5 Takeaways From the First Iowa Senate Debate
New York Times · LC · trust 59/100
In a top Senate battleground, Representative Ashley Hinson, the Republican nominee, sparred with Josh Turek, her Democratic rival, on policy issues ranging from Medicaid to term limits.
Share full article Polls show Representative Ashley Hinson and Josh Turek, a state representative, in a tight Senate race in Iowa. Credit... Pool photo by Cody Scanlan By Bayliss Wagner
The debate on Wednesday in Johnston, Iowa, came a week before early voting begins in a red state that has become increasingly competitive as President Trump’s approval ratings have sunk. Polls including a recent New York Times/Siena survey show a neck-and-neck race that could decide control of the Senate. The two candidates will debate on Tuesday night for a second and final time .
The unpopularity of the war with Iran has dominated these midterms, and Mr. Turek sought to capitalize on voters’ unhappiness early and often.
Ms. Hinson has voted against House resolutions calling on Mr. Trump to end the war or seek congressional approval for it. Mr. Turek criticized her for those votes and spoke about his father’s exposure to Agent Orange in the Vietnam War. As a result, Mr. Turek noted, he was born with spina bifida, a birth defect.
“I’m an example of the generational consequences to these forever wars,” said Mr. Turek, who uses a wheelchair.
He also sought to tie the Mideast conflict to voters’ daily lives: “Iowans out there, when you’re struggling at the pump, that is because of Ashley Hinson,” he said near the end.
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