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Posted

September 8, 2025 at 11:17 AM CDT

Iowa Rep. Ashley Hinson has the backing of President Donald Trump as she enters week two of her campaign for the U.S. Senate.

Trump posted on social media Friday, calling Hinson “a wonderful person who has always delivered for Iowa” and she “will continue doing so in the United States Senate.”

Hinson, a Republican from Marion, has been a member of the U.S. House since 2021.

“I’ve worked very hard to stand up for President Trump, working alongside him in my service in Congress and I would say that job is not done,” Hinson said Friday at a rally in her hometown of West Des Moines.

Hinson announced her Senate bid last Tuesday, a few hours after Republican Sen. Joni Ernst released a video saying she would not seek reelection.

The top Republican in the U.S. Senate, Majority Leader John Thune, endorsed Hinson Friday. South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, has also endorsed Hinson.

Hinson faces criticism from fellow GOP candidate

Former state Sen. Jim Carlin, R-Sergeant Bluff, has been campaigning for the Iowa GOP’s Senate nomination for a few months and posted a written statement on Facebook minutes after Hinson announced her U.S. Senate campaign.

He said Iowa “doesn’t need another candidate picked” by the Republican establishment “who pretends to support President Trump,” but “isn’t a true conservative fighter.”

After Hinson announced she was running for the U.S. Senate, three of the 100 Republicans who are currently members of the state Legislature endorsed Carlin.

Carlin ran against U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley in the Iowa Republican Party’s 2022 primary, finishing with 26.4% of the vote. Grassley, who was endorsed by Trump, received 73.4% in the primary.