Trump-backed Ashley Hinson competes against Josh Turek in Iowa Senate race, faces scrutiny over ethics complaint

A member of the Republican Party, Ashley Hinson is currently running for the US Senate seat in Iowa in the 2026 midterm elections. She is facing Democratic candidate Josh Turek, after Republican Senator Joni Ernst refused to seek re-election. Having received endorsement from President Donald Trump for every election since 2020, Hinson has based her campaign around issues like rising prices, rural healthcare, government accountability and securing the country.Ashley Hinson left her career as a TV news anchor in 2015 to enter politics. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)Hinson began her career as a television news anchor at KCRG-TV. She left her TV career in 2015 to enter the Iowa House of Representatives. She later represented Iowa’s 1st Congressional District in the US House. After redistricting, she represented the 2nd Congressional District from 2023. In 2026, she defeated her opponent Jim Carlin in the Republican primary and entered the race to become the senator.Hinson’s personal life and backgroundBorn on June 27, 1983, in Des Moines, Iowa, Ashley Elizabeth Hinson graduated from Valley High School in 2001. She later earned a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Southern California in 2004. During her early career, she also gained experience in television production.She comes from a family with a strong musical background. Her parents met while playing in the Des Moines Symphony, and her grandparents were also involved in orchestral music. Her brother, Blake Hinson, became a musician with the New York Philharmonic. She began piano lessons at the age of five and violin at seven. Hinson and her husband, Matt Arenholz, met on a blind date at a wedding. The couple along with their two children named Max and Jax live in Marion, Iowa.Also Read | US federal election commission shuts down some services on its website after hacking attempt: ReportKey priorities and political recordAshley Hinson has actively focused on healthcare affordability, rural hospital access and lowering prescription drug costs. She supports increasing transparency in the pharmaceutical industry, holding pharmacy managers accountable and protecting people with serious medical conditions. She also voted for the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act in 2025 and sponsored the Pregnant Students’ Rights Act, which aimed to educate college students about their rights and resources during pregnancy.Additionally, Hinson has supported opening up more schools, arguing that parents should have the freedom to select schools that best meet their children’s needs. She believes that parents should have more control over their children’s education, while advocating for making childcare more affordable for working parents.Beyond healthcare and education, Hinson has called for reducing government spending and making elected officials more accountable. She supports banning members of Congress from trading individual stocks, arguing that lawmakers should not use their positions for personal financial gain. In 2026, she joined Democratic representative Jared Golden in introducing a bill to stop government officials from immediately quitting their jobs in order to become paid lobbyists. Hinson has also accused Turek of benefiting from outside spending, arguing that campaign finance needs greater transparency.Immigration, jobs, trade and tariffsHinson has shown her support for stricter border security, enforcement of federal immigration laws and the deportation of immigrants who have committed violent crimes. She backed to increase the funding for border patrol agents, while raising serious concerns about fentanyl trafficking. As a staunch supporter of President Trump, she called to end the provision of “birthright citizenship”, calling it a “con”.Hinson continued to include issues like taxes, inflation and creation of jobs in her campaign. She supports small businesses, workforce training and technical education to help workers find better paying jobs. She has also backed tax relief for working families and protecting American businesses from unfair trade practices, especially from China. However, she has also criticized some trade policies by President Trump. In August 2026, she opposed his plan to increase beef imports, saying it could hurt Iowa cattle producers. However, people continued to criticize her, with one X user saying, “Ashley backs Trump, not Iowa farmers”.Iran conflict and artificial intelligenceHinson has called for an immediate end to the Iran war, arguing that rising fuel prices have created financial pressure for farmers and their families in Iowa. She said that the US must prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons but opposed sending American troops there. She also proposed measures to reduce these rising prices, including temporarily suspending the federal gas tax and pausing diesel exports. However, Turek criticized her for voting against war powers resolutions that aimed to limit US military action in Iran.Moreover, Hinson has supported the use of artificial intelligence to strengthen the US economy and improve government efficiency. She believes that AI can help America compete with China, by preventing it from advancing in technology. She even highlighted AI’s potential to improve farming, by helping farmers use fertilizers and weed killers more efficiently. She also referred to data centers as a source of jobs and economic growth. However, she urged to protect the water resources of Iowa, trying to strike a balance between technological expansion and water conservation.Also Read | Indian-American donors give Republicans 4:1 funding edge over Democrats ahead of US midtermsControversies and disputesIn 2020, Hinson faced criticism during her first campaign for the US House of Representatives. A report by The New York Times found out that her campaign website and various opinion articles published under her name contained passages copied from other sources, without giving proper credit. These included The New York Times, CNBC, The Hill and The Des Moines Register. Some sections of her veterans’ affairs policy also matched with reports published by her Democratic opponent, Abby Finkenauer. Hinson later apologized.She was again at the center of a controversy in September 2026. A watchdog group called Defend the Vote, along with the Iowa Democratic Party, raised concerns about the connections of Hinson’s husband to the insurance industry. They filed an ethics complaint to investigate whether Hinson had used her position in Congress to give her husband, Matt Arenholz, special access to lawmakers. Arenholz has worked in the insurance industry and served as government affairs chair for the Independent Insurance Agents of Iowa. The complaint alleged that he used his connections to arrange meetings with Iowa lawmakers despite not being a registered lobbyist, leading critics to call him a “shadow lobbyist”. However, Hinson’s campaign denied these charges.Personal wealth and moreAccording to the Iowa Democratic Party, Hinson’s net worth has increased 15 times after entering Congress. Her 2025 financial disclosure showed assets worth $2.26 million to $8.77 million, including her husband’s stake in an insurance company.As the 2026 midterms approach, President Trump continues to endorse Ashley Hinson as she competes against Democrat Josh Turek for Iowa’s Senate seat.-By Tanisha Sharma