Republican Ashley Hinson wins second term representing northeast Iowa in Congress

U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, a Marion Republican, defeatedDemocratic challenger Liz Mathis of Hiawatha on Tuesday in the hard-fought race to represent Iowa's 2nd congressional district.

Hinson had an 8 percentage-point margin, 54% to 46%, over Mathis in a race that originally was considered competitive.

"It was very clear that tonight Iowans embraced the Iowa way, and we rejected the D.C. way," Hinson told supporters in Hiawatha. "We embraced common sense — the minivan-driving mom from Marion," she said, gesturing toward herself.

The race had pitted two women already well known to the voters. Each had been a TV anchor in the Cedar Rapids-Waterloo media market that blankets most of the northeast Iowa district.

Hinson, a former Iowa state representative who grew up in West Des Moines, won the seat in 2020 from Democratic incumbent Abby Finkenauer, who in turn had defeated Republican incumbent Rod Blum in 2018. Hinson had an attention-grabbing debut in Congress, joining the powerful Appropriations Committee in her first term.

In her campaign, Hinson criticized President Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, saying Democratic control in Washington has led to inflation, higher taxes and rising crime.

"Iowans are demanding that we restore fiscal responsibility in Washington, D.C. We need to unleash American energy to combat inflation and we need to secure our southern border. So I promise to continue the fight for those priorities," Hinson said.

Mathis, who headed a nonprofit social service agency after leaving TV, was elected to the Iowa Senate in 2011. She campaigned on her reputation as a journalist, saying she had worked to tell Iowans the truth and would continue to do so.

Mathis conceded Tuesday night, congratulating Hinson on her re-election while saying she was "disappointed" with the result.

Hinson had outraised Mathis, raking in $6.5 million to her opponent's $3.7 million, and outspent her by more than two-to-one. In her campaign, she focused on fighting inflation, calling in particular for an energy cost-reduction strategy that would prioritize Iowa-made biofuels such as ethanol. She also said she would support completion of the Keystone XL pipeline that would transport oil from the Canadian tar sands to the U.S. Gulf coast.

In addition, Hinson called for expanding vocational education to help students prepare for high-paying jobs without running up massive tuition bills; defending the Second Amendment while working to make schools more secure; and limiting regulation on farmers.

Mathis said she would attack inflation by backing an all-of-the-above approach to energy production that would include support for ethanol. She called for lowering prescription drug prices, including protecting Medicare's ability to negotiate pharmaceutical costs. She also pointed to what she said was a record of support for bipartisan measures as a state senator, such as voting to eliminate the inheritance tax and cutting taxes on commercial properties.

On guns, she said she would support universal background checks.

She drew her largest contrast with Hinson on abortion rights. She accused Hinson of backing legislation that would ban all abortions nationwide, and said she would work to restore women's right to abortion.

Mathis and Hinson had been scheduled to appear in a televised debate last month, but it was canceled when Hinson was briefly hospitalized with a kidney infection.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Rep. Ashley Hinson re-elected in Iowa's second congressional district