Republicans are lining up behind Rep. Ashley Hinson’s bid for the U.S. Senate in Iowa following Sen. Joni Ernst’s decision to retire.
On Friday, Hinson secured endorsements from Senate Majority Leader John Thune and National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Tim Scott. Their backing, combined with a wave of support from House and Senate GOP leaders announced earlier in the week, positions Hinson as the clear favorite for the party’s nomination heading into the 2026 race.
“Having traveled Iowa with Ashley, I know she is the fighter the Hawkeye State needs to deliver President Trump’s agenda in 2026 and beyond,” Scott said in a statement. “Iowans are all-in for Ashley Hinson, and that’s why the NRSC and I are proud to stand with my friend, a proven conservative and staunch Trump ally.”
Hinson, a former TV news anchor, has represented northeast Iowa in Congress since 2021. She won reelection in 2024 by about 60,000 votes, even though Republicans outnumber Democrats in Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District by fewer than 30,000 registered voters.
The NRSC circulated a memo Wednesday highlighting Hinson’s strength as a Senate candidate. While stopping short of a formal endorsement, the memo argued she would be well-positioned to defeat any Democrat in the race.
“Rep. Ashley Hinson has emerged as a formidable contender for the Senate seat and would be exceedingly difficult for any Democrat to challenge,” the memo reads. “Whatever Democrat emerges from their bruising primary will be no match for our nominee.”
The NRSC memo underscored Democrats’ fall in Iowa over the past decade, highlighting Trump’s commanding wins in the state in 2016, 2020, and 2024 as evidence that the Hawkeye State has firmly shifted into Republican territory.
“The result is a near-total collapse of Democrat strength,” the memo reads. “Once competitive at every level, Democrats have been shut out of Iowa’s federal delegation and face an electorate that now forms a cornerstone of the GOP’s Midwestern base.”
The Cook Political Report rates the race as “likely Republican,” noting Hinson could outperform retiring Sen. Joni Ernst had Ernst sought a third term.
A close ally of Trump, Hinson is seen as well-positioned to energize low-propensity voters in a midterm year without the president on the ballot.
