The Scoreboard: Josh Wins Debate #1 As Hinson Blunders on Social Security (Again), Refuses to Answer for Her Corruption

The Scoreboard: Josh Wins Debate #1 As Hinson Blunders on Social Security (Again), Refuses to Answer for Her Corruption 

TLDR: Hinson called millennials “the worst group of savers,” while Josh reiterated that Hinson got rich while raising Iowans’ prices

Des Moines, IA — Welcome back to The Scoreboard, a weekly recap of Iowa’s U.S. Senate Race where we keep the score of Josh’s wins, Ashley Hinson’s airballs, and the must-see moments as Team Turek plays ‘til the final buzzer on November 3rd.

With peak harvest season underway, Josh is continuing to meet Iowans across the state where they are – including in the combine in Colfax, Iowa to speak directly with a registered Republican farmer about the impact of Hinson’s seven votes to continue the Iran war on this year’s harvest.  

Later this week, Josh pushed Hinson on her votes to continue a war that is driving up the price of gas, diesel, groceries, leaving her “uncertain about how to respond.” Meanwhile she flubbed on Social Security, saying she would raise the retirement age and calling millennials  “the worst group of savers.” Josh’s debate victory comes after months of travelling Iowa to hear directly about the struggles facing everyday Iowans and how Hinson’s votes have made tough times even harder for Iowa families.

🥇Gold Medal Moment: Josh connects with a registered Republican Iowa farmer that is struggling due to Ashley Hinson’s votes for the war and tariffs.

Farmers across Iowa are struggling from the Iran war Hinson voted seven times to continue and the tariffs she voted five times to continue, all while Hinson has gotten up to $8 million richer since she got to Congress. 

Tuesday’s edition of MSNOW’s Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell showed footage of Josh’s conversation with Marcus, a farmer, former Trump voter, registered Republican, and Turek supporter, as he was harvesting this year’s corn. 

The next morning on CBS Morning News, Marcus spoke about why he is crossing the aisle to support Josh this year.

Hinson can’t convince farmer Marcus Tomlonovic, fed up with how more tariffs make it harder to export his soybeans and with how the war spiked diesel prices, this three-time Trump voter is making a change.  

Watch Josh on Tuesday night’s The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell HERE. 

▶️ Play of the Week: Josh used his last words of Wednesday’s debate to connect with Iowans about the pain Hinson has caused.

“Iowans out there, when you’re struggling at the pump, that is because of Ashley Hinson seven times to vote for the war. Farmers, as you’re out there in harvesting season, when you’re paying an all-time high on diesel, that is because of her voting seven times in favor of the war. I will go up there and fight for Iowans, not for billionaires and large corporations.”

WATCH Josh’s final statement HERE. 

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🎤 Commentators’ Debate Takes: Josh made it clear to both national and state-wide political analysts that Ashley Hinson has made life more expensive for Iowans because of her corruption that rigs the system against working-class Iowans. 

• New York Times: [Turek] looked directly into the camera and told viewers, “Iowans out there, when you’re struggling at the pump, that is because of Ashley Hinson,” before citing her votes against nonbinding resolutions that called for Trump to end the Iran war or seek congressional approval. Hinson seemed uncertain about how to respond.
• Raw Story: [Hinson] scrambled to shoot down accusations that her husband is a “shadow lobbyist” for the insurance industry.
• The Des Moines Register: Turek, a state representative from Council Bluffs, criticized Hinson’s continued votes against limiting the president’s war powers as several Iowa soldiers have died in the conflict and the war has sent the costs of gas, diesel and fertilizer skyrocketing.
• The Washington Examiner: Iowa’s Democratic Senate nominee Josh Turek slammed Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) during their first debate by highlighting Hinson’s role in passing Republican cuts to Medicaid spending through last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Turek emphasized several times during the debate that Hinson voted in favor of a $1 trillion reduction in spending for Medicaid, the partially federally funded health insurance program for low-income adults and children.
• The Hill: “We’re looking at diesel prices being at an all-time high as our farmers are going into harvesting time and leading to a furthering increase of input costs, like fertilizer,” Turek said, adding Iowa farmers are telling him it affects their bottom lines and that “I certainly don’t want to see Iran have a nuclear weapon, but we have to end this war.”
• The Washington Post: Turek criticized Hinson for becoming wealthier while serving in Congress — a charge that his campaign has also made in TV ads. “We’re sending people to D.C. like Ashley Hinson that have used her position of power to become 15 times more wealthy as she’s voting for cuts to health care, food assistance and the Social Security Administration,” Turek said.
• The Washington Sun: “This is the corruption that we have to address,” said Turek, who tried to cast Hinson as someone who has used her time in Congress to benefit herself. Documents previously reviewed by The Sun showed that [Hinson’s husband] was credited with helping to secure a meeting for insurance lobbyists with Hinson and other lawmakers from Iowa.
• We Are Iowa: Turek also alleged that Hinson became 15-times richer during her active stint in the U.S. House. “She’s taken $50,000 of taxpayer dollars, even though she’s a multi-millionaire, to give herself a luxury D.C. apartment and has had her husband operating as a shadow lobbyist,” Turek said.

🎥 Highlight Reel: This week, Josh received the endorsement of the Iowa Professional Fire Fighters Association (IPFF) and hosted a roundtable with cancer patients and healthcare providers focused on how high costs are impacting access to life-saving treatment.

On Monday, Josh received the endorsement of the Iowa Professional Fire Fighters Association (IPFF) at a press conference where Iowa fire fighters spoke about Josh’s record of fighting – and delivering – for them by expanding coverage for Iowa’s emergency responders.. As one of Iowa’s most effective and bipartisan leaders, Josh has worked across the aisle more than 700 times, including to support those that protect and defend Iowa communities. Meanwhile, Ashley Hinson received a 0% rating on the International Association of Fire Fighters this session. 

On Thursday, Josh hosted a roundtable to discuss the impact of rising costs with cancer patients and healthcare providers. Addressing Iowa’s cancer crisis is personal to Josh, and he is laser-focused on putting an end to Iowa’s rising cancer rate, investing in research, holding cancer-causing chemical companies accountable, and ensuring Iowans can access the care they need.

Just since Ashley Hinson got to Washington, 842 health care entities have closed in Iowa. Hinson voted to rip health care away from 110,000 Iowans, voted to hike healthcare premiums for 119,000 Iowans, and voted against capping the cost of prescription drugs — even as Iowa faces a cancer crisis. Hinson even voted to make drugs more expensive for cancer patients. 

🏀 Airball: “Iowa’s Ashley Hinson slams the savings habits of millennials”

The flub of Wednesday night’s debate was Hinson’s response to a question on Social Security solvency, where Hinson both called to raise the retirement age and blamed questions about the program’s stability on the …. saving habits of millennials (?). 

That moment from Wednesday night’s isn’t the first time Hinson has had an out-of-touch take on Social Security. While in Congress, Hinson voted to cut hundreds of millions of dollars from Social Security. She also supported cuts to Social Security that forced Iowa seniors to cross state lines to get help with their benefits.

What’s more, Hinson has previously made clear that she was “open to raising the Social Security retirement age” and has a 0% voting record with the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.