Representative Ashley Hinson, a former TV news anchor backed by President Trump, is viewed as a heavy favorite in the Republican Senate primary in Iowa on Tuesday.
Here are five things to know about Ms. Hinson, 42, of Marion, Iowa, who is running to succeed Senator Joni Ernst, a Republican who is not seeking re-election.
1. She is a strong fund-raiser. In the first quarter of this year, Ms. Hinson’s campaign outraised the combined campaign haul of the two candidates in the Democratic Senate race, Josh Turek and Zach Wahls, Federal Election Commission filings show. Ms. Hinson’s perceived strength is one reason Democrats have been less confident about their chances in conservative-leaning Iowa than in some other states, though the favorable national environment has given them hope.
2. She was endorsed by Mr. Trump early in the cycle. Ms. Hinson secured Mr. Trump’s endorsement in September. She had defended the president earlier in 2025 at testy town halls where she was jeered and heckled. She told angry constituents that the president had “truly hit the ground running” and taken “decisive action to secure our border and start deporting criminal illegal aliens.” In his endorsement, Mr. Trump described the congresswoman as a “wonderful person” who had “ALWAYS delivered” for Iowans.
3. She voted to enshrine the right to same-sex marriage into federal law. Ms. Hinson was one of 39 House Republicans who voted in favor of the measure, which passed over the opposition of 169 House Republicans. She downplayed her decision at the time. “We should be focused on reducing inflation, securing our border, and restoring American energy independence — these are the issues Iowans talk to me about every day,” she said in a statement. Her long-shot Republican challenger in this year’s race, Jim Carlin, has attacked her over the vote.
4. She is a former journalist. Ms. Hinson, an alum of the journalism school at the University of Southern California, worked for KCRG-TV, covering eastern Iowa. She was a two-time winner of regional Emmy Awards, including one in 2015 for snow coverage.
5. She apologized for plagiarism in 2020. Ms. Hinson, then a state lawmaker running for Congress, took verbatim passages from other sources, including The New York Times, and used them on her campaign website and in opinion pieces more than a dozen times. She said the material was prepared by her staff. “As a journalist I take this extremely seriously and am deeply sorry for the mistake,” she said in a statement at the time. “The staff responsible will be held accountable.”
Matt Zdun contributed reporting.
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