Rep. Ashley Hinson GOP for U.S. Senate

News Talk 1540 KXEL, where Iowa comes to talk.

Hello, I'm Jeff Stein, joined in the studio by Congresswoman Ashley Hinson.

She represents Northeast Iowa's second congressional district.

She is here today, though, in her role as a candidate for U.S.

Senate, having won the Republican primary.

Congresswoman, thank you for coming in.

Jeff, great to be back with you again here in studio.

We always like to make clear if a guest is here

in their current job or as a candidate today, you are here as a candidate.

So

And again, people may not know.

They know you from representing this part of the state.

They may not know that you grew up in Des Moines, so you're very familiar with Central Iowa, but this is a statewide campaign.

What have you learned by going to all 99 counties?

Well, I think first and foremost, I've learned the challenges that face Iowa families are consistent across the state, whether it's with making healthcare more affordable and more accessible, making agriculture better for our farmers and producers and making sure they have more access.

access to markets, lower input costs, making sure that our veterans are taken care of.

Those are the continued conversations I'm having statewide.

And I think one of the gems of this campaign has been, again, I'm a former journalist.

A lot of people know that about me, but it's really about listening and then turning those stories into action.

And actually, based on a conversation that I had with a local hospital and some providers on the ground, I was able to take that back and turn that into something already in Washington, DC.

So I've learned a lot.

I've already started working on Iowans priorities in that capacity and I look forward to serving the entire state Hopefully as I was next US senator

Obviously any political run and we've talked about this before I talk about it with all candidates.

I mean you don't take a job in Washington

without having family support, it takes you away from your family.

And it's one thing when you're representing a quarter of the state, but now it's the whole state.

If you are able to secure this position, the campaign is statewide.

That's a logistical challenge, is it not?

Well, it certainly is, but I will say that I have a couple of things going for me.

My husband, Matt, is a great support system for me.

We are a team in doing this because we do have teenage sons.

Our boys are 15 and 13.

And so we are right now in the throes of back to school and getting ready for marching.

band practice and I took the kids back to school shopping last night begrudgingly they were rolling their eyes at me the whole time because I think they're enjoying their summer but no I'm still very much so a mom very involved in my kids education and parenting with my husband and I think it's really important that we do have a working parent serving in Congress and serving in the Senate because we bring a good perspective on what kitchen table issues are like for a family.

I think actually being a mom to two teenage boys prepares you very well for this kind of service.

because you're constantly negotiating with unreasonable people and their teenage boy hygiene is questionable.

And it turns out there's a lot of that in the swamp in Washington, DC.

I will leave that as it is.

I don't have children.

I will just take your word for that, but it does appear sometimes it's like a playground with the need for somebody to be a referee and detention.

But of the priorities that you focused on in your time as a member of the House of Representatives,

What among those seem to play very nicely into what will be the next U.S.

Senate?

Again, we know who some of the people will be, we know two-thirds of them will be, but what are you able to take from your current work and transfer that across the rotunda?

Well, I would say first and foremost, what taxpayers need is respect and accountability.

And I know who to ask questions of.

I know how to ask those tough questions.

I know how to hold the federal government accountable.

Make sure we're continuing the good progress that we've made in reducing waste, fraud, and abuse, whether it's the luring centers in Minnesota or the hospices that we're uncovering the fraud at in California or the other home care facilities in Ohio, for instance, that we've uncovered.

I know how to hold those people accountable.

So I will hit the

running on the on day one in the United States Senate.

I've been an appropriator so I think the best advice I got was follow the money and you'll understand where things are going and why.

I know how to do that again to make sure we're respecting taxpayers delivering key investments to our state while still saying hey this is excess spending we don't need to be spending here we should redirect those resources here or return them to taxpayers which has been a main goal of mine is to as we're respecting taxpayers in this process say we should be

returning as many dollars.

So whether it's no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on social security, you know, we're looking at how do we target that relief directly to the middle class?

And I think there's more to do there and I am well prepared to do it.

I will just say this, that I am showing up consistently in Washington, DC.

while running a statewide campaign.

My opponent, Josh Turrick, in this race missed 58% of votes at the state Capitol this year.

So he's not showing up.

He skipped the Iowa Farm Bill vote.

He skipped the vote on Iowa Veterans Affairs Department to do a Super PAC fundraiser instead.

So I think he has the wrong record for our state and he's too liberal for Iowa.

Now there are some people and let's delve into that because I've seen a lot of things about voting records lately in other races as well.

And I understand that there's a lot of things that compete for attention for your time.

And so it is not possible to be six places at once.

But what you're basically saying is I'll put my attendance record half a continent away up against his.

when he was within the same state.

That's the gist of it, is it not?

Absolutely.

I have a 98.8% voting record over the past five and a half years in Congress while running these competitive races.

And you need to show up for the job Iowans elected you to do.

I think that is paramount.

And Iowans respect hard work.

They respect someone who's going to be their voice at the Iowa Capitol or the US Capitol.

And that's what I've consistently delivered.

And again, I've been a transparent and accountable representative.

I will pledge to be that same way as the next US Senator.

for this state.

But I will say this too.

I'm proud of my voting record for this country.

I've done a lot to make sure, again, we're respecting taxpayers, standing up for rural America and making sure we're safe and secure.

Those are my main priorities because that's what I hear from Iowans.

My opponent, again, he missed those 58% of votes, 261 votes he decided to skip.

He doesn't really have a good explanation as far as I can tell other than campaigning for the next job he wants.

And I hope Iowans don't give him a promotion for that.

But I think what's more alarming is what he actually

did vote for when he was there.

He voted to allow taxpayer benefits to go to illegal immigrants in this country.

He wants to make it so that our sheriffs don't have to comply with ICE as they're looking to enforce those laws.

He wants to allow schools to help kids change their gender at school and not tell the parents about it.

So I think when you look at those priorities, they're wrong for Iowa and they're too liberal for Iowa.

And I think Iowans will reject that and they'll go with the common sense candidate.

I'm a minivan driving mom.

I bring that Iowa.

can common sense to the table.

You joked about someone needing to be a referee in Washington.

Again, I'm a mom.

I'm ready to go to town on that.

But I will say that sometimes it does feel a little bit like a middle school and you have to navigate through that.

And I've done that with, I think, professionalism that Iowans deserve.

Ashley Hinson is our guest.

She's currently Congresswoman from Northeast Iowa, Republican candidate for U.S.

Senate on the November ballot.

She is speaking to us in her role as a candidate today on News Talk 1540, KXEL.

There are many ways to measure quote success for an elected official It is not in my view.

You may have a different one.

It is not simply saying I got x number of pieces of legislation passed Yes, that's easy on a scorecard but being able to craft things in committee and and add and subtract as necessary building coalitions That's a little broader and may ultimately be of greater and lasting impact.

So I'll ask the question very broadly

Based on that record of nearly six years, what are the things you point to to say to Iowans, this is why I deserve.

this other job from all 99 counties as opposed to my district.

Yeah well first let me say I think you're right not every piece of legislation is what you don't necessarily need a piece of legislation to solve a problem is what I would say so a lot of those conversations have happened by us advocating for a policy or procedure we might send a letter or work with the department to resolve an issue for a constituent so I think that's a huge part of what we do and I've been able to do that effectively whether it's getting veterans the medals they are owed and are due for their service.

whether it's getting someone their tax refund back because they've been fighting with the IRS for years to get their money back to them.

Those are the casework side priorities that we have really worked hard to get across the finish line.

So I think we have a great record of delivering on casework.

I look forward to making sure we're able to do that.

Customer service, part of the job, as I was next U.S.

Senator.

The other thing I will say is I've had Bill signed into law.

by both presidents, by both President Trump and by President Biden.

My bill for veterans' mental health is now law in this country.

We're making sure veterans get that care no matter what their zip code is about stillbirth prevention, making sure we have more healthy moms and healthy babies.

Those are both bills that have been signed into law.

I'm very proud of those priorities.

Those are Iowans priorities.

I hear that every day.

And then in my role as an appropriator, I've been able to bring back resources to our district.

Iowans are dutifully sending in

hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars to the federal government in taxes.

And it's our job to make sure we're reinvesting in our state.

So whether it's infrastructure and roads and bridges, whether it's water quality and making sure we have water treatment plants or the infrastructure to bring in new business to our communities.

health care, making sure we have a labor and delivery unit in Grinnell or the latest surgical center in Decora.

Those are all places where I have been able to make those strategic investments that respect taxpayers, but deliver for our district and for our state.

So I look forward to continuing that good record of getting things done.

I don't want to put words in your mouth and you won't let me, but I have to think as a member of the house, you pass legislation.

And sometimes it sits over there at the Senate.

That's got to be frustrating.

That's the part that, that's my depiction.

Having that experience for three terms, again, with different people in the White House even, but now there's the trifecta and the house moves things and they kind of sit over there.

If you're in the Senate on that side of it, what can you bring to the table to help the other 99 understand that

You got to keep moving this train down the track.

Yeah.

Well, I think we're in a very unique position because we actually have several members of the house who have recently gone over to the Senate who understand how important that cross rotunda work is.

But we also have a number of candidates running this cycle who are currently members of the house who are also running for the Senate.

And so I think about coalition building because that's what I've done in the house to get some of these.

Sometimes challenging priorities across the finish line.

E-15 is a good example of one where we had to work with people on both sides of the aisle.

It split the Republican delegation, not our Iowa delegation, but it split the Republicans and it split some Democrats.

But I've always been able to build those coalitions.

And I think that's something that won't change when I go across the rotunda because that is how you get legislation across the finish line.

My stillbirth prevention bill that I mentioned, that took several Congresses to get done.

And I worked with Alma Adams to get that done.

And I think it's

important that we had some educating to do on, hey, this isn't new funding.

We're not spending a whole lot of money here, but guess what?

This funding and allowing it to be used for this purpose is really important because it's going to help moms to make sure they go to the doctor when they need to and save a baby's life, right?

It's a really important value proposition.

So it took us a couple of Congresses to get that done, but we were relentless.

if you're relentless and you build the coalition you can get a bill done.

So that's how I approach legislating and yeah you're right sometimes it is frustrating and you work really hard to get a bill across the finish line and it stalls out.

My approach to that is I take every win as a big win even the small ones.

They're a victory for Iowa if we can get those things across the finish line and I will be relentless and I say this all the time if Iowans I'm a pretty nice person I think and if Iowans think I'm too nice to do the job though they don't know me well enough so I'm going to make

sure I deliver for Iowa and get our priorities across the finish line.

I know this is part of the game, but I get all manner of news releases every day on all sides.

And I can tell many of them are cut and paste where they just simply drop the name of an opposing candidate in.

But I also find on the candidates where I actually know who they are, I think

I don't recognize that person they're saying all sorts of nasty things about this person or that person and it's usually personal as opposed to something that's quantifiable like voting record and I hate to even give it any more breath or life but you hear this kind of stuff what of all the stuff that's being floated around

in a negative way toward you.

What's the thing that's the most aggravating that you'd like to actually say, okay, here's why that's bogus?

Yeah.

Well, I mean, I'm always happy to clarify.

And what I say is when they lie about me, I'm going to tell the truth about them.

And that's my role as a candidate is to go out and defend my record.

I'm happy to do that.

And I've always been happy to answer any question about anything that I've done and why.

I think what's missing from probably those cut and paste press releases is the why.

The context is missing or the motivation behind it is missing.

And so that's what

I hope to bring to the table as the candidate, as I continue to make my way around the state and answer questions from folks.

Um, I do have to tell my kids, don't believe everything you see on YouTube, you know, but, um, I have been,

that's a good call.

That's good counsel regard.

Oh yeah.

Yeah.

Well, and especially cause my, my 15 year old would come to me and he'll be like, mom, this is what they're saying about you.

And I'll, I'll explain.

Well, this is why that's not true.

Right.

And okay.

Good.

So he's going to go off and at least be informed as a young person.

And, um, he, he's really good at defending his mom's honor.

I will say

that,

but, but I,

want him to be armed with facts.

And anyone who's going to go out and have questions, because there is going to be a massive amount of spending in this race, right?

There already is millions upon millions of dollars on television.

So what I would just encourage everybody is if you have any questions, reach out to our campaign.

We're happy to answer those for you about anything I've voted on or worked on or anything I've said.

Ask me that question.

I'm happy to answer.

And I think that that's what Iowans deserve.

And we're the first in the nation in caucus state.

We know how to vet our candidates really.

well and I just I know I can trust on Iowans to look at my record and I think they'll pick the the common sense minivan driving mom who has a record of delivering for our state.

I have a few more minutes with Congresswoman Ashley Hinson.

She's here in her role as the Republican nominee having won the June primary for U.S.

Senate on News Talk 1540 KXEL.

Conversation we recorded in the studio on Wednesday afternoon for convenience of all of our schedules so you can hear the conversation now.

So let us assume that

Nothing changes in terms of majorities in Washington.

So in 2027, you're elected to the U.S.

Senate.

There's a Republican majority.

There's still a Republican majority in the House.

And of course, the president will still be in office.

What do you think might be on the short list to move things forward?

Because my sense from a distance is that because it's an election year and there are a lot of folks who are trying to stand in the way of things, there's a lot of stagnancy.

inability because again it does take both parties unfortunately to get things done and when one gums up the works it makes it difficult.

So what can we expect in 2027 from a unified

renewed trifecta of Republican leadership in Washington?

Well, I think the most important thing is we have to deliver on the priorities of what the people are telling us on the campaign trail.

I'm gonna be out listening to Iowans over the next, what, 80 some days, 82, probably by the time people are listening to this, but making sure that we deliver on those.

So what I hear time and time again is we want affordable healthcare.

So what more can we do to drive down costs, whether it's PBM reform, going after some of these big pharmaceutical companies who may be doing some things in the dark?

same with the big health insurance companies.

I think there's a lot more transparency needed to help fix healthcare and drive those costs down.

The Unaffordable Care Act certainly has been pouring it on lately.

Those costs have just exponentially gone up since Obamacare obviously got into place.

And so it's going to be my goal to help drive down costs and reign in the cost of healthcare.

I think part of that is on transparency, but part of it's on accountability.

And so what we're seeing is, and you talk about peeling back the layers of the onion and wanting that to continue.

you, we have to be willing to do the deep dives and hold these agencies accountable and support the administration in doing that as a member of the Appropriations Committee and I don't know what committee I would be on in the Senate.

I like being an appropriator because we are able to do a lot of that oversight that's needed on taxpayer dollars.

Turns out that's really important to follow the money and make sure it's going to the right places.

But there is more to do there to make sure we're weeding out the waste, fraud and abuse in the government and also reducing the size and scope of government, both on the regulatory side and then again on the spending side.

So I would say you'll see that effort continue and I look forward to being a part of it.

And like I said, I've got the skill set.

I know how to hit the

on day one and be ready to go and survive once in the US Senate.

Let me ask you a question about your current job.

You go back on August 31st.

And my understanding is that Speaker Johnson has a reconciliation bill that is teed up that would include some voter integrity provisions as well.

As you understand that, and again, until it actually shows up, who knows what the exact language is, but broadly speaking, I mean, what do you think the prospect is?

with regard to, I guess, any topic of getting something done before election day, because again, October is lost and there's a end of a fiscal year to deal with.

What can we expect from the house before?

the October adjournment.

Yeah, well, and I think the speaker was smart and he was right.

Unfortunately, it's very frustrating that we end up in this position every election year.

And the calendar date of September 30th comes the same date every year.

And I get very frustrated, especially because I've done a lot of the committee work to get these bills out of committee and to the floor to get the regular appropriations process done.

So again, I hope we get back to a place where we have more regular order.

But I think that we'll see the CR hopefully pass so that that takes that issue off the table.

Democrats want the government.

to shut down.

I firmly believe that because they would love to see the chaos and dysfunction that would cause the country.

I think

Most voters are smart enough to know that they would be the ones who would be responsible for that for that very reason.

And I think that's why they've come to the table on at least passing a CR to get past the election.

I think that when you look at reconciliation and especially with voter integrity, I think it's critical.

I don't know if we'll be able to get something in place before this year's election, frankly.

I do think we're up against kind of a time deadline and that's disappointing because I have voted for these election integrity measures through the House at least three times.

be more now.

We had a voter ID bill on the floor before we left for our August work period.

But I do think voter integrity is absolutely essential.

We do have strong voter ID laws on the books here in Iowa.

And that's what I know is at least our election here in Iowa is going to be safe and secure.

It should be easy to vote and hard to cheat.

And so I think there's five different forms of ID you can show here in Iowa to be able to vote in our elections.

And we have same-day voter registration.

So we have a very accessible elections process with the accountability.

So I do think we need to be working on getting something across the finish line.

I think the Save America Act is a great bill verifying who you are, who you say you are, and that you're a United States citizen.

Look at what happened in New Jersey, where all of these people got automatically registered to vote and some illegals were registered and then voted.

They said this couldn't happen, right?

That we can't have illegals voting, but they did.

My opponent, by the way, Josh Truex supports automatic voter registration through that process without the accountability there.

So again, a point where I would say I am for voter integrity and voter ID, and my Democrat opponent opposes those simple protection measures for our elections.

Congresswoman Ashley Hinson, Northeast Iowa's second district, the Republican nominee for U.S.

Senate, here in her role as a candidate.

AshleyHinson.com is the website.

Thank you kindly for the time and you're welcome here anytime.

Thank you, Jeff, for having me and always great to talk with your listeners.

Thank you so much.

This is where Iowa comes to talk.

News Talk 1540, KXEL.