Welcome back to The Scoreboard, a weekly recap of Iowa’s U.S. Senate Race where we keep the score of Josh’s wins, Ashley Hinson’s airballs, and the must-see moments as Team Turek plays ‘til the final buzzer on November 3rd.
This week, Josh continued to hear directly from Iowans about the impact of Hinson’s seven votes to continue the Iran war on their wallets and continued to lead the way with his plan to lower fuel prices.
Meanwhile, leaked memos from both the top GOP super PAC Senate Leadership Fund and the National Republican Senatorial Committee made clear that National Republicans are highly concerned about Ashley Hinson’s chances of winning Iowa’s U.S. Senate race, begging their donors for millions more in funding to save a flailing Hinson. Additional Republican allies are also sounding the alarm amidst “growing fears that the race is too close for such a red state,” as two new polls this week showed Josh leading Hinson while yet another race rater shifted IA-SEN towards Josh.
Gold Medal Moment: Josh leads the charge to lower fuel prices for Iowans, while Hinson follows behind.
Last week, Josh released a fuel-price relief plan that would provide immediate relief for Iowa’s families and farmers. Just days after Josh shared his proposal, Republican Senator Chuck Grassley followed his lead and, shortly after he was on board, Ashley Hinson joined the chorus and, for the most part, copied Josh’s plan.
- Iowa Capital Dispatch: Turek says he’s ‘happy’ Iowa Republicans joined his push for diesel export pause
- WOWT: “Turek released his plan last week. His Republican opponent, Representative Ashley Hinson, released her plan today.”
- The Gazette: Hinson, Miller-Meeks join Turek in calling for diesel export pause.
- Radio Iowa: Turek, Grassley, Hinson call for suspending US diesel exports.
The kicker: Hinson said that “[t]he House should return to DC immediately” to find a solution to lower fuel prices for Iowans, yet when she had the chance just last week to vote to end this war, she voted for it to continue, yet again.
Play of the Week: Josh holds Hinson accountable while she tries to backtrack on her longstanding support for the war.
The Last Word Lawrence O’Donnell
“If she wanted to end this war, she could have voted to end this war. Seven times now she has voted in favor of this war in Iran, which has led to gas prices going up in Iowa more than essentially any other state. Diesel prices being at an all-time high at the worst possible time as our farmers are going into harvest season and now seeing input prices like fertilizer prices skyrocket. I mean, this is someone that has voted in a state with a healthcare crisis and a cancer crisis for cuts to health care, food assistance, Social Security just to give tax breaks to billionaires. She’s voted five times in favor of the tariffs that have decimated the farmers, the commodities prices, and now seven times in favor of the war. Iowans have had enough. Everywhere we’re going, we’re hearing the same thing from Iowans. They’re struggling just to keep food on the table, a roof above their head, and keep gas in the tank.”
Commentators’ Takes: Political analysts had one takeaway from Hinson’s week of desperation: IA-SEN is a pure toss up as Hinson risks losing a GOP stronghold.
- Bloomberg Government: “The top Senate Republican political action committee is warning donors that the party faces a high risk of losing a US Senate seat in Iowa, previously a GOP stronghold.”
- POLITICO: “Iowa becoming a real problem for GOP.”
- Puck News: “Several G.O.P. campaign strategists texted me that the situation is getting dire.”
- POLITICO: “They said Hinson risked losing the seat if she didn’t put more space between herself and Trump on several key issues that were roiling voters in Iowa.”
- The Hill: “A diesel-powered panic for GOP in Iowa”
- POLITICO: “Iowa GOP Senate nominee Ashley Hinson, whose team has grown increasingly wary of the tight race…”
Highlight Reel: This week, Josh met with a Des Moines small business owner and hosted a roundtable to discuss the impact of rising costs that are a direct result of Hinson’s votes to hike costs on gas, groceries, and everyday essentials.
On Monday, Josh spoke with Erich Bockman, co-owner of the Fontenelle Supply Co. in Des Moines, about the impact of rising diesel costs, caused by the Hinson-backed war, on the costs of shipping for the products on his shelves.
The two also discussed how higher gas prices translates to less disposable income for Iowans, which impacts the slim margins that small businesses like Fontenelle’s already operate on. Erich also noted that increased health care premiums are further straining the business’s bottom line, creating a perfect storm that makes it harder for them to make a profit.
On Friday, Josh hosted a roundtable with Iowans to discuss the impact of record-high diesel and sky-high gas prices caused by the war in Iran on their daily lives. Iowa families across the state have been struggling to fill up their tanks – spending an average of $860 more in gas alone since the Hinson-backed war started. Farmers are sounding the alarm that the rise in diesel prices will cost them tens of thousands more this harvest season.
Last week, in response to seeing the pain caused by these rising costs, Josh released his multi-prong plan to lower fuel prices and bring much needed relief to Iowans.
Airball(s): Triple Header – Hinson tries – and fails – to rewrite her record of supporting the Iran War, refuses to answer questions about Medicaid cuts and is exposed for her Big Oil backing.
Hinson let her desperation show, blanketing headlines both in Iowa and across the country for trying (and failing) to walk back her support for the war she has voted seven times to continue, making clear she – like National Republicans – is concerned about her ability to win this race.
Hinson’s repeated war votes weren’t the only part of her record Hinson was running away from this week. After hosting a roundtable on health care, she refused to answer reporters’ questions about the impact of the Medicaid cuts she voted for.
In the latest example of Hinson’s self-dealing, a report from MeidasTouch found that Hinson received over $200,000 from Big Oil donors while Iowans suffer at the gas pump because of her votes to continue the war in Iran. Campaign financial disclosures indicate that, since the start of the war in February 2026, Hinson has accepted $38,500 from the oil and gas industry. Notably, Chevron and ExxonMobil, Hinson donors, are recording record-high profits because of the Hinson-backed war.
