Republican Ashley Hinson and Democrat Josh Turek have presented competing claims of independence from their parties in Iowa’s closely contested Senate race, with Hinson saying she would challenge Donald Trump when necessary and Turek promising to put the state ahead of party politics.
The rival candidates made their cases in separate interviews broadcast on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday, as Democrats target their first Iowa Senate victory since 2008.
Hinson, who has pledged to be Mr Trump’s “strongest ally” in the Senate, qualified that promise by saying it would apply only when the president supported Iowa’s interests.
“I will be someone’s ally when they’re with me on the issues that are important to Iowa,” she said. “And if they’re wrong, I’m going to pick a fight with them, no matter who that is.”
Iowa voted for Mr Trump by 13 points in the 2024 presidential election. But high fuel costs and opposition to his tariff policies have complicated Republican efforts to retain the seat, despite the president campaigning in the state this week.
Republicans close to Hinson said last month that she needed to create more distance from Mr Trump, arguing that his tariff agenda and the Iran war were damaging her prospects.
Asked about Mr Trump’s positive assessment of the economy, Hinson replied: “Well, sure doesn’t feel like it right now.” She also criticised the administration’s dealings with Moscow.
“I don’t think we should be making any deals with Russia,” she said, pointing to her vote for sanctions. Her campaign has said she opposed sanctions relief for Russia while backing Mr Trump’s use of the Defense Production Act to strengthen domestic energy production.
However, Hinson stopped short of opposing a possible new offensive after the midterm elections. While calling for the Iran war to end quickly, she said she trusted Mr Trump and the military to decide what action was required.
Turek described himself as a “proud moderate” and avoided saying whether the Democratic Party had moved too far to the left.
“I don’t think a lot about the party as a whole. I think about myself, and I think about Iowa,” the Democratic state representative said.
His primary campaign received national Democratic backing, including the maximum contribution from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s leadership political action committee, although Mr Schumer did not formally endorse him. VoteVets has spent more than $10 million on advertising supporting Turek, who has also received a formal endorsement from former president Barack Obama.
Asked what Mr Trump had done well, Turek said the president had done “a better job on the border than Biden, for sure”. He also cited agreement on keeping private equity out of housing and removing taxes on tips, overtime and Social Security, while saying Mr Trump’s economic policies had concentrated wealth and power.
On the importance of endorsements, Turek offered a blunt assessment: “Probably not.”
