Hinson, Turek spar over gas, tariffs, Iran
Candidates for U.S. Senate in Iowa debated plans to alleviate concerns over gas prices, the U.S. military conflict in Iran and tariffs, as partisan control of the upper chamber in Congress hangs in the balance.
Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson and Democrat Iowa state Rep. Josh Turek are competing for the pivotal Senate seat. The Cook Political Report ranks Iowa’s Senate race as one of seven “toss up” races where either party has a good chance of winning the seat.
Turek called for a temporary suspension of the federal gas tax, a ban on diesel exports and opening availability of the strategic oil reserves. He blamed the U.S. military conflict in Iran for rising gas prices and slammed Hinson for voting against a war powers resolution that would limit President Donald Trump’s ability to escalate the military conflict.
“This is because of this war in Iran and a war that Ashley Hinson has voted in favor of seven times,” Turek said. “It is hurting Iowans, and it’s hurting Iowans in a unique way and we need to provide some relief to Iowans.”
Hinson also called for a temporary pause on diesel exports and a suspension of state and federal gas taxes. However, she urged caution against suspending the gas tax for too long, citing concerns over roads and bridges that would not have funding for repairs.
“While people are getting squeezed at the pump, we want to make sure that we’re also having a conversation about roads and bridges later on,” Hinson said.
Both Hinson and Turek called for an “immediate end” to the U.S. military conflict in Iran. They cited rising gas and fertilizer prices as a motivation to end the conflict. The two candidates agreed, however, that Iran should not possess a nuclear weapon.
“I don’t think we need another resolution, and I certainly don’t want to see the president not be able to do an orderly end to this war,” Hinson said. “You look at what happened when President Biden did the withdrawal hastily out of Afghanistan, and we lost 13 service members, including an Iowan at Abbey Gate. We don’t need to lose another Iowan.”
Hinson and Turek also diverged on tariff policies under the Trump administration. Turek said the tariff policies have closed global trading markets and disproportionately hurt Iowa farmers while elevating adversarial nations.
“We certainly need strategic tariffs and tariffs to protect American jobs and to protect American manufacturing, but not off the backs of the agricultural industry and not off the backs of small family farms,” Turek said.
He called for an immediate repeal of the Trump administration’s tariff policies and a federal right to repair, which keeps Iowa farmers from relying on foreign materials to fix farming equipment. Hinson, however, said the tariffs are used to balance the trade relationships between the United States and other allies. She touted her leadership on the Protecting American Industry and Labor bill, an effort to give the U.S. Department of Justice greater authority in pursuing foreign nations for imbalances in trade deals.
“We should be negotiating and getting them to the table to get better deals and more access to markets,” Hinson said. “We should be holding the bad actors accountable at the same time.”
Hinson and Turek both praised the proposed $15 billion Iowa steel mill, announced by President Donald Trump in September. The mill is expected to produce 1,700 new jobs and provide an annual production capacity of 7.5 million tons of steel per year.
Turek touted his work in the Iowa House of Representatives to advance an incentives package on the steel mill. Hinson credited the mill’s production with passage of the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, passed in July 2025. Trump has credited the administration’s tariff policies for the mill’s construction.
“This is one of those projects that really can transform a region and can transform a state,” Turek said. “I was proud to be able to vote for this because we need the jobs here in Iowa, and we need the manufacturing jobs here.”
Turek called for higher taxes on billionaires and corporations to fund social welfare programs including Medicaid and Social Security. Hinson criticized Turek’s approach and said raising taxes was not the only solution to securing welfare benefits for Americans.
“I was able to get the Social Security Fairness Act across the finish line in the House, a bill that makes sure that these first responders and classroom folks are actually able to get the benefits that are owed to them,” Hinson said. “I’ve worked across the aisle to make sure we were getting that done.”
Voters will head to the polls in Iowa on Nov. 3 to determine who their next U.S. Senator will be and have an impact on the makeup of the chamber. Early voting starts Oct. 14.
Sunny
