Iowa’s U.S. Senate candidates share fuel cost policies, trade criticisms on campaign trail

U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson and state Rep. Josh Turek both reiterated their calls for Congress to reduce fuel prices as they campaigned Friday for the state’s competitive U.S. Senate seat.

At a news conference in Des Moines, Hinson reiterated her calls for the House to return to Washington, D.C., to work on lowering fuel prices and bringing the war in Iran to a close.

Hinson said she texted Speaker of the House Mike Johnson to “put the extra pressure on” bringing the House back to work. Johnson sent members of the House home Sept. 16 for extended district work. Hinson and other members of the House are not expected back in D.C. until after the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

“I think it was a mistake for them to cancel session,” Hinson said. “Every option should be on the table, and we should be in Washington, D.C., working to provide that relief right now.”

Hinson said Johnson responded to her text that “they are talking about it.”

Turek held a roundtable Friday with several Iowans who said the surge in fuel prices — due in large part to the ongoing war with Iran and closure of the Strait of Hormuz — are making it difficult for their businesses and families to stay afloat.

Hilary Abrahamson, a mother of four, said while she and her ex-husband are both making much more money than 10 years ago, she said “we had more freedom 10 years ago financially,” in light of recent high gas costs alongside other rising costs of living.

Abrahamson said the high gas costs were even more frustrating to her and many other Iowans because they did not believe the U.S. should be at war with Iran.

“It would be different to sacrifice some day-to-day things on behalf of a war people felt was necessary or benefited them,” Abrahamson said. “But from what I’ve heard, almost nobody feels they have any personal stake or interests, and it feels sort of like another pointless, forever war. And so, it’s really hard to sacrifice for something that seems totally personal to people you don’t know and have nothing to do with.”

Turek said while holding town halls and events throughout Iowa, “I have yet to encounter a single Iowan that said to me, ‘I want to be in another forever war.'”

He criticized Hinson for voting against of a measure to restrict the president’s military powers in Iran — a war resolution that Hinson’s Iowa Republican colleagues Reps. Zach Nunn and Mariannette Miller-Meeks broke party lines to support. Four Republicans in the Senate similarly voted Thursday to require congressional approval for further involvement in the war.

Hinson voted with the rest of Republicans to block the measure in the House, which has been brought to a vote six times since the war began in February. Asked Friday if she would support the vote should the House return soon to D.C., Hinson declined to say yes or no.

“I like to take a look at every single piece of legislation before I (vote on) it, but I’ve made it very clear in my position: we don’t need another resolution on the House floor,” Hinson said. “We need a resolution to end the war as quickly as possible, and the president can do that.”

The Democratic candidate said Hinson’s vote was a continuation of “forever wars,” which some Republicans, including Trump, have called to end.

“In my lifetime, I’ve seen us spend a trillion dollars in Afghanistan, a trillion dollars in Iraq — for what?” Turek said. “And here we are again, another unnecessary war, spending over $40 billion dollars over there as we’re closing schools and roads and hospitals, leading the nation in farm foreclosures.”

In a social media post Monday, Hinson called for a “successful and immediate end” to the war in Iran which has contributed to hikes in gas and diesel prices. Iowa farmers have asked for immediate relief as they embark on harvesting crops.

Turek released a plan Sep. 16 to provide relief on fuel costs by pausing diesel exports, temporarily suspending the federal gas tax and opening the strategic oil reserves. He said this relief — alongside other policy positions he holds on tariffs, supporting rural healthcare access and improving water quality — are needed to help Iowans during a difficult period.

“Iowans are hurting and uniquely hurting — I think you can make the argument that we are hurting more than almost any other state,” Turek said. “I mean, we’re one of three states seeing our economy contract. You heard me give the numbers on where we’re at with health care. We’ve got a cancer crisis, we’ve got a water quality crisis, we’ve got public education that’s gone from the gold standard down to the bottom half. … And now, because of this war in Iran, you’ve got Iowans that are paying astronomical prices at the pump. Diesel price is at an all-time high and (so are) input prices. Iowans deserve to have someone in D.C. fighting for them.”

Hinson says ethics complaint is false

Hinson called a recently filed ethics complaint against her the actions of a “liberal group doing this for completely political purposes.”

The political action committee Defend the Vote announced Friday it had submitted an ethics complaint with the Office of Congressional Conduct alleging Hinson gave her husband, who works with the Independent Insurance Agents of Iowa, special access to her office and other congressional offices.

Defend The Vote Executive Director Brian Lemek said in a news release that Hinson should “know better” than to break ethics rules.

“Iowa families struggling with rising prices deserve to know whether their congresswoman is working for them or for the insurance industry that supports her household’s business interests,” Lemek said in the release.

Hinson said the group’s complaint is a lie about her and her family.

“I have done everything ethically,” Hinson said. “I serve on the House Ethics Committee, and I look forward to seeing that complaint go exactly where it deserves to be, which is the trash.”

Turek criticized Hinson in a statement Friday, calling her a “corrupt, self-serving D.C. politician who has repeatedly shown that she is only looking out for herself, her donors, and special interests.”

“Hinson has sold out Iowans time and time again, voting to cut healthcare, food assistance, and Social Security – all while enriching herself and her billionaire friends and donors,” Turek said. “She voted seven times to continue this reckless war in Iran and Iowans are paying for it at the pump. This clear pattern of corruption is disqualifying, and it’s exactly why Iowans are going to reject Ashley Hinson in 39 days.”

Ernst calls for supporting Hinson in general election

Alongside the earlier news conference and a meeting with cancer activists, Hinson also spoke at the Republican Party of Iowa’s Reagan Dinner Friday evening, an event in West Des Moines honoring U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst. Ernst, the Republican whose seat Hinson hopes to fill, announced she would not seek reelection in September 2025 and went onto endorse Hinson in January.

Republican leaders including U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, state House Speaker Pat Grassley and state Senate Majority Leader Mike Klimesh gathered to thank Ernst for work in Washington, D.C., as well as her service as a state lawmaker and in the U.S. Army Reserve. When Hinson addressed the crowd, she reflected on her first meeting with Ernst over 10 years ago, when Hinson was a reporter for the TV station KCRG.

“Now I get to serve alongside of you and hopefully fill your combat boots, Joni,” Hinson said. “And serving in Washington, D.C., is true combat right now. And you have shown us the way, you’ve shown us the light, and you’ve shown us what it means to serve with dignity and purpose.”

She said defeating Turek in the November election is vital to preserve Ernst’s legacy and continue work on conservative goals. She claimed Turek was “masquerading as a moderate,” and said winning the election is needed to keep Democrats from gaining majority control in the U.S. Senate, saying Turek was aligned with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

“The reality is that this election on November 3rd will determine the balance of power in the United States Senate. It determines whether or not we’re going to have the wrong Chuck … making the decisions and calling the shots in the United States Senate,” Hinson said, referring to Schumer in contrast to Grassley.

Speaking with Iowa Republican Party Chair Jeff Kaufmann, Ernst also also reflected on her relationship with Hinson, saying she was happy to encourage Hinson’s first run for the U.S. House to unseat former Democratic U.S. Rep. Abby Finkenauer in 2020.

“I just knew we had to find the right person to run against Congresswoman Finkenauer, and Ashley was that person from the time I met her when she interviewed me all those years ago,” Ernst said.

Ernst said she felt more confident leaving the U.S. Senate with Hinson as the GOP nominee.

“When I went through that really tough decision, you know, whether to run or not — first and foremost, (I asked) can we keep the seat?” Ernst said. “It’s so important that Sen. Grassley have someone who will support those votes and vote with him and do the absolute best for Iowa. And it didn’t take me but a split second to to come to the realization that I know somebody who is absolutely ready to take that step and follow me in the United States Senate, and that’s why I’ve thrown my weight behind Ashley.”