(Radio Iowa) – Republican Congresswoman Ashley Hinson says Democrats want to push the country past the brink and that’s why she’s running for the U-S Senate. “We’re embarking on a journey to continue fighting alongside President Trump to transform the America First agenda into our America First Future,” Hinson said. Hinson hosted a rally in Cedar Rapids Sunday afternoon to formally kick off her U.S. Senate campaign.

Hinson led the crowd in a round of applause for fellow Republican Joni Ernst, who has chosen not to seek a third term in the U-S Senate — and Hinson emphasized that Trump endorsed her shortly after she entered the race. “Mr. President, I want to say, ‘Thank you for your support. I will not let you down,'” Hinson said, to applause. Hinson, who has been a member of the U-S House since 2021, says her political agenda is focused on working families, kids, small businesses, seniors and veterans.

“I’m a mama bear who refuses to stand by and allow my kids to grow up in a country run by liberals who want to ditch the American experiment and set up some sort of crazy liberal dystopia…but that’s the vision the Democrats in this race in Iowa are fighting for…They want to push our country past the brink. Guess what? I’m not going to let them do that. Are you with me?” Hinson asked and the crowd cheered. A handful of Democrats are running for their party’s 2026 nomination for the U-S Senate. Hinson singled out one of them — State Senator Zach Wahls of Coralville.

Ashley Hinson (R-Marion) hosted a campaign kick off rally in Cedar Rapids on Sept. 14, 2025.

“We rejected the last Walz who sought to destroy our country. We’ll do the same for this one. The same woke ideology, a little bit different spelling, but we get it,” Hinson said. That’s a reference to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, the Democratic Party’s 2024 V-P nominee. Wahls — the Democrat from Coralville — says Ernst ran for the hills because she couldn’t defend her voting record — and Hinson has taken the same votes in the House. “I think that there is a real frustration with what’s currently happening with the economy and we know it’s gotten worse over time,” Wahls said, “and it will continue to get worse unless we elect new leaders.”

Jackie Norris, chair of the Des Moines School Board says Hinson will have to answer for her votes on the campaign trail. “Ashley Hinson has to own the same thing that Joni Ernst did,” Norris said, “Medicaid cuts, rural health care being decimated.” Josh Turek, of Council Bluffs, a state representative, says Hinson’s voting record shows she’s ignoring income inequality. “We literally have two Iowas now or two Americas,” Turek said. “I mean, we’re living through a second ‘Guilded Age’ at this point.”

Nathan Sage of Indianola, the former executive director of Knoxville’s Chamber of Commerce, calls Hinson full MAGA.  “Iowa continues to crumble and our democracy continues to crumble because people like her are voting the way they’re voting,” Sage said, “and not fighting for the people they’re supposed to represent.”

The primary election — on the 2nd of June — is 260 days away.