rundown](https://boilpoints.com/u/thefoxnewsrundown), 2026-10-20, 6:08 to 9:14: **Defends the Rural Health Transformation Fund vote**. Puts Hinson on the record on Medicaid and rural health: she defends her vote creating the Rural Health Transformation Fund, cites over $209 million to Iowa clinics and hospitals, and names specific equipment and labor-and-delivery investments in her district. New first-hand detail on the incumbent's record, not a new event. New angle: Hinson says over $209 million in Rural Health Transformation Fund money has gone to Iowa rural clinics and hospitals.
- [The Fox News Rundown](https://boilpoints.com/u/thefoxnewsrundown), 2026-10-20, 9:17 to 10:37: **Cites revenue report against Turek's contraction claim**. Hinson answers Turek's claim that Iowa's economy is contracting by citing the Revenue Estimating Conference report, and pitches a diesel tax pause and more refining capacity. Adds her first on-record economic counter and her attack on Turek's attendance. New angle: Hinson says the Revenue Estimating Conference report shows Iowa revenue collections up $200 million over previous estimates.
- [The Fox News Rundown](https://boilpoints.com/u/thefoxnewsrundown), 2026-10-20, 12:13 to 13:39: **Confirms Trump's northwest Iowa rally this week**. Hinson confirms Trump will rally in northwest Iowa later this week and that she will appear with him Thursday, framing the race against Turek as Iowa common sense versus Schumer-style liberalism. She puts the Fighting for Iowa tour at seven or eight stops so far. New angle: Trump is expected in northwest Iowa later this week; Hinson will attend his Thursday rally.
- [The Megyn Kelly Show](https://boilpoints.com/u/themegynkellyshow), 2026-10-20, 2:48 to 8:35: **Runs the Iowa numbers as early voting opens**. Runs the Iowa Senate race through the numbers as early voting opens: RealClearPolling has Turek up 46.4 to 45.8, Kalshi gives Hinson 56 percent, and Democrats hold 54 percent of the first 33,000 ballots. Adds the final debate exchange over Hinson's stock disclosure and Turek's missed floor votes. New angle: RealClearPolling has Turek ahead 46.4 to 45.8, and Democrats cast 54 percent of Iowa's first 33,000 early ballots.
- [Morning Wire](https://boilpoints.com/u/morningwire), 2026-10-30, 5:26 to 7:04: **Runs through the midterm hub's toss-ups**. Runs through the Daily Wire midterm hub's Senate toss-ups, calling Iowa and Kansas neck and neck and flagging Alaska and Maine as election-night watches. A brief roundup that adds no new reporting to the Iowa race.
- [The Fox News Rundown](https://boilpoints.com/u/thefoxnewsrundown), 2026-10-30, 0:55 to 2:11: **Plays trail clips and adds Trump's Dubuque visit**. Sets up the episode with the Iowa governor's and Senate races, playing clips of Hinson and Turek on the trail. The one new development: Trump had canceled his Iowa trip this weekend and now says he will go to Dubuque. New angle: Trump initially canceled his Iowa trip this weekend but now says he will go to Dubuque.
- [The Fox News Rundown](https://boilpoints.com/u/thefoxnewsrundown), 2026-10-30, 2:05 to 5:18: **Explains why Iowa turned competitive**. A Cornell College political scientist explains why Iowa turned competitive: a governor's race leaning toward Rob Sand lifts Democrats down the ballot, while falling Trump approval and the economy shift the national context. She credits Hinson's local-news background and Turek's personal story as name-recognition assets. Analysis, not new reporting.
- [The Fox News Rundown](https://boilpoints.com/u/thefoxnewsrundown), 2026-10-30, 5:18 to 8:24: **Reports diesel costs outpacing tariffs for farmers**. Cornell College's Megan Goldberg walks through the Iowa Senate race's economic backdrop: tariffs hit soybeans, but diesel is now the bigger harvest cost, with farmers citing tens of thousands in added expenses that ripple to employers like John Deere. She also flags that Trump's Dubuque visit is again up in the air.
- [The Fox News Rundown](https://boilpoints.com/u/thefoxnewsrundown), 2026-10-30, 8:24 to 9:46: **Argues foreign policy rarely moves Iowa voters**. Goldberg argues foreign policy rarely moves elections but the war reaches Iowa through diesel and gas prices farmers pay, and says Democrats are running on Congress's constitutional war power. Analysis of the race's framing, not a new development in it.
- [The Fox News Rundown](https://boilpoints.com/u/thefoxnewsrundown), 2026-10-30, 13:20 to 14:56: **Breaks down Iowa's registration math**. Goldberg walks through Iowa's registration math: Republicans lead in every district, but a third or more of voters are independents who lean unpredictably and turn out slightly less. Explains the caveat about the 2022 rule change; stays inside the existing registration picture.