MAGA

MAGA Loyalty in Iowa

Plus: Warsh's relationship with Trump; Democrats' midterm prospects; pregnancy is apparently a spectrum; and more...

Liz Wolfe | 9.18.2026 9:30 AM

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(Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Newscom/Sean Pavone/Dreamstime/Sipa USA)

A race I'm intrigued by: Ashley Hinson has been in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2021, representing Iowa's 2nd Congressional District as a Republican. She has generally been pretty pro-President Donald Trump: in favor of tariffs, supportive of his foreign policy, and emphasizing her closeness to the MAGA wing in an attempt to curry favor with voters. Now, she's trying to win the state's open Senate seat (retiring Republican Sen. Joni Ernst isn't seeking reelection) in a race Democrats see as a pickup opportunity despite the state's redness.

In May of last year, after the House had passed Trump's huge tax and spending package, Hinson started feeling the heat: Constituents in town halls started booing her, jeering at her, and criticizing her support of the president. She defended DOGE ("I think that Elon Musk came in and helped to join and lead a team of people who are actively working to find this waste, fraud and abuse every single day," she told constituents), and earned even more ire, perceived by voters as having sided with the ultrarich at the expense of everyday people.

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