Republican Ashley Hinson has split with President Donald Trump over his diesel deal with Russia, saying she planned to tell him it was a "bad idea" a day before he was set to travel to Iowa to rally for her on Thursday. Iowa is among this year's most crucial Senate races, as Democrat Josh Turek and Hinson, a House representative, vie for the open seat left by retiring Republican Senator Joni Ernst. Polls continue to show a tight race between the two after their first debate on October 7, where tariffs, immigration and voting records played a major role.
A second debate was held last week, and the candidates sparred again over the Iran war, tariffs and immigration. Turek's campaign and Iowa's Democrats have targeted Hinson over her congressional voting history, in which she voted seven times to continue U.S. involvement in the Iran war, the most recent being in September when seven Republicans voted with Democrats to block Trump from further military action in Iran. Hinson was not among them.
Turek's campaign told Newsweek on Thursday that her comments were an attempt to "rewrite her record". "It’s easy to send a tweet or release a statement, but when the choice came – seven times – Hinson voted to continue the war because she is a multimillionaire who doesn’t care that Iowans are paying more," a Turek campaign spokesperson said. "Josh Turek has been clear for months that this reckless war that is driving up costs for Iowans needs to end immediately.” Hinson told NBC News this week that she hopes the conflict ends soon.
Newsweek reached out to Hinson's campaign by email for comment on Thursday. Trump is rallying in Sioux City, Iowa, on Thursday as part of a push to boost Republican turnout and support in the final weeks before the midterm elections. The president is scheduled to deliver remarks at 6 p.m.
Hinson made the comments about Trump's diesel deal during an interview with NBC that was posted on Wednesday night. "I think that's a bad idea. I don’t think we should be making deals with Russia," Hinson said when asked what she would tell the president regarding Russia and Iran.
"I do want to see the war come to an end as soon as possible. I want it to be successful." Earlier this month, Trump announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to supply millions of tons of diesel fuel to global markets, saying the arrangement would help lower fuel prices that have remained near record highs ahead of November's midterm elections. The announcement sparked immediate pushback, including from Republican lawmakers, who argued that the U.S. should not allow Russia to export its oil amid its war with Ukraine.
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