By
/ CBS News
Sioux City, Iowa — President Trump is set to rally Thursday with Rep. Ashley Hinson in Iowa as he seeks to boost Republican candidates in a political environment that has dimmed for the party — prompting modest pushback from the very candidates he's supporting.
Hinson, who is running for Iowa's open Senate seat, initially pledged to be the president's "top ally" in the upper chamber. But as she faces off against Democratic state Rep. Josh Turek in a contest that, like several in the Hawkeye State, has grown more competitive than expected, she's adjusted that commitment in recent weeks.
When she and Turek went head-to-head at a debate earlier this month, the former local news anchor said she would be Mr. Trump's ally when it's "important for Iowa." But she said she would "push back on him" when it's needed — as she said she would regardless of who's in the White House.
Last week, Hinson told Fox News: "If he's going to say something that's wrong, I'm going to challenge him on it."
"I'm not afraid to say, 'hey, I disagree with you on this,'" she said. "But I'll be an ally to somebody when they're with me."
For Republicans, the Senate race in Iowa is just one of several in which Democrats appear competitive despite Mr. Trump winning the state by double digits in 2024. Iowa has been hit hard by high energy prices and last year's U.S.-China trade war, which led Beijing to boycott American soybeans. It's a picture that appeared unthinkable at the outset of the cycle — and puts Republicans' Senate majority on the line.
Hinson, who's represented the state in the House since 2021, said she would be at the rally on Thursday to welcome Mr. Trump to Iowa, "because I think this is a contrast election."
As the nation experiences challenges, she posed the question: Who do Iowans want at the helm?
"You want a mom, a minivan-driving mom who's common sense, who's driving that common sense back into Washington, D.C.," she said. "I think that's what Iowans want as their U.S. senator."
Hinson has made the minivan motif central to her campaign. She connected the image to her emphasis on working with Mr. Trump for Iowans earlier this week, describing a recent call with the president.
"I had just finished dropping off the boys, I was ready to run an errand," Hinson said at an event in Des Moines geared toward moms, alongside Sen. Katie Britt. "And I see pop up on my caller ID in my minivan, 'DJT.'"
She continued, "'Ashley, it's your favorite president,' that's how he introduced himself."
Hinson said the call lasted five minutes and that Mr. Trump was "just checking in on us here in Iowa." She said she thanked the president for his efforts to move forward on trade with China and asked about a deal for China to buy more soybeans.
At the event, Hinson also delivered her latest break with the president, according to Semafor, telling reporters, "I don't think we need to be making any more deals with Russia," regarding Mr. Trump's waiver of sanctions against Moscow.
The criticism follows Hinson's move to separate herself from the president's handling of the war with Iran late last month. Tucked within a post expressing support for methods to combat high prices, such as a pause on diesel exports, Hinson made one of the first splits by a GOP Senate candidate with the president over the war, writing: "The war needs to be brought to a successful and immediate end."
The statement appeared in contrast to Hinson's vote earlier in September, when the House considered a resolution aimed at reining in the president in Iran. While two other Iowa Republicans locked in tight races supported the resolution, Hinson opposed it.
At the debate a couple weeks later, Turek pressed Hinson over those votes, saying during a discussion on energy costs: "We are in this situation because of this unnecessary war in Iran that Ashley Hinson voted in favor of continuing."
Hinson clarified during the debate that she believes the war must be brought to an "immediate and successful end" by not allowing Iran to have a nuclear weapon and by making sure that U.S. allies in the region are protected. Asked why she doesn't support the efforts to pass war powers resolutions in Congress, Hinson said, "I don't think we need another resolution."
"And I certainly don't want to see the president not be able to do a orderly end to this war," she added.
Thursday's rally marks the president's second visit to Iowa this year, after he kicked off campaigning in the midterms with a trip to the Des Moines area in January. Mr. Trump also announced plans last month for the largest steel plant in U.S. history to be built in Iowa, in an Oval Office event with Hinson in attendance. During the announcement, the president pledged to visit the state for a "great rally" to help get the Republican candidates elected.
"We'll save you a good Iowa pork chop, sir," Hinson replied.