BETTENDORF, Iowa — Democrats are trying to tie Iowa Republicans to President Donald Trump, betting that the president’s sagging approval ratings will doom the GOP this fall. But Republicans say running alongside Trump, who won Iowa by 13 points in 2024, suits them just fine.
At a Tuesday evening rally in the eastern part of the state, Reps. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa) and Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa) both proudly hailed their alliances with Trump.
Hinson is running for the state’s open Senate seat, while Miller-Meeks is seeking a fourth term in the toss-up 1st District. The Iowa primary is June 2.
For Miller-Meeks in particular, tying herself to Trump may be a savvy strategy. Last cycle, Miller-Meeks survived a surprisingly spirited right-wing primary challenge from David Pautsch, who got 44% of the vote. This year, Pautsch is running again, but Trump endorsed Miller-Meeks early in the cycle.
“We have a primary, and you all know that. And President Trump endorsed me, even knowing that,” Miller-Meeks told the crowd on Tuesday.
After the event, we asked Miller-Meeks her take on Democrats trying to connect Republicans to Trump.
“Republicans are going to be tied to the president regardless,” Miller-Meeks responded. “It’s up to each and every individual to distinguish why they should be reelected.”
In 2024, Miller-Meeks won reelection by a fifth of a percentage point over Democrat Christina Bohannan while Trump carried the seat by eight points. Bohannan is running again this fall.
The Senate. Hinson, who’s the presumptive GOP Senate nominee, said she enjoyed “the great privilege of being endorsed by our president, Donald J. Trump. He got behind our campaign that very first week we launched, because he knew that he needed a fighter.”
In our conversations with the Democratic primary contenders — Zach Wahls and Josh Turek — both accused Hinson of being too close to Trump.
