Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson and Democratic state Rep. Josh Turek traded barbs Tuesday night in their second and final Senate debate, 21 days before Election Day and the same week early voting opened in Iowa. The race for retiring Sen. Joni Ernst’s seat is a toss-up, according to election forecasters.
The WHO 13 and KCAU 9 debate centered on fuel prices, the war in Iran, and each candidate’s record. The sharpest exchanges came over money and attendance.
Hinson’s ballooning networth and Turek’s missed votes
Hinson, who has campaigned on banning stock trading by members of Congress, was asked whether she or her husband own stakes in private companies.
“Yes,” she said, explaining that her husband sold his business in 2021. Her financial disclosure shows Matt Arenholz owns privately held stock in High Street Insurance Partners, valued between $1 million and $5 million, after the firm bought his insurance agency.
She said “private stock is not trading stock.” Her disclosure also lists mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, though she said she holds no publicly traded stocks.
READ MORE: Not all stock trade bans are made equal.
Turek accused her of enriching herself in Washington. Hinson called that a lie and said he is “too liberal for Iowa.”
Hinson hit Turek on attendance, saying he showed up “42% of the time” this year in the Iowa House. PolitiFact found he missed 261 of 445 floor votes between Jan. 12 and April 2. Turek acknowledged the absences and said he was campaigning across all 99 counties.
Fuel prices and Iran
Both candidates said they oppose President Donald Trump’s decision to lift sanctions on Russian diesel, which followed his Oct. 9 call with Vladimir Putin. Hinson, whom Trump has endorsed, proposed a temporary federal gas tax cut and a diesel rebate for producers to address rising gas prices. Turek proposed suspending federal and state gas taxes, opening the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and suspending diesel exports.
READ MORE: Hinson stays with Trump on Iran War vote.
They split when asked whether sanctions relief should be tied to a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire. Hinson said she would “absolutely” support that. Turek said other options exist.
On Iran, both called for the war to end. Turek said Hinson voted seven times against war powers resolutions, and tied the war to Iowa’s gas, diesel, and fertilizer costs.
Hinson said she doesn’t trust Iran and wants a “successful” end that guarantees the country doesn’t possess or obtain a nuclear weapon, but she did not say she would change her vote.
