FULL DEBATE: Iowa Senate Debate - Ashley Hinson and Josh Turek face off in rematch

[1:57] Good Tuesday evening, everybody live from the Hill Studios in Washington, D.C. [2:00] This is the Hill Decision Desk 26 debate night, and it is a late night in the great state of Iowa [2:06] where Josh Turek and Ashley Henson will go head-to-head before the November 3rd election. [2:12] One final time to see who will fill Joni Ernst's empty Senate seat. [2:16] My name is Corey Smith. We're going to be with you for the next 30 minutes or so, [2:19] getting you prepped for this debate, and then on the backside, [2:22] we'll review everything that we learned, assuming we learned something tonight. [2:26] Here to guide us through are my partners in crime. [2:29] We have Drew Petromo, Washington correspondent for the Hill, [2:32] and Caroline Vakil, campaign reporter for the Hill. [2:34] Good to see both of you. Thanks for being with us again on a late Tuesday night. [2:39] But let's get on the ground. Let's go to Iowa. [2:41] That's where we have News Nation correspondent Mills Hayes. [2:45] She is standing by, ready to watch this debate go down. [2:48] Mills, good evening to you. I know you've been out there talking to voters in the Hawkeye State. [2:51] What do they need to hear from both of these candidates tonight to sway them one way or the other? [2:56] Well, good to be with you guys. The candidates are both here, and this debate starts in the next 30 minutes. [3:03] And the voters that we spoke with, they care about a wide range of issues. [3:07] But polling does show that more than 40 percent of Iowa voters say that they're most concerned about the economy, [3:13] the cost of living, and then there is the state of the democracy, as well as immigration. [3:17] So those are really important to a lot of the people we spoke with. [3:20] But another issue that we kept hearing from people on the ground is water quality. [3:26] So that is something a little bit different than maybe some other Senate debates that we're watching. [3:30] Water quality is a big issue here in the state of Iowa, as well as cancer rates, [3:34] because here in Iowa, they actually have the second highest rate of new cancer cases, [3:40] when across the country, we're actually seeing a decline in cancer rates. [3:43] And so that's attributed to some of that water quality issues. [3:47] And so a lot of the voters we spoke with today want the candidates to touch on these topics. [3:52] And we didn't really see them touch on those topics in the last debate. [3:56] They, of course, talked about things like Social Security, the war in Iran, [4:00] those fuel and diesel prices that we've seen really rise that have been really difficult for the farmers here in Iowa. [4:06] I mean, that's also a big concern in Iowa, because farmers are really hurting because of higher fertilizer and diesel prices. [4:15] And so that's cutting into their bottom line. [4:17] And they want to see something from these candidates that could help them. [4:20] And it's interesting because Congresswoman Republican Ashley Henson, [4:24] she has been endorsed by the PAC arm of the National Farm Bureau's union here in Iowa. [4:31] But on Turek's side, he actually has the endorsement of the union that represents farmers. [4:36] And so we are seeing kind of, you know, different views coming from farmers. [4:40] But really, this is the last chance for them to talk directly to voters on a debate stage [4:46] and to go head to head before people go to the ballots. [4:50] Mills, are you talking about something like water quality? [4:52] It would seem to me then that these voters are really keyed in that they're really paying attention to this race. [4:57] Certainly, it's getting a lot of national attention. [5:00] Do you get the sense that a lot of the folks watched the last time these two were on stage together [5:05] and want to learn more? [5:06] Or is it a case of voters just now starting to pay attention before they head to the polls next month? [5:12] I would say for most of the people we spoke with, they're just now starting to pay attention [5:18] unless they were kind of already tuned in. [5:20] It's really almost impossible to ignore this race at this point, [5:23] because when you turn on the TV here in Iowa, [5:26] you're just bombarded with campaign ads from multiple different races. [5:30] And so they're constantly seeing this, whether it be on TV, TikTok, social media, [5:34] they're getting these ads from these candidates. [5:36] And we spoke with people who told us today that they still don't know who they're going to vote for. [5:41] But what's so interesting about this race is that this really wasn't supposed to be a toss-up or a competitive race. [5:47] I mean, Iowa is a state that President Trump won three times. [5:50] Most recently, he won it by 13 points. [5:53] So to see such a competitive race is kind of interesting. [5:57] And according to our DDHQ average of recent polling, it's really tight right now. [6:02] I mean, Democratic State Representative Josh Turek, he has a slight lead with 46 percent compared to Ashley Henson's 45 percent. [6:09] And another thing that we're watching, too, which could potentially play into the Senate race, is the governor's race. [6:15] Because according to the polling there, the Democrat state auditor Rob Sands, [6:19] he's leading by double digits against Republican businessman Zach Lawn. [6:24] So there is a lot of people that we spoke with here on the ground that are actually more concerned about the governor's race. [6:30] And with that high support on Rob Sands' sign, it could bleed into the Senate race, potentially boosting Turek as well. [6:37] So many different storylines to watch. [6:39] That's why we love elections. [6:40] Mills, thank you so much for breaking it down for us from Des Moines. [6:43] Enjoy the rest of your night. [6:44] We hope that they're feeding you, as always. [6:46] And we'll speak to you next time. [6:48] Thanks so much. [6:49] All right. [6:49] Let's come back here in studio. [6:51] Caroline Drew here. [6:52] Just listening to Mills talk about something like water quality, being on the mind of voters, guys. [6:58] Dare I say, unlike last week, we actually may learn a lot about these candidates tonight and about where they stand. [7:06] Instead of two candidates who are just kind of lobbying insults at one another. [7:10] Caroline, I'll start with you. [7:11] What are you looking for tonight? [7:13] And perhaps we'll ask the age-old question on any debate night. [7:16] Who has to have a better night tonight? [7:18] Well, it's an interesting question. [7:21] I think to take a step back, what am I watching for tonight? [7:24] I'm watching to see how Congresswoman Ashley Henson takes further steps to sort of distance herself from the Trump administration. [7:31] I believe that this will be the first debate since the Trump diesel deal with Russia was announced. [7:37] And so I saw some comments from her that she seemed a little anxious about rolling back sanctions on, you know, a country like Russia. [7:45] So I'm curious to see what she has to say more about that. [7:48] I'm sure they'll talk about it. [7:49] It's difficult because obviously gas prices are high in a place like Iowa. [7:53] But at the same time, you know, Russia is seen as, you know, sort of enemy for the U.S. [7:59] in a lot of ways amongst a lot of lawmakers. [8:01] And so I think that is going to be something that she has to walk a fine line on there. [8:06] But in terms of, you know, who is having the onus to make a good night, it's kind of on both of them at this point. [8:12] I mean, for Henson, it's do no harm. [8:14] It's for Turek making sure he has standout moments to prove to Democrats nationwide why they should be, you know, keep investing in his campaign. [8:22] Drew, what do you think? [8:23] Look, I mean, I think last week it was interesting. [8:25] We were talking about Michigan, right? [8:26] And that is a state that is heavily reliant on manufacturing. [8:29] When you think Michigan, you think of the auto industry. [8:31] So that is what the candidates often focus on there. [8:34] Iowa, though, big agriculture state. [8:36] And this is a state where the policies that President Trump has employed when it comes to tariffs and trade wars are kind of coming home to roost. [8:44] I saw this graphic the other day. [8:45] It really struck me. [8:46] Iowa, number one for corn, number one for pigs, number one for eggs, number two for soybeans. [8:51] All of those affected by President Trump's trade policies and also the Iran war. [8:56] So in a state that you would think, especially in a Senate race, because Democrats have had some success there in presidential races. [9:02] If you look back to President Obama, he won the state twice. [9:05] But Senate candidates, there hasn't been a Democratic Senate candidate to win that state in almost 20 years. [9:09] And so for a Democrat to win here, you have to have a confluence of factors. [9:13] And they all seem to be kind of honing in on the Trump administration's trade policies. [9:19] And then that is Ashley Henson is not able to get out of the way of that crossfire. [9:24] She's trying to distance herself from the president on certain issues, especially those that affect the agriculture community. [9:31] But it's very difficult. [9:33] Yeah, Carolina. [9:33] I mean, how do you how do you thread that needle? [9:35] How do you play on voters who are disaffected with MAGA and with President Trump now because of the Iran war, because of tariffs and the impacts that it's had on them? [9:47] But they they still do support and they they can't bring themselves to support a Democrat. [9:52] I mean, how does to Drew's point, how does Henson, I guess, connect herself to the best parts of MAGA world while also distancing herself from the president while not turning on his voters, turning off his voters? [10:03] Sure. Well, you can see she's walking a fine line on something like the war in Iran. [10:07] She has called for Trump to end the war in Iran. [10:10] And you also see the splitting up the MAGA faction, by the way, as well, and Republicans who believe that this is deviated from his America first sort of, you know, focus. [10:18] And so in a lot of ways, she is sort of running tandem with some of the same supporters who helped elect Trump into office. [10:24] She's still a Republican at the end of the day, and she is running in a, you know, favorable, you know, Republican leaning state. [10:30] And so it doesn't mean that she needs to run away from everything the Trump administration is doing here. [10:35] And, you know, a lot of Senate Republicans have also tried to cast this as a referendum on the DSA, the far left faction of the party in power and kind of saying, you know, what will happen if they get elected as the majority here? [10:47] And so I expect that those to be, you know, continuing national themes that we hear across a lot of these campaigns. [10:52] She's obviously, again, trying to walk that fine line, but, you know, it doesn't mean she has to run away from, you know, nearly everything. [10:59] But it's a tough environment for her, for sure. [11:02] Go ahead, Jer. [11:02] I was just going to say on the DSA issue, I think there are a lot of Democrats that are having to figure out how to deal with that, and it's hurting some more than others. [11:09] I think a candidate like Josh Turek can lean into the fact that he had been a registered Republican, has been representative of one of the most conservative districts in the state that a Democrat has been elected to. [11:21] So he has some bipartisan ability to speak to voters. [11:26] And I think Ashley Henson, for her part, was bending over backwards in the last campaign to show that she's bipartisan, too. [11:32] Talked about how she's worked with Nancy Pelosi to get legislation across the finish line. [11:35] It's very interesting because that was kind of a no-holds-barred brawl that we saw in Michigan last week. [11:42] So far, the Iowa debate that we saw last week was pretty, you know, gloves on, very kind of Midwestern nice. [11:48] We didn't see the candidates really attacking each other. [11:50] It was kind of a refreshing discussion of policy positions. [11:53] Be interested to see if that lasts because as we get closer to early voting starts tomorrow in Iowa. [11:59] So as we get closer to that, I think the tension is building. [12:01] But I think the inclination from both of these candidates is to really discuss policy and keep the personal attacks off. [12:07] Yeah, look, and Ashley Henson's got an uphill battle to climb because she can talk about the high price of fuel and diesel and food and things like that and how farmers are struggling in the sense of the Iran war. [12:17] But all this stuff was happening even before that with the tariffs. [12:20] And I know Turek has tried to hit Henson on the tariff issue, but there are those farmers across America, not just in Iowa, who felt like the trade imbalance was hurting them. [12:32] Caroline, how does Henson talk to those rural voters and, again, thread that needle of, I feel your pain, but stick with Republicans because we know what ails you and what can actually turn this thing around? [12:44] Well, I think what you said there is key. [12:47] I think empathy, starting off with empathy and telling voters that you hear them, you understand that they have that economic pain and that they feel it, too, and that they understand. [12:56] This reminds me a lot of Biden in 2022 when he kept saying that he felt like the economy was great and the administration was pointing to numbers out there that voters just at the end of the day didn't care about. [13:05] So I think it's connecting with voters and understanding how they really feel. [13:08] She's obviously leaning into her bipartisan work, so I think that's going to be another area where she's going to lean into. [13:14] And she can look and say, listen, this is my record in Congress. [13:17] This is where I've fought and advocated for farmers on this front. [13:20] I'll do the same for you regardless of who's in power. [13:23] I expect that to be part of her spiel because, again, she's walking this fine balance between supporting Republican policies while also having to break with Trump on some of them. [13:32] I think one of the things she has in her back pocket is just that the word Democrat is a bad word in much of the state, and Democrats have had such little success there. [13:41] I think it's been 20 years since they won a governor's race and almost 20 years since they won a Senate race. [13:46] There's a reason behind that. [13:47] Democrats are largely in much of that state unpopular, and so she can lean into the fact of, look, you might think that he's a moderate Democrat, but at the end of the day, he is going to empower Chuck Schumer if the Democrats take over the Senate. [14:01] And do you actually want Chuck Schumer to have that power? [14:03] So I think that's kind of a strong argument for her, and she always has that in her back pocket. [14:08] Turek will lean into the fact that he is a moderate that has represented this rather conservative district and, in fact, himself been a Republican in the past. [14:16] And to just jump onto that point, I think Drew makes a good point here. [14:19] I think what's very tough for Turek is that this is a federal race. [14:22] It's not a gubernatorial or statewide race. [14:24] And so the way voters think about these candidates is going to be different. [14:26] And Rob Sands sort of has this advantage here because when we think about voters in statewide races, they have a closer connection to their state lawmakers, their governors. [14:34] They see them day to day, you know, tackling all sorts of things that are specific to their state. [14:39] When we talk about federal races for Congress, it very much feels like you're towing the party line and that people just see you as either team red or team blue. [14:47] And for Turek, he has to get over that hump of being just seen as team blue here in a way that might be a little bit easier for a Democrat like Rob Sands. [14:55] But isn't it, I would say, it's almost to Turek's benefit that, yes, this is a statewide race with national implications. [15:02] We know that. [15:02] But he can still get pretty granular when you're talking about rural voters, when you're talking about a lot of the college kids that are in places like Grand Rapids, like Des Moines, [15:12] that Turek is hoping to get on side for him to vote with. [15:16] I'm curious what you guys think of that younger voter pool that both of these candidates want to tap into. [15:22] We've got the conservative in Ashley Henson. [15:24] Not quite sure how lengthy her career as a television anchor was, but certainly she has a little bit of name recognition. [15:32] She is the congresswoman, after all. [15:35] Turek has the name recognition within the state. [15:37] How do they then sort of get their message out to those younger voters who may not be paying attention? [15:45] We are in the fall of the first semester of college. [15:47] There are certainly other things for these kiddos to do. [15:51] But they could have a very outsized influence in a state like Iowa. [15:55] I mean, every voting bloc just feels sort of like that swing group, right? [15:59] We talk about this voter, that voter, how they made the difference. [16:03] And really, it becomes a game of inches, not miles at the end of the day. [16:06] So I think for young voters, it can be a big deal. [16:09] And of course, if you're trying to get those low propensity voters, you're going to college campuses. [16:14] You're going to voters that maybe felt disaffected, didn't feel like they wanted to vote in past elections, trying to get them out. [16:20] The hard thing is that these voters are also very unreliable. [16:23] And so you're sort of putting your eggs in the basket with some of these voting blocs that may or may not come out for you at the end of the day. [16:29] But at the same time, if you don't try, you're going to get dinged for that, too. [16:33] So you have to put in some effort with some of these key voting blocs here. [16:38] Obviously, this is going to be really important for either candidate. [16:42] We'll see what happens, though. [16:44] I was going to say one of the things I'm really interested in watching, not just in Iowa, but across the country, is during the 2024 campaign, we saw a really effective outreach, especially to young men by the Trump administration. [16:54] Elon Musk and his Get Out the Vote campaign, they actually did much better than Republican candidates usually do with young people because of their ability to connect with young men. [17:04] There has been, at least if you look at the polling, some slippage in that support. [17:08] How does that manifest itself on Election Day? [17:10] Do those voters stay home? [17:11] Do they actually switch back and vote for Democrats? [17:13] These aren't voters that have kind of habitually voted for one party year after year after year, if we see with many voters. [17:20] Some of them, that might have been their first time ever voting, and there could be some buyer's remorse, considering things like the war in Iran, that I think many people felt like they were voting against foreign entanglements. [17:29] Do either of you think we are sitting here tonight if Joni Ernst doesn't just make a dumb comment with the, we're all going to die someday? [17:38] That seemed to be the end of her political career that has landed us with an open Senate seat in Iowa. [17:46] Had she not said that? [17:47] Had things maybe gone a little bit differently? [17:49] Do you think she's running for this seat again? [17:51] You know, I mean, I think that Iowa was going to be a difficult state. [17:54] I mean, I don't think there's anything that you look at Ashley Henson that, I mean, obviously there's some incumbency advantage. [18:02] So, I mean, I take your point there. [18:03] But I do think that Ashley Henson has shown herself to be a pretty effective candidate. [18:07] She's pretty nimble. [18:08] She talks about her bipartisanship. [18:10] She's not the most MAGA candidate out there. [18:13] And I mean, maybe you could make an argument that that hurts. [18:15] It is a state that President Trump did win three times. [18:18] But I think because of the impact of Trump's policies on the agriculture community, that was shaping up, going to shape up to be a difficult race for any Republican, especially in a midterm environment where President Trump is so unpopular. [18:31] Carolyn? [18:31] I think perhaps maybe she may also be looking and feeling relieved, looking at what some of her colleagues are going through right now and seeing how difficult a year it is. [18:40] It's very possible that she could have fared fine in this election cycle, but obviously she was going to have to work for it, particularly how we're seeing the winds kind of shaping up right now. [18:51] You see that looking over in Kansas right now where you've got both, you know, sort of candidate quality and then also just the national atmospherics that are hurting Roger Marshall right now. [19:00] And so I think for Joni Ernst, it's helpful. [19:03] I will also mention, too, not just that comment from the town hall, but she was a big proponent of doge. [19:08] And we saw early on in the cycle a lot of Democratic advertising of Elon Musk and the chainsaw that he used at CPAC. [19:16] And I think some Americans have soured on on doge since then. [19:20] So that may have also been, you know, something that she didn't have to necessarily weigh in on since she's not running for reelection again. [19:27] All right. So we are about 15 or so minutes out from this debate in Iowa between Congresswoman Ashley Henson and Josh Turek, the Democrat. [19:36] This is to fill the seat that is going to be vacated by Joni Ernst, who, as we just were talking about, is going to retire before or at the end of her term. [19:47] We got some personal attacks in the last debate between these two, an issue over per diems and paying back the lodging for Ashley Henson on some congressional trips and she dinged Josh Turek for for missing votes. [20:04] How what sort of dynamic does that create in a debate like this, Caroline, where you've got one candidate who served statewide and then another candidate who served in a congressional district? [20:15] Because if I'm the Turek campaign, I can't necessarily lay everything at Ashley Henson's feet. [20:20] The president is going to make the decisions he's going to make on tariffs on the Iran war. [20:24] Yeah, she didn't vote for the war powers resolution. [20:27] She says it's because it could strain, you know, withdrawal of troops, et cetera, et cetera. [20:32] But she does have the one big, beautiful bill either, you know, at her back, propelling her forward or as a weight around her neck. [20:39] And then on Josh Turek's, you know, Henson can point to some of the statewide issues that I was seeing and saying, aha, he was there. [20:46] And look where we are now. Why would you vote for continuation of those policies? [20:52] I just think it really sets up an interesting dynamic when you're talking about a candidate's records when you've got a congressional candidate versus a statewide candidate. [20:59] I think that's sort of both the beauty and the curse of running when you are a lawmaker running for a higher office is you have a record, but you have a record. [21:06] So you have to own it or you have to figure out how to navigate it. [21:09] And so for both of them, they're going to be pointing to each other's records, whether it's in the state legislature or in Congress, [21:15] and saying, you know, I don't agree with how they handled this issue and this is going to be a liability for Turek. [21:21] He might try to nationalize this more and say, you know, Henson is just going to follow along with her party if she's in the Senate or, you know, tie herself to the national party. [21:31] I'm sure, you know, Henson has been doing the same as well, you know, on the reverse. [21:35] But this is a very nationalized environment here and you're trying to take shots where you can. [21:40] One thing that undercuts that argument a little bit, though, is that Republicans control the state legislature and the governor's office. [21:46] So it's not like Josh Turek is really making a lot of calls of what policy actually gets passed inside the state of Iowa. [21:54] So it's a it's a it's uphill battle for any Democrat in the state legislature to get something passed. [22:00] So I don't know that voters directly conduct can tie the conditions in the state to the few Democrats that there are in the state legislature. [22:07] All right, Caroline, we are going to let you go to get prepared for this big debate tonight. [22:11] But thank you so much for joining us. [22:13] Drew's going to stick around for a little bit longer. [22:15] We are about 10 minutes out from debate night here or out there in Iowa, in Des Moines. [22:21] We're going to be watching it with you, have a recap on the backside of it. [22:24] Drew, we talked at the end of the Michigan debate about some of the issues that were not brought up, some of the questions that were not asked. [22:33] We've talked about the Iran war. [22:34] We've talked about tariffs. [22:35] We've talked about sort of personal wealth and some of the issues there. [22:38] What are some other issues that you'd be really interested for the moderator to ultimately ask tonight? [22:43] Yeah, you know, I would be interested if they end up getting into social issues. [22:46] We've seen Republicans try to make trans issues of really bring that into the campaign here. [22:51] You know, think about immigration. [22:54] Abortion is an important issue in Iowa that I think conservatives can make some inroads on that issue. [23:00] So maybe we get some social issues on this. [23:03] And then I'm also obviously always interested to see how much each candidate tries to kind of make themselves see bipartisan. [23:10] How much does Hinson lay into the fact that she, you know, will part with President Trump if it doesn't suit Iowa? [23:17] And how much will Turek kind of highlight the fact that he has been a Republican in the past and would be, has worked with Republicans to pass legislation in the state legislature? [23:26] Seems like more than other debates we've seen, there's a large motivation for these candidates to try to prove their bipartisanship. [23:35] All right, let's bring in another friend of ours, Nicholas Anastasio, Senate campaign correspondent for the National Journal. [23:41] Nicholas, good to see you as always. [23:44] What do you make about this debate we are about to see? [23:47] Josh Turek, Ashley Hinson, what are you going to be listening and watching for tonight? [23:52] I think I'm going to be listening for how they're sort of selling themselves to voters. [23:56] I think Hinson undeniably is a very strong messenger from the Republican side. [24:02] So I think on that end, I'm very curious to see how Turek is going to be able to message on Hinson. [24:08] It feels like, it felt like the Iowa PBS debate was a very tame one. [24:11] They're kind of, it's a very intimate setting. [24:13] They're around sort of a little table. [24:15] So it'll be more interesting to see how they're able to actually execute this debate. [24:20] And then when it comes to Hinson, I think similar to what Caroline had said before, how is she distancing herself from the Trump administration? [24:28] It feels like she is one of the most disciplined GOP candidates we have on the Senate side that's actually taking the actions a lot earlier. [24:36] You know, you have Senator Dan Sullivan in Alaska welcoming Trump and Hinson is kind of avoiding all the Trump vans rallies as much as she can. [24:43] So she's a very different candidate in the sense that she recognizes that she could hold this position beyond the Trump era. [24:50] And so she's kind of not just running a Republican campaign. [24:54] She's running an Ashley Hinson campaign. [24:56] So I just pulled up the DDHQ forecast right now. [24:59] It's got Ashley Hinson as a narrowly favored to win Iowa, a 52% probability to Josh Turek's 48%. [25:08] This is a race that has gotten closer as the calendar has progressed. [25:13] Nicholas, is there, is there another state, you know, Caroline mentioned earlier, you know, the race here, there in Kansas. [25:19] Is there another state that Iowa is sort of comparable to in this cycle where you maybe look at the results of one and try to then perhaps project that out on another? [25:29] You know, I think Texas and Iowa were kind of that pair for a minute. [25:33] Democrats kind of saw their main boons in Maine, North Carolina, Alaska, Ohio. [25:39] A lot's changed in those states ever since. [25:41] It kind of feels like North Carolina is in a place of its own. [25:44] And then you have Alaska and Ohio that are kind of neck and neck in terms of how they'll flip. [25:49] And then Texas is kind of that wild card where it could be more flippable than Alaska, Ohio, or it could be less flippable. [25:56] And with Maine, obviously, that's a wild card because of taking into account Senator Susan Collins over there. [26:03] So in some ways, Iowa and Kansas are very similar. [26:05] They're obviously a lot closer together in terms of proximity. [26:08] But Iowa is kind of one of those states where if you're seeing Turek win in Iowa, Democrats already flipped control of the Senate. [26:16] Many other seats have flipped before then. [26:18] And so, you know, if you're starting to see a Kansas fall, Iowa potentially is falling as well. [26:24] But those are states that ultimately Democrats should have no business winning. [26:28] Hinson is a strong enough Republican on her own. [26:30] She's been working for a Senate run for a long time. [26:33] Frankly, she wanted to run for Chuck Grassley's seat. [26:35] But ultimately, she ran this year. [26:38] She's been prepping herself for statewide office for quite some time. [26:41] If she's losing, the environment was just that bad for Republicans. [26:44] Yeah, Drew, to Nicholas' point, we have bellwether states we're used to talk about during election. [26:48] But it seems like this year we've got a number of bellwether races that we can look at as we sort of try to piece together that Senate map. [26:54] Yeah, and I think this, you know, if there's a blue wave or a blue tsunami, you know, [26:59] I think if Democrats start winning statewide races in Iowa, you're starting to get into tsunami territory. [27:05] So I think that would definitely portend to really a very successful night for Democrats if they're able to win in a state like Iowa. [27:12] It's a really interesting state. [27:14] I was looking back at some of the election records. [27:16] So Al Gore won in 2000. [27:17] Then George W. Bush. [27:19] Obama, Obama. [27:20] Trump, Trump, Trump. [27:21] So this is a state where both parties have had some success in recent years, but really Republicans have kind of dominated the Senate and governor's races. [27:30] Right now, obviously, President Trump not on the ballot. [27:32] So what does a state like this do that has shown, at least in the not so distant future, a ability to vote for a Democrat? [27:40] But Democratic statewide candidates, at least, you know, I mean, I know that the governor candidate there is Rob Zahn is the auditor, right? [27:51] So he did win a statewide race. [27:53] So it's not crazy that a Democrat could win a statewide race, even in recent times. [27:57] So I'm just very interested to see the state has shown some propensity to go back and forth between Democrats and Republicans. [28:03] Is this a year for that or does President Trump still kind of being part of the conversation and the success that he's had in that state bring the Republican over the finish line? [28:13] Yeah, it's going to be really interesting to watch because I think they're both of these candidates are kind of going after the same voter and kind of depending on or falling back on their bipartisanship as a tool and as a positive, even in the polarized times that we are in. [28:32] But Iowa is in a state like a Kansas, like a Texas, that has been disproportionately impacted by tariffs and by the war in Iran because of the diesel prices. [28:42] And, Nicholas, I guess I'd be really surprised if that wasn't the first question, even though it was certainly covered in the last debate. [28:50] This is issue number one for not just Iowa, but a lot of people across the country. [28:56] Oh, yeah, I think with Michigan, you have your agricultural discussions as well. [29:00] But Iowa has kind of been the biggest discussion when it comes to agriculture. [29:05] You know, it's it's been a big part of any Iowa Republican candidates, you know, rapporteur being able to message to farmers groups, being able to message to the agricultural industry. [29:19] So ultimately, this is something that Hinson is going to have to prove. [29:22] She's going to have to show her stops in this. [29:25] And in many ways, she's been able to take a lot of the distance earlier in this campaign. [29:30] Obviously, for a lot of Republicans, it feels like it was in the latter part of that summer. [29:33] But, you know, it's it's notable when she decided not to go to that rally in Texas. [29:38] It's notable when she didn't even visit the event that Vance took part in, that the gubernatorial candidate, Zach Lane, decided to take part in. [29:46] And she's a very disciplined candidate. [29:48] She knows what she needs to do. [29:49] She's looking for office beyond the Trump years. [29:52] And so ultimately, she's going to do what she needs to do to win. [29:55] And that's why I was kind of in this different spot, because her as a candidate, she understands what needs to be done. [30:02] And she I think she's responding to the environment in a way that some other candidates maybe spent a little bit too late. [30:08] And so ultimately, this is the state where agricultural topics are going to be the biggest focus of the conversation. [30:18] And obviously, the pressure is going to be on her to prove that. [30:21] All right. [30:21] So we've got about a minute left. [30:22] I'll do we'll do an exercise we did last week. [30:24] Drew, you're the campaign manager for Josh Turek. [30:27] Nicholas, you're the campaign manager for Ashley. [30:28] And Drew, what are you telling Josh before he heads out on stage tonight? [30:31] I think that you don't want to be appear to be a typical Democrat. [30:34] Democrat is not a great word in a lot of the state, but you do want to speak to the issues that are most affecting Iowa's islands that you think can pull support away from some soft Republicans, some Trump voters, maybe that voted for Biden in 2020 and voted for Trump in 2024. [30:51] And I think you want to stick to the kitchen table issues that regular folks in Iowa are talking about. [30:56] Keep hitting the Iran war and the impact that's having the trade war, the impact that's having, especially on the agriculture sector. [31:01] Stay like, you know, it's like stick to the issues that people are telling pollsters that's most important to them. [31:06] And Nicholas, quickly, what are you telling Ashley Hansen? [31:09] I'm telling her to, you know, distance yourself from Trump, but still keep Trump supporters in your toe. [31:15] You know, highlight that those bipartisan chops that she's been doing in some of her ads. [31:19] Basically show voters that you are the best equipped to handle these issues. [31:23] And, you know, you could take a dig every now and again with Turek. [31:26] But ultimately, if you're the congresswoman, you've gotten some legislation done. [31:32] Show that and cite that. [31:34] All right. [31:34] Well, look, it is a time to get this started. [31:38] We've got the big debate in Iowa tonight. [31:39] Ashley Hansen, the Republican, taking on Josh Turek. [31:42] This is going down in Des Moines. [31:44] We were just standing by waiting for the debate to get rolling there. [31:49] This is going to be about an hour long and we are going to be here afterwards to break it all down for you. [31:54] Let's watch. [31:55] Affordable health care, and frankly, it is too expensive. [32:00] And Democratic State Representative Josh Turek. [32:03] There's a lot of Iowans hurting. [32:04] They're struggling right now just to keep food on the table. [32:07] Where they stand on the issues that matter most to you. [32:10] Going to be much more money for continued research. [32:13] I would just say across the board health care. [32:15] And the stakes are high not only for Iowa, but the country, as the balance of power in the Senate takes center stage. [32:23] The elections this November are truly the future of our country. [32:27] And I think this is a once-in-a-generation opportunity. [32:30] Tonight, you get to decide which candidate will earn your trust. [32:34] Now, from your local election headquarters at the WHO-13 studios, this is Debate Night in Iowa. [32:41] Welcome to Debate Night in Iowa. [32:45] I'm Amanda Krenz with WHO-13. [32:47] For the first time in more than a decade, our state has an open seat in the U.S. Senate. [32:52] Thanks for joining us tonight. [32:53] I'm Tim Seaman from KCAU-9. [32:56] The debate comes at a critical time. [32:58] Iowa is just one of seven toss-up states. [33:00] And the race could determine who controls the U.S. Senate. [33:04] Tonight's debate is airing statewide and will stream online. [33:08] But before we get to the questions, here are tonight's debate rules. [33:11] Congresswoman Hinson and Representative Turek, you will have 60 seconds to answer a question. [33:16] For a follow-up question or rebuttal, you will have 30 seconds to respond. [33:20] If a clarification is needed, you will get 15 seconds. [33:24] When time is up, you will hear this bell. [33:28] Each of you will have 30 seconds for a closing statement. [33:34] Welcome. [33:34] And now that we have the rules, it is time for us to get started. [33:38] Based on a card draw, Ms. Hinson, you will go first tonight. [33:42] And we are going to begin with the topic of cancer. [33:46] Iowans need to know everything possible is being done to protect them. [33:50] Iowa has the second highest rate of new cancer cases in the United States. [33:55] And the University of Iowa study recently found 22,000 Iowans will be diagnosed and 6,000 more will die yet this year. [34:02] Nitrate levels, of course, play a large part in that. [34:05] Farmers get $14 billion a year in subsidies. [34:09] Ms. Hinson, the question is, should those subsidies be tied to reducing fertilizer runoff [34:14] and lowering the amount of nitrates in order to keep Iowans safe? [34:18] You have 60 seconds. [34:19] Well, Tim and Amanda, thank you for the questions tonight and for being here to host the debate. [34:23] And, Josh, thank you as well for being here. [34:25] You know, it is important that we get to the bottom of our cancer rates here in Iowa. [34:28] Cancer does not discriminate who it affects. [34:31] It's not a Republican or Democrat that it's affecting. [34:34] It's an American problem, and it's an Iowa problem, and we need to solve it. [34:38] I think farmers are a part of the conversation, absolutely. [34:40] Farmers are the analysts. [34:43] They know what they need to do to help make sure we have clean drinking water. [34:46] And all of us need to be able to turn on our faucet and know the water that we're drinking is safe to drink. [34:51] Just last week, I had the opportunity to tour a water treatment facility right here in the Des Moines area to learn about the process [34:58] and what they're doing to take out these contaminants that are in there, whether it's nitrates or PFAS or anything else that might be concerning in our water. [35:06] We need to obviously have the investments and the infrastructure to be able to clean our water. [35:11] That's something I'm proud to have been able to deliver as a member of the U.S. House. [35:15] Millions of dollars in investment in water infrastructure as well. [35:18] So farmers, I think, should have a part in this as well, but we also need to make sure we're investing in the infrastructure to keep our water clean. [35:24] Thank you for that. [35:25] Mr. Turek, the same question. [35:26] Should those subsidies be tied to reducing fertilizer runoff and lowering the amount of nitrates all in an effort to keep our Iowans healthy? [35:34] You two have 60 seconds. [35:35] No, but I can tell you that we certainly have a cancer crisis that is being driven by the water quality crisis, [35:40] and certainly it's something that has touched my life very deeply and personally. [35:45] I lost my grandmother to pancreatic cancer. [35:47] My father, due to his exposure to Agent Orange, his belt with cancer, [35:50] and nearly the day I launched my campaign, my sister was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. [35:56] I worked very hard in the Iowa legislature to expand cancer coverage to firefighters [36:01] to provide some state appropriation to cancer coverage. [36:04] The reality is that Representative Henson has pulled $33 million in research [36:11] due to the dose cuts, four times voted in favor of reducing the Clean Water Act [36:16] and taken thousands of dollars from Chinese companies and tried to provide them immunity. [36:21] I think the way that we go about this is we need more funding to infrastructure for nitrate removal plants, [36:28] but also to our farmers. [36:30] Our farmers want to do the right thing, and I think incentives to them for cover crops and land barriers [36:36] and to not put down fertilizer in the winter months is the best way to address this. [36:40] Thank you, and I have a quick follow-up for both of you. [36:42] Mr. Turek, first, should the federal government in heavy ag states like Iowa [36:46] require home water filtration systems to be built into every home, perhaps, [36:50] or have homes retrofitted? [36:53] 30 seconds. [36:55] I'm not in favor of the government mandating anything in this area, [36:59] but I will tell you, especially as our farmers are legitimately struggling, [37:04] I mean, we are looking at a second farm crisis. [37:06] We're looking at a farmageddon. [37:07] We lead the nation in farm foreclosures and seeing farm suicide rates skyrocketing. [37:12] Our farmers need the help, and I think that the best way is to provide them genuine incentives [37:18] to address this water quality crisis. [37:20] Ms. Henson, I'll give you the same chance there. [37:22] Should the government in these heavy ag states require home filtration systems [37:27] or possibly retrofit homes all in an effort to keep Iowans healthy? [37:30] 30 seconds. [37:31] Well, if we're looking at any program, we would need to get to the bottom of the data, right? [37:34] Does it actually do what we need it to do, and that would be the question I would ask about the funding [37:37] that would go with any of those programs. [37:39] The most important part about this is making sure that the funding streams go where they need to go, [37:43] whether that's to our farmers to help support the conservation practices and techniques. [37:48] We know investment in fertilizer equipment and making sure we're using less is really critical. [37:53] We have great investments in R&D happening right here in Iowa [37:56] to make sure that our farmers are doing more with less, [37:58] but you have to show up to vote for things like pediatric cancer research, [38:03] and I've invested in legislation to make sure that we're redirecting those resources [38:07] to get to where it needs to go to help get to the bottom of this cancer crisis. [38:11] Thank you. [38:12] Let's pause for just a second. [38:14] You mentioned the votes. [38:15] It's been very prominent during the campaign. [38:17] Mr. Turek, I'll just ask. [38:19] You missed those votes, and I guess my question is, why did you miss them? [38:26] Were you campaigning? [38:27] Yeah, look, something I'm proud of in my time in the Iowa legislature, [38:30] one of the most bipartisan, one of the most effective members of the Iowa legislature, [38:35] more than 700 times voted with Republicans. [38:38] I think you take that in contrast with Representative Henson, [38:41] the least bipartisan member of the Iowa delegation. [38:46] I have gone out there, and I have met with Iowans all over the state, [38:50] all 99 counties, hundreds of public forums. [38:54] Meanwhile, Ashley Henson, since she's decided to run for U.S. Senate, [38:57] has not done one in-person town forum. [39:00] Also, in my first three years in the legislature, more than a 90% attendance record. [39:04] I want to ask again, though, why did you miss those votes? [39:08] I'm out campaigning. [39:09] I'm out meeting Iowans all over. [39:12] All 99 counties. [39:14] I've done hundreds of in-person town halls. [39:17] Meanwhile, Ashley Henson, since she's running for the U.S. Senate, has not done a single in-person town hall. [39:22] Ms. Henson, I'll give you 30 seconds to respond. [39:25] Absolutely. [39:25] I've done more town halls than the percentage of time he showed up to work this year. [39:28] 42% of the time is all Representative Turek showed up to work this year, [39:32] and that's two out of every five days of work. [39:34] And I think, Iowans, if you're watching tonight, you should know if you don't show up to work [39:38] two out of five days, you're not getting a promotion. [39:41] You're getting fired. [39:42] I am proud of my bipartisan record working with both parties to get things across the finish line. [39:47] I rank in the top 20% of bipartisan lawmakers in Congress, [39:50] and I have a 99% attendance record even while running a statewide campaign. [39:54] Thank you both for those comments. [39:55] We're going to move ahead now. [39:56] She also missed 193 votes. [39:58] We're going to move ahead. [39:58] Thank you both. [39:59] On September 28th, President Trump announced the largest steel plant in U.S. history [40:04] would be coming to southeast Iowa. [40:06] This reminds us of 2017 when President Trump announced Foxconn's plan for a $10 billion [40:11] Wisconsin factory and up to 13,000 jobs. [40:15] The project was scaled back after taxpayers spent hundreds of millions on infrastructure. [40:20] And now Iowa is promised this $15 billion steel plant with Mesabi Metallics. [40:26] But Radio Iowa just reported on October 5th that Mesabi had not acquired land, [40:32] had not obtained construction permits, or finalized financing. [40:36] Wisconsin had performance-based tax incentives, too. [40:40] But tonight, I am asking about the roads and utilities that are built before the jobs arrive. [40:46] Mr. Turek, if this Mesabi steel plant is canceled or scaled back, [40:50] who pays for that infrastructure, the company or Iowans? [40:53] You have 60 seconds. [40:54] Well, I was proud to vote for the bill, honestly. [40:57] I think that a project like this could absolutely be transformative for the state of Iowa and [41:02] certainly for southeastern Iowa. [41:04] We're one of three states seeing our economy contract. [41:07] We certainly need the jobs. [41:09] This project is looking at providing 1,700 full-time good-paying jobs and somewhere between [41:14] 6,000 and 7,000 construction workers. [41:18] I think that we have good protections in place to taxpayers. [41:22] There's no upfront state money. [41:24] The incentives are only there if they provide the actual jobs and metrics achieved. [41:29] But I would say on the infrastructure, that should be covered by the company themselves. [41:34] Ms. Henson, same question. [41:35] If this Mesabi steel plant is canceled or scaled back, who pays for that infrastructure, [41:39] the company or Iowans? [41:40] You have 60 seconds. [41:41] Well, thank you, Amanda, for that question. [41:42] I think it's really critical that we have this kind of investment coming to Iowa. [41:47] You look at what this means for our national security and our local economy. [41:51] We are going to now be a part of this supply chain for steel right here in the United States [41:55] so we can be competitive with countries that are not looking out for our best interests like [42:00] the Chinese Communist Party. [42:01] We're not going to be able to produce steel right here at home to supercharge our defense [42:06] manufacturing base and make sure we have what we need here in the United States. [42:10] So this is a critical investment in Iowa. [42:12] And, yeah, taxpayers should not be on the hook for this kind of investment if it goes awry. [42:17] I think, to Representative Turek's point, I think we would agree on that, that taxpayers [42:21] should not be on the hook. [42:22] We need definite accountability measures built in. [42:25] And I think what's important about the policies we've put into place is that they are going [42:29] to supercharge potential future investments just like this one. [42:33] Hopefully, we can make sure everything has those protections in place. [42:36] But thanks to the Working Families Tax Cut Bill, we have the long-term tax certainty, [42:40] so people are willing to make huge capital investments like the $15 billion one that's [42:44] coming to Iowa. [42:45] Ms. Henson, I have a follow-up about this. [42:47] The federal government is loaning Wasabi $770 million to get the project off the ground. [42:52] Does it concern you at all that this company has filed for bankruptcy before? [42:56] You have 30 seconds. [42:58] Of course, any time there's any concern about a past business dealing, I want to know the [43:03] full transparency of a project and what's happening with the company involved. [43:07] I think it's important to look at the situation and the context for what happened before. [43:11] They were dealing with Minnesota that did not want to have any mining happen. [43:15] It was a completely different time, a different administration. [43:17] We are now unleashing American energy and American independence, which means we're going to [43:21] be mining that ore in Minnesota and then bringing it right down here to Iowa. [43:25] So full accountability is important and full transparency about the context of what happened [43:30] is also important. [43:31] Mr. Turk, same follow-up question to you. [43:32] The federal government is loaning Wasabi $770 million to get the project off the ground. [43:38] Does it concern you that the company has filed for bankruptcy before? [43:41] You have 30 seconds. [43:42] Yeah, certainly there is a concern. [43:43] But again, I was proud to vote for this project because I think that this is something [43:47] that can be genuinely transformative to the state of Iowa and to Southwest Iowa. [43:52] I think that we have put good guardrails in place on this. [43:56] Again, no upfront state money. [43:59] We've got guardrails that the incentives only come in if the jobs and metrics are achieved [44:04] and these tax incentives come in over a 10-year period of time. [44:08] And I'm really, really hopeful that this comes in. [44:10] It would be transformative for the state of Iowa. [44:12] We need the jobs. [44:13] Tim has our next question about diesel prices. [44:15] Thank you, Amanda. [44:16] President Trump has struck a deal with Vladimir Putin to bring Russian diesel to the U.S., [44:21] aiming to lower costs for farmers and truckers. [44:24] But that deal also eases sanctions designed to restrict the energy revenue that helps fund [44:29] Russia's war against Ukraine. [44:31] Ms. Henson, do you support buying Russian diesel to lower costs for Iowans, even if those purchases [44:36] help Putin finance his war against Ukraine? [44:40] Yes or no? [44:40] And please explain. [44:41] You have 60 seconds. [44:42] We need to lower gas prices in this country. [44:45] We need to lower diesel prices. [44:46] But I don't think we need to be making a deal with Russia to do it. [44:49] I think we should be doing it by lowering the gas tax temporarily, making sure we're actually [44:55] looking at potentially a diesel rebate program for our producers, investing in America's biofuels, [45:00] which is the homegrown answer that we have right here in Iowa. [45:03] So E-15, and then I've advocated for putting into place the biodiesel tax credit, which would [45:08] be an immediate $1 off to provide that relief. [45:11] But again, I am proud to have voted for sanctions against Russia. [45:14] I'm banned from Russia because of my stance on being tough on them and supporting Ukraine. [45:19] And we cannot allow Vladimir Putin to win that war. [45:22] Mr. Turek, same question to you. [45:24] Do you support buying Russian diesel to lower the cost for Iowans, even if those purchases [45:29] help Putin finance his war against Ukraine? [45:32] Again, you have 60 seconds. [45:33] Yes or no? [45:34] And please explain. [45:34] We actually agree on this. [45:36] I want to do everything that I can, because everywhere I'm going, all across Iowa, I'm [45:40] hearing from Iowans talking about gas prices and diesel prices. [45:44] But I don't think it should be at the expense of benefiting the economy of someone like a [45:49] Vladimir Putin, who we clearly cannot trust. [45:52] I put forth a program to temporarily suspend the federal and state gas tax. [45:57] I think that we should open the strategic oil reserves. [46:00] And I think that we should suspend exports of diesel. [46:04] I think that would really move the needle in a serious way. [46:07] But let's remember exactly why we're in this situation. [46:10] We are in this situation because of this unnecessary war in Iran that Ashley Henson voted in favor [46:15] of continuing seven times. [46:17] This has led to gas prices going up in Iowa more than almost any other state, diesel prices [46:23] being at an all-time high as our farmers are going into harvest, and it's leading into [46:29] an increase into fertilizer in input prices to our farmers. [46:33] It has disproportionately hurt Iowa. [46:35] We need to end this war in Iran. [46:37] Thank you. [46:37] I have a follow-up for both of you. [46:39] First, Mr. Turek, if they support the—let me start that again. [46:44] Should Putin have to agree to a cease-fire before getting that sanction relief, before [46:49] letting that happen? [46:50] You have 30 seconds. [46:52] I think that there are other ways that we can go about this without benefiting the economy [46:57] or trusting someone like Vladimir Putin. [47:00] And so, again, I put forth a policy that I think can really move the needle on this, [47:05] and let's temporarily suspend the federal and state gas tax, let's open up the strategic [47:09] reserves, and let's suspend exports to diesel. [47:11] But I am laser-focused on this. [47:14] Ms. Henson, the same follow-up there. [47:15] Would you agree to that cease-fire? [47:18] Should Putin have to agree to a cease-fire before getting the sanctions relief? [47:21] 30 seconds. [47:21] Absolutely. [47:22] I think we need to bring an end to the war in Ukraine, and we need to bring an end to [47:25] the war in Iran. [47:26] It's why I called for an immediate and successful end. [47:28] I do not think Iran should be allowed to get a nuclear weapon, so I think we do need to [47:34] bring it to an end as quickly as possible. [47:36] And I have been working directly with farmers to figure out ways where we can provide them [47:40] relief. [47:40] You know, you talk about fertilizer costs. [47:43] We've been hearing about that for a long time, before the Iran war, but I advocated directly [47:46] to the administration and USDA to get the countervailing duties removed so we could lower [47:50] those fertilizer prices, and we're working on making sure we're holding the big companies [47:55] accountable so that we have less market fluctuation problems as well for our farmers. [47:59] Thank you. [47:59] And Amanda has our next question, and it is about the Iran war. [48:02] It is indeed. [48:03] This is personal to Iowans. [48:05] The Iran war is. [48:06] To date, two of our soldiers have died, and tonight we would like to take a moment to [48:10] honor them and their sacrifice, Sergeant Declan Cody of West Des Moines and Major Jeffrey [48:14] O'Brien of Waukee. [48:16] You both are calling for an end to the war. [48:19] Mr. Turek, what is an acceptable end, and would you accept Iran being in control of [48:25] the Strait of Hormuz? [48:26] You have 60 seconds. [48:27] Well, this issue was personal to me as well. [48:30] I come from a family of veterans. [48:31] Both of my grandfather served in World War II in the Navy. [48:35] My father, the day he turned 18, enlisted to serve his country to go to Vietnam. [48:41] Because of his exposure to Agent Orange is the reason why I ended up with my disability [48:45] of spina bifida. [48:45] I am an example of the generational consequences to these forever wars. [48:50] We spent, you know, a trillion dollars in Afghanistan and in Iraq. [48:55] Why? [48:55] For what? [48:56] I played with these brave men and women, missing arms, missing legs. [49:01] Here we find ourselves yet again in another forever conflict. [49:04] We're spending more than a billion dollars a day over in Iran while we're being told we [49:08] don't have money for schools and roads and hospitals, and we're leading the nation in [49:12] foreign foreclosures. [49:13] No one wants to see Iran have a nuclear weapon, but we have to end this war, and we have to [49:19] end this war immediately. [49:20] A 30-second follow-up for you. [49:22] What would you consider to be an acceptable end to the war? [49:26] As soon as possible. [49:27] I think that we need to end this war as quickly as possible. [49:31] I think that this war in Iran has hurt Iowans more than any other state. [49:36] You're looking at the two Iowans that we've already lost. [49:38] You've got gas prices that have gone up more than Iowa than any other state. [49:42] You've got diesel prices at an all-time high and fertilizer prices. [49:46] I'm talking to farmers, century farmers, that are telling me they're looking at their input [49:50] prices because of this conflict and saying, I'm not going to be able to afford this. [49:54] I'm going to go into foreclosure. [49:55] We need to end this war immediately. [49:58] Ms. Henson, again, you are both calling for an end to the war. [50:01] You use the word immediate and successful end. [50:04] What is an acceptable end, and would you accept Iran being in control of the Strait of Hormuz? [50:10] You have 60 seconds. [50:11] First of all, I don't think we can trust Iran. [50:13] That needs to be very clear. [50:14] We need to go into every negotiation eyes wide open. [50:17] We saw the disastrous deal that happened where our pallets of cash went to Iran to help them [50:22] fund what was the makings of a huge nuclear program and the ballistic missiles that they're [50:27] now using to attack our allies in the Middle East. [50:29] So that's wrong. [50:30] We cannot have that kind of an outcome ever again. [50:32] So successful end to me means we have to have assurances that there will never be a nuclear [50:37] program in Iran. [50:38] I trust the U.S. military to achieve that objective, whatever that looks like. [50:42] I've met with our generals, had those conversations, but I've also met with the families. [50:47] You put the pictures up of our soldiers who have passed away. [50:50] I've been to those funerals. [50:52] I went to four funerals in the last eight, nine months. [50:55] I hope I never have to go to another one. [50:56] And I think it's so challenging to sit with a family and grieve alongside of them. [51:02] So I don't want to see that happen to another family. [51:05] And nobody wants a forever war. [51:07] My boys are 15 and 13, and it would be them fighting in that next generation of fighters. [51:11] So I want it to come to a close as soon as possible. [51:13] Ms. Henson, 30-second follow-up. [51:14] Would you accept Iran being in control of the Strait of Hormuz? [51:17] 30 seconds. [51:18] Again, I don't think you can trust Iran. [51:20] We've seen how they've behaved. [51:22] You have to take them at how they're acting, not what they're saying. [51:25] And I think at this point, making sure we have protections for our allies in the least. [51:29] I don't want to see the United States get stuck there for decades. [51:32] But I think we need to make sure that, again, the successful end of this war is that Iran [51:37] cannot have a nuclear weapon and that we are protecting our allies in the region long term [51:41] because that's good. [51:42] Every dollar spent abroad needs to advance American interests. [51:45] And I think it's in everybody's interest that we support our allies in the Middle East. [51:49] One more follow-up for you, Ms. Henson. [51:50] Would you switch your vote today on the War Powers Act in order to end the conflict in Iran? [51:56] Yes or no? [51:57] 30 seconds. [51:57] I don't think we need another resolution on the House floor. [52:00] I think the president and the U.S. military can bring it to the end. [52:03] So at this point, I take every vote at the time it comes. [52:07] But I think it does need to come to a resolute and successful end as quickly as possible. [52:11] Okay. [52:11] Tim is next with more on data centers now. [52:14] Yeah, let's turn to data centers. [52:15] There's a controversy in Iowa. [52:17] Communities across the state right now, like Woodward here in Central Iowa, Salix over in [52:21] Western Iowa. [52:22] Folks living there have plenty of questions as well as mounting concerns. [52:26] Ms. Henson, do you support a federal temporary moratorium on the construction of data centers? [52:31] Yes or no? [52:32] And please explain. [52:33] You've got 60 seconds. [52:34] Well, thank you for that question, Tim. [52:35] As I'm traveling through all 99 counties, I certainly am hearing a lot of concerns, a lot of community [52:40] feedback around data centers and where they're going in our communities. [52:44] And I do think that conversation needs to happen at the local level. [52:48] Local communities know best what is going to fit in their community. [52:52] If they want to use it as an economic development opportunity, they should be having those conversations. [52:56] But I'm hearing concerns about utility rates. [52:59] What are we doing to make sure we're keeping people's utility rates protected? [53:02] I was proud to vote for the ratepayer protection package on the House floor a few weeks ago, which [53:07] would make sure we're not passing that cost on to taxpayers and ratepayers. [53:12] I think that's absolutely critical. [53:13] And then people want to also know their water is not only safe, but that it's going to be [53:17] there as a consumer as well. [53:19] So those are the concerns that I continue to hear. [53:21] I don't think we need to interfere on the federal level. [53:23] There are some basic things that we can do, again, to control costs that are being passed [53:27] on to ratepayers. [53:28] So you would not support a federal temporary moratorium? [53:30] I think those conversations are best had at the local level. [53:33] Okay. [53:33] Mr. Turek, the same question to you. [53:35] Do you support a federal temporary moratorium on the construction of data centers? [53:39] Yes or no? [53:40] Please explain. [53:40] You have 60 seconds as well. [53:41] No, but I can tell you this in traveling the state for the last 400 days and going to all [53:48] 99 counties, I certainly have heard over and over and over the concerns from Iowans. [53:52] And I think that the concerns are primarily through three lenses. [53:56] The first is no more tax breaks to these large multinational tech companies. [54:02] And we certainly can't trust Ashley Hinson on this issue. [54:04] She has voted for $50 billion in tax incentives to these tech companies. [54:10] I think that they should be paying their fair share. [54:12] Secondly, I've heard over and over from Iowans concerned about their energy rates going up. [54:18] I think we need lock solid guardrails in place to ensure that these companies are not driving [54:22] up the energy rates to the end user. [54:25] And thirdly, and arguably most importantly, especially in a state with a water quality crisis [54:30] that's leading to a cancer crisis, is making sure that these companies are not using and [54:34] abusing our natural resources like water. [54:37] I think they should be required to have a closed loop circuit, which can reduce water consumption [54:42] somewhere between 70 and 90 percent. [54:44] Ms. Hinson, I'll give you a quick 15 seconds to make a response if you'd like. [54:48] Absolutely. [54:48] Data centers should not get big federal tax breaks, and that's not what I supported. [54:52] I actually supported making sure we're investing in opportunity zones, which are places where [54:56] we need definite economic development. [54:59] The only reason the ratepayer protection bill is not law is because Democrats in the Senate blocked [55:03] it, and so I'm pretty sure that my colleague over here would have aligned with Chuck Schumer, [55:08] his boss in the U.S. Senate, to vote on that. [55:10] And Mr. Turek, I do have another follow-up. [55:12] Should federal law require data center developers to cover all infrastructure costs, including [55:17] those left behind, if a project doesn't happen, if it closes, you have 30 seconds? [55:22] Yes, absolutely. [55:23] Again, we should not be looking out and giving tax breaks to these large multinational tech corporations. [55:29] We should be doing what we can to protect Iowa and to protect the tax rates here. [55:34] The same thing that I said on the infrastructure when it comes to the steel plant. [55:38] Let's protect Iowans. [55:39] No more tax breaks to these large multinational tech companies. [55:43] Ms. Hinson, you get 30 seconds as well. [55:44] Should federal law require a data center developer to cover all the infrastructure costs, including [55:50] those that are left behind if it doesn't happen? [55:52] Again, you have 30 seconds. [55:53] Well, I think similarly to the moratorium conversation, I think that it should be on the local level to [55:58] make those decisions, who's on the hook. [55:59] That should be a conversation that they're having at the local level. [56:02] If it's local taxpayer-driven, they should decide what the mechanisms are. [56:05] But I do think that is a serious concern that our taxpayers would demand on the local level. [56:11] I know I certainly would want to make sure that I, as a taxpayer myself, wouldn't be on the [56:14] hook. [56:14] But I think it's really important, again, we continue to try to find ways to incentivize good development [56:20] and stop bad development in our communities. [56:22] All right. [56:22] Let's move to another question. [56:23] The Department of Energy is investing nearly $2 billion to reopen the Duane-Arnold nuclear [56:30] plant in Linn County. [56:31] The plant already has a contract with Google to supply its AI energy needs for the next [56:36] 25 years. [56:38] Mr. Turek, why are taxpayers on the hook for a private company's project like this one [56:43] with Google? [56:44] You have 60 seconds. [56:45] Yeah, and absolutely. [56:46] Again, they shouldn't be. [56:47] You're looking at $2 billion, basically, in federal funds going to this when we know, [56:54] and certainly I'm in favor of an all-the-above approach to energy, including nuclear, because [56:59] as I'm traveling around this state, I'm hearing over and over and over from Iowans telling me [57:03] that they are concerned about their energy rates going up. [57:06] But in this particular plant, we are looking at 90% of the energy going to a tech company. [57:14] And I do not think that taxpayers should be on the hook for them. [57:19] I think that these large multinational tech corporations that are raking in billions and [57:24] billions in dollars in profit should be on the hook for this. [57:27] Ms. Henson, same question. [57:28] Why are taxpayers on the hook for private companies? [57:31] Again, we're talking about Google, their AI project. [57:34] You have 60 seconds. [57:35] I don't know the details of the actual arrangement between Google and Duane-Arnold, but what I [57:40] can say is it is really critical that we have enough energy production in this country to [57:44] handle the necessary needs of whether it's a data center or another big energy consumer. [57:50] We want to reinvigorate American manufacturing in this country. [57:53] We need to make sure we have the energy to do it. [57:55] And so I am so pleased to have Duane-Arnold opening up again right in my backyard. [57:59] That's where I live, and I'm raising my family, Matt and the boys, in Linn County. [58:03] So we love the idea of having all of this new power generation happening in our backyard. [58:08] I think it's exciting what we really need to be doing on the federal level is getting [58:12] the barriers out of the way so that energy generation is abundant and available, and [58:16] it's moving fast enough, right? [58:18] We just had the EPA administrator, Lee Zeldin, here in Iowa yesterday. [58:22] I was touring wastewater treatment facilities with him, but we had a conversation about the [58:27] speed in which we need to be able to get these things moving. [58:29] We need to do it safely, and we need to make sure that we are respecting the environment [58:33] and the process, but we need to get big government out of the way. [58:36] And with that, candidates, it is time to take a break. [58:39] But for those of you that are watching us tonight, we want to remind you, let you know [58:42] that our coverage does continue on WHO 13 plus, and make sure that you take time to scan the [58:47] QR code to see the reaction from the QR code on the right of your screen that will link to [1:02:07] post-debate coverage on the WHO 13 plus app with candidate interviews and analysis coming. [1:02:14] Right now, we are going to start with individual questions for each of our candidates. [1:02:19] And I have the first one to Mr. Turek. [1:02:22] Title IX helped expand opportunities for female athletes like Caitlin Clark here in Iowa. [1:02:28] Now we turn to who should set the rules for transgender athletes competing in girls and [1:02:32] women's sports. [1:02:33] Mr. Turek, when Chuck Todd asked you about this back on November 19, 2025, this is what you had [1:02:41] to say. [1:02:44] You know, I had personal experience with this. [1:02:45] I actually, I wanted to try out for my team in high school and play basketball. [1:02:51] And yet there was an equipment rule that prevented me from being able to play. [1:02:56] And yet it was not my congressman or my mayor or my senator that was making the decision on [1:03:02] this issue. [1:03:03] It was the sports governing bodies. [1:03:07] And so my position on this is that this should be decided by the sports governing bodies. [1:03:12] Mr. Turek, Congress passed Title IX, a federal law protecting women's opportunities in school [1:03:17] sports. [1:03:18] So Washington already has a role. [1:03:21] Do you believe Congress should step in and rule on participation of transgender people [1:03:25] in women's sports? [1:03:26] Yes or no. [1:03:27] And you can explain in 60 seconds. [1:03:29] I can speak to this on a level of credibility that most can't. [1:03:33] I was a professional wheelchair basketball player. [1:03:35] I represented the United States in four Paralympic games. [1:03:38] I won two gold medals. [1:03:39] Both my brother and sister both ended up playing high level basketball. [1:03:44] I've been really clear and unequivocal on this issue. [1:03:47] I do not believe that biological males should compete in female sports. [1:03:52] And this is something that has already been decided in Iowa. [1:03:55] But yes, I do agree that this should be decided by sports governing bodies because we don't [1:04:02] want to see a patchwork of 50 different standards be in place or even when it comes to Olympic [1:04:07] and Paralympic competition, international standards. [1:04:10] I was happy to see the IOC made a ruling on this. [1:04:15] And so, yeah, again, I believe that biological males should not compete in female sports. [1:04:20] A follow up for you then, Mr. Turek. [1:04:21] Based on Title IX, is it fair and legal for transgender women to compete in women's sports? [1:04:27] I do not believe that biological males should compete in female sports. [1:04:32] And this is already decided in Iowa law as well. [1:04:34] All right. [1:04:35] Thank you for that answer. [1:04:37] Ms. Henson, you have been outspoken saying no one in Congress should be trading stocks. [1:04:42] Going so far as to say immediately after being elected to Congress, you and your husband [1:04:46] sold all of your stock. [1:04:48] Here's the rationale you shared in the debate last week. [1:04:51] We had a conversation about it. [1:04:53] We decided to sell our individual stocks right away in 2021. [1:04:57] So we made it very clear that I want Iowans to know the decisions that I'm making in Washington, [1:05:02] D.C. have nothing to do with the inside information I might be getting as a public servant. [1:05:06] However, in that debate, your opponent said this about your holdings. [1:05:12] The reality is, is that in just six years of being up in D.C., Ashley Henson is up to [1:05:16] 15 times more wealthy, still owns up to $5 million of private stock, even though she said [1:05:22] she was going to sell everything. [1:05:25] So, Ms. Henson, our question is not about public stock, but do you or your husband own [1:05:29] stock or have ownership interest in privately owned companies? [1:05:33] 60 seconds to respond. [1:05:34] Yes. [1:05:35] Well, I'm glad I get the chance to clarify because I think probably a few people are [1:05:38] seeing some TV ads about this. [1:05:39] So I'm proud that my husband built a successful business before I was even in Congress and [1:05:45] sold it in 2021. [1:05:47] That's exactly what happened. [1:05:48] He sold the business. [1:05:50] That went on our financial disclosure report. [1:05:52] And also, at the same time, we had that discussion about selling our publicly traded stocks. [1:05:57] So that's what we did. [1:05:59] I think it's important that the best investment on Wall Street is not a seat in Congress. [1:06:02] And so I wanted Iowans to know that I was leading by example. [1:06:06] I don't think members of Congress should trade public stocks. [1:06:09] I don't think they should be playing on prediction markets. [1:06:12] And it's why I led the efforts to ban that. [1:06:14] And the real reason that's not actually a law and why members are still able to trade stocks [1:06:17] is because Chuck Schumer and the Democrats in the Senate banned it. [1:06:21] So did not vote to ban it. [1:06:22] So what I think is important here is that, again, we lead by example. [1:06:26] I have made sure that Iowans know I'm not trading stocks. [1:06:30] And while my husband sold his business and has private holdings in that business, we are [1:06:34] not actively trading stocks. [1:06:36] In the sound bite that we played, yeah, in just a moment, I have a follow up and then you [1:06:39] can weigh in as well. [1:06:41] In the sound bite that we played, your opponent said that you have five million in private [1:06:45] stock. [1:06:46] Is that true? [1:06:47] 30 seconds. [1:06:48] No. [1:06:49] I think it's a shame that I would just say this. [1:06:52] His lies are beneath him on this race and he's muddying the water because he does not want [1:06:55] to talk about his own liberal record here, which is that he does support kids changing gender [1:07:00] at school and tax benefits going to illegal immigrants and fake meat to be sold in Iowa schools. [1:07:05] He's too liberal for Iowa. [1:07:06] And so he is trying to muddy the water. [1:07:08] My husband built a successful business. [1:07:10] He shouldn't be demonizing success in this state. [1:07:12] I want that for everyone. [1:07:14] That's what I'll continue to support. [1:07:16] And it's unsurprising to me that someone who believes Bernie Sanders is a titan fighting [1:07:20] for social and economic justice wouldn't know how the private sector works. [1:07:23] Mr. Turk, we will give you 30 seconds to respond. [1:07:26] Well, all that she just said was a lie. [1:07:29] The reality is, is that in her public disclosure filing, it says private stock from one million [1:07:35] to five million. [1:07:36] She also took $50,000, even though she's a multimillionaire and taxpayer dollars to give [1:07:42] herself a luxury DC apartment and has had her husband operating as a shadow lobbyist. [1:07:47] This is what is wrong with DC. [1:07:49] We have a corruption crisis that's leading to an affordability crisis because we're sending [1:07:54] people like Ashley Henson up to DC, not to fight for the people of Iowa, but to go up [1:07:59] there and to make themselves more wealthy and to look out for the billionaires. [1:08:03] I mean, she's made cuts to health care, food assistance, social security, just to give [1:08:07] tax breaks to billionaires. [1:08:08] It's wrong. [1:08:09] Ms. Henson, I want to give you one more chance to answer the question about do you or your [1:08:13] husband own stock or have ownership interest in privately owned companies? [1:08:17] I'll give you 30 seconds. [1:08:18] As I mentioned, my husband sold his business and private stock is not trading stock. [1:08:23] That's very, very clear. [1:08:24] And what I think is also important in this conversation, and I'm really glad that you [1:08:27] chose to bring it up again, Josh, but there's a per diem program in Washington, DC for members [1:08:32] of Congress to use. [1:08:33] You only can use it on days that you're actually in session. [1:08:36] You can use it toward an apartment or toward a hotel. [1:08:38] I use that program much like lawmakers here in Iowa do. [1:08:41] Josh Turek used that program here in Iowa, even though he was only showing up to work [1:08:45] two out of every five days. [1:08:47] So that's criminal. [1:08:48] If it isn't already, it should be. [1:08:50] You should refund that money to the Iowa taxpayers. [1:08:52] And don't worry. [1:08:53] I did the math. [1:08:54] It's $11,600 that you should write a check back. [1:08:56] And I think you have some questions to answer about your financial disclosure report. [1:09:00] Why did your net worth go up 187% or up two? [1:09:03] Ms. Henson, thank you. [1:09:04] There's funny math. [1:09:05] We're going to move on to health care now. [1:09:06] Yes. [1:09:07] Iowa is seeing rural hospital closures across the state each day, and it's becoming a bigger [1:09:12] and bigger concern. [1:09:13] This includes MercyOne's clinic in Ottumwa, Iowa, where patients received this letter about [1:09:18] its closing. [1:09:19] Two health care companies, MercyOne and UnityPoint, operate more than 50% of hospital facilities [1:09:24] across the state. [1:09:25] Ms. Henson, to you first. [1:09:28] Should they be mandated to maintain a certain level of coverage in rural areas in order [1:09:33] to get government subsidies? [1:09:34] You have 60 seconds. [1:09:35] Thank you. [1:09:36] I think the state of health care in Iowa needs improvement, to say it mildly, and that's [1:09:41] why I've made sure we're making key investments in rural health. [1:09:43] I was proud to support the Rural Health Transformation Fund as a part of the Working Families Tax [1:09:48] Cut Bill so that we could make sure people can access that health care no matter what their [1:09:53] zip code is. [1:09:54] Whether it's Ottumwa or whether it's in Trayer, where I was able to help make sure we got People's [1:09:58] Clinic back in when Mercy Care had closed, right? [1:10:02] I think it's really important that we're making those key investments in rural health care. [1:10:06] I'm proud that those funds are actually being deployed to help make sure rural health care [1:10:10] stays open. [1:10:11] So you talk about federal investment. [1:10:13] Those funds are now being used in north central Iowa to make sure that they have a new PA and [1:10:18] a nurse midwife. [1:10:19] In Mason City area, they are investing in a new lung cancer detection machine. [1:10:24] I was just at Grinnell Medical Center, Regional Medical Center last week, and we were talking [1:10:29] about the new MRI machine that they're able to invest in. [1:10:31] So absolutely, there should be a federal stake in this. [1:10:34] And we have programs in place like 340B that help make sure that there is federal investment, [1:10:40] but also accountability there. [1:10:41] I think the important conversation here around it, as well as that my opponent, supports a [1:10:45] federalized health care option, which would make health care less affordable and less [1:10:49] accessible. [1:10:50] And we'll have to move ahead with that to Mr. Turek. [1:10:51] Should they be mandated to maintain a certain level of coverage? [1:10:55] We're talking about in the rural areas in order to get government subsidies. [1:10:58] 60 seconds. [1:10:59] Well, I can tell you that we've got a health care crisis in this state. [1:11:02] I mean, we are essentially dead last for OBGYNs, mental health providers, mental health supports, [1:11:07] 49th for Medicaid reimbursement, dead last nearly for Medicare reimbursement. [1:11:12] A lot of folks out there are struggling. [1:11:16] And you speak to the CEOs of these rural health care clinics, and they will tell you Medicaid [1:11:20] is their lifeblood. [1:11:21] Just in the six years that Ashley Hinson has been up in DC, we've closed 842 health care [1:11:26] entities. [1:11:28] She has, with her vote on the big, beautiful bill, she has kicked 110,000 Iowans off their [1:11:35] health care. [1:11:36] In a state with a health care crisis and a cancer crisis, 119,000 Iowans seeing their [1:11:40] health care premiums double or triple. [1:11:43] She talks about the Rural Health Care Transformation Fund. [1:11:45] That is 50 billion total, of which Iowa gets a small percentage of that. [1:11:50] We ended up losing over $130 billion. [1:11:54] She's cutting health care. [1:11:56] My pledge to every single Iowan out there, I'm going to do everything I can. [1:11:59] And for every Iowan, whether it's in a rural community or in an urban community, to have [1:12:03] access to affordable and accessible health care. [1:12:05] May I respond? [1:12:06] Yes. [1:12:07] You have 15 seconds. [1:12:08] You actually have to show up to work in order to be able to deliver for rural health care. [1:12:12] You skipped the vote to deploy $209 million in funds to rural hospitals. [1:12:16] So what I just talked about, that MRI machine, that cancer detection machine, these services [1:12:21] that are providing cancer treatment in rural Iowa, I was proud to vote for and get across [1:12:25] the finish line. [1:12:26] And the people who are losing Medicaid coverage, it's because you're either illegally obtaining [1:12:30] it or you shouldn't be on it. [1:12:31] We're going to move ahead to Social Security. [1:12:33] Mr. Turek, you support raising the payroll tax that supports Social Security. [1:12:39] Only 6% though of workers in the United States make more than that $184,500 threshold. [1:12:46] And it's not nearly enough to keep Social Security solvent long term. [1:12:49] What secondary fix would you support? [1:12:52] You have 60 seconds. [1:12:53] Well, I can tell you that Social Security is an earned benefit. [1:12:56] And I want to do everything that I can to protect this earned benefit to the 700,000 Iowans [1:13:02] that rely on Social Security and Medicare. [1:13:05] And Ashley Hinson, she has floated the idea of raising the age of retirement. [1:13:12] She's voted against caps on things like insulin. [1:13:16] You know, even the last time that we debated, she talked about the solution to Social Security. [1:13:21] Millennials who are putting their groceries on a credit card who can't afford a house. [1:13:26] That's the solution. [1:13:28] The solution is to take the cap off. [1:13:30] I think that it's fundamentally wrong that every teacher and nurse, police officer is paying [1:13:36] year round. [1:13:37] Meanwhile, you've got Elon Musk and Bill Gates paying in for the first few minutes. [1:13:42] By almost every single metric, this will end up generating $3.4 trillion over a decade. [1:13:49] This can keep Social Security solvent for decades. [1:13:53] What secondary fix would you support? [1:13:56] We've heard you talk about the other one. [1:13:57] What secondary fix would you support? [1:13:58] 30 seconds. [1:13:59] I think we could look at a bipartisan commission. [1:14:02] Something as well that Representative Hinson has talked about. [1:14:05] And we can look at ways to keep this solvent. [1:14:07] Honestly, the best way to keep this solvent is let's tax billionaires, again, not off the [1:14:13] backs of the working class or making sure that millennials are saving all the money that [1:14:17] they can. [1:14:18] Let's take the cap off. [1:14:19] It is unfair that Elon Musk and Bill Gates are paying for the first few minutes. [1:14:24] Meanwhile, every single one of our working families is paying year round. [1:14:27] We can keep Social Security solvent. [1:14:29] Ms. Hinson, in 2020, you said we should be talking about raising retirement age to receive [1:14:33] Social Security benefits. [1:14:35] But when you were asked just last week on the Iowa Public Television debate, this is [1:14:38] what you said. [1:14:40] If you're 20 years old, it's a very different conversation than if you're at retirement [1:14:44] age is what I would say as I think about that. [1:14:46] So what did you mean by saying we should have a different conversation with 20 year olds? [1:14:51] Is raising the retirement age on the table for you? [1:14:53] You have 60 seconds. [1:14:54] No, I do not support raising the retirement age. [1:14:57] And I do not support cuts to Social Security benefits. [1:15:00] This is a program that our seniors rely on and we need to make sure it is solvent. [1:15:04] And my pledge to you watching tonight is that I will work with anyone to make sure we keep [1:15:09] that promise and keep that pledge because it is a promise we've made. [1:15:12] Look, what I think is important is that we do make it easier for everyone to save across [1:15:17] the board, whether you're a millennial, whether you're a senior, or whether you're Gen Z. [1:15:21] Or now we're really focusing on our young people, right, with the new investment accounts [1:15:25] for newborns, right? [1:15:26] I think we need to be having conversations across the board about how we better save as Americans. [1:15:33] I think it's really important, again, that we come together, we take the politics out [1:15:36] of it because anyone who's saying there's not more things to be thinking about, again, [1:15:41] taking the politics out of it, is saying and doing anything that they want to to win an [1:15:45] election. [1:15:46] I think that's wrong. [1:15:47] We need to be able to work together to make sure that we keep Social Security solvent for [1:15:51] generations to come. [1:15:52] Ms. Henson, a follow up. [1:15:53] Your opponent has one idea to help keep Social Security solvent, maybe not for long term, [1:15:59] but do you have one idea that could at least help keep it solvent for some matter of time? [1:16:03] You have 30 seconds. [1:16:04] Ms. Yeah. [1:16:05] I think there's been a lot of good conversations around maybe separate investment funds and [1:16:08] utilizing those resources. [1:16:10] I want to make sure that every idea is properly vetted, and that's where I think the commission [1:16:15] structure is really good because, again, every run, every analysis is going to have an impact [1:16:21] on 30, 40 years down the road. [1:16:24] I want to make sure we have all those numbers and all the data before making any decision. [1:16:27] Ms. Tim, we're moving on to tariff banks. [1:16:28] Can I follow up on that real quick, just one time? [1:16:30] Ms. 30 seconds for a follow up. [1:16:32] Sure. [1:16:33] Just to be clear on this, again, she has floated the idea of raising the retirement age, and [1:16:37] now she's going back on that. [1:16:40] She was in support of the Doge cuts, which made cuts to Social Security Administration, [1:16:44] which even closed the Social Security office in Decorah. [1:16:48] She voted against caps on insulin, and she voted against negotiated drug costs. [1:16:52] She only has a 10 percent support score for Social Security and for Medicaid. [1:16:57] I am in the United States Senate. [1:16:59] I give my pledge. [1:17:00] I will support and protect Social Security and Medicare to every single one of our seniors. [1:17:05] It's an earned benefit. [1:17:06] Ms. Simpson, we will give you 15 seconds for a response, and then we're moving on. [1:17:09] I can absolutely clarify in 15 seconds. [1:17:11] I don't know if Representative Turek was fundraising in Nantucket when it happened, but it was due [1:17:15] to my advocacy to the administration that we were able to get that Social Security office [1:17:19] in Decorah back open. [1:17:21] So I'm proud to help support our seniors who are needing that access to Social Security [1:17:25] offices in my district. [1:17:26] And I actually voted to cut Social Security taxes. [1:17:29] My opponent has said that he would repeal the working families tax cut, which cut taxes [1:17:33] on Social Security. [1:17:34] That is also a lie. [1:17:35] We're going to move ahead, Mr. Turek. [1:17:37] But that's really important. [1:17:38] It's been really, really clear that I am for absolutely no cuts to the Social Security [1:17:43] Administration. [1:17:44] I am for no tax on tips, overtime, and also Social Security. [1:17:48] Okay. [1:17:49] We're going to move ahead, and we're going to talk about trade between the United States [1:17:52] and Canada and what tariffs are costing Iowans. [1:17:56] Ms. Henson, name one tariff that you would support and one that you would not, and the principle [1:18:01] behind that. [1:18:02] And you get 60 seconds. [1:18:03] Excuse me. [1:18:04] Well, thank you, Tim. [1:18:05] And I think nobody loves tariffs. [1:18:06] But what I like even less is an unlevel playing field for Americans and for our farmers. [1:18:12] And I am traveling the state talking directly with our farmers about what they need, where [1:18:17] they're feeling pain. [1:18:18] And I know they're uneasy about where things are right now. [1:18:20] But we are seeing things move forward. [1:18:22] We just had President Xi come and we had a good announcement out of that trade deal that [1:18:27] they are going to be buying more of our products, $17 billion of our agricultural products. [1:18:32] When President Biden took over, no new trade deals. [1:18:34] And there was actually a trade deficit. [1:18:37] So we're reversing course on that. [1:18:39] One example I would point to, though, is when you look at what other countries are doing [1:18:43] to help China cheat. [1:18:46] Steel is one example. [1:18:47] Look at Canada. [1:18:48] They were actually using Canadian companies to cheat and get Chinese steel into the United [1:18:53] States without paying the proper duties or tariffs. [1:18:56] Those companies have now paid a proper fine. [1:18:58] So accountability is also part of this conversation. [1:19:01] But look at the investment we're getting here in the United States now because of that conversation. [1:19:06] We have a steel mill coming to Southeast Iowa, 1,700 new jobs. [1:19:08] We'll move ahead to Mr. Turek, the same question. [1:19:11] Name one tariff that you would support and one that you would not. [1:19:14] And give us the principle behind that. [1:19:16] You have 60 seconds. [1:19:17] I can tell you that when I'm out there talking to farmers out in Iowa, they are telling me [1:19:22] that the tariffs are absolutely decimating them. [1:19:25] It has led to a loss of markets, a loss of commodities. [1:19:29] You know, our farmers rely on open markets and free trade more than any other group. [1:19:34] We certainly need to have strategic tariffs to protect American manufacturing and American [1:19:38] jobs, but not off the backs of the agricultural industry or off of our farmers, a tariff that [1:19:46] I'm in favor of protecting the tariffs on the automobile industry, again, protecting American [1:19:50] jobs, American manufacturers. [1:19:53] One I'm against the chaotic tariffs that we've seen with with Canada that have led up to 50% [1:19:58] when I'm talking to small businesses here in Iowa. [1:20:02] They talk about that one really, really affecting them. [1:20:05] And as well, when you're talking about importing things like potash for our farmers, for fertilizer, [1:20:10] that one hurts them. [1:20:11] I would also say that one I would really like to see end is the 10% tariffs on soybeans. [1:20:17] We produce more soybeans here in Iowa than any other state. [1:20:21] Our farmers are hurting and it is because of the tariffs, which Ashley Henson voted in favor [1:20:25] of five times. [1:20:26] I have a follow up for you there to get to too. [1:20:28] And you mentioned the potash rising costs on Canadian fertilizer and machinery parts are [1:20:34] financially squeezing our farmers. [1:20:36] The Bad Deal Act in the Senate right now would limit the president's ability to tariff. [1:20:41] Mr. Turek, would you support the Bad Deal Act that could lower costs for Iowa farmers? [1:20:46] Or would you allow the president to still have tariff authority? [1:20:49] Well, I think that the power of the tariffs, just like the power of the purse, was meant [1:20:53] to be in the hands of the legislature, was never meant to be in the hands of the executive [1:20:57] branch. [1:20:58] And yes, I am absolutely in favor of doing away with these tariffs. [1:21:01] Again, Ashley Henson has voted in favor of five times. [1:21:04] But if we're really going to move the needle for our farmers, we need to have year-round [1:21:09] E15 mandatory of country of origin labeling. [1:21:12] We need a federal right to repair so they can actually repair their equipment. [1:21:16] And we need to pass a damn farm bill and not allow Congress to adjourn until they pass [1:21:20] it. [1:21:21] Our farmers are hurting. [1:21:22] Ms. Henson, the same thing. [1:21:23] Would you support the Bad Deal Act that, of course, could lower the cost for Iowa farmers? [1:21:27] Or would you allow the president to still have that tariff authority and you have 30 seconds? [1:21:31] Yeah, well, I would want to review it before I give you a yes or no answer on that. [1:21:34] But generally, I can tell you that I am advocating for Iowa farmers every single day. [1:21:38] I'm listening to their concerns. [1:21:39] And when they do have an issue, I'm advocating directly to the administration. [1:21:42] I talked to President Trump just last Wednesday about soybeans and making sure we are getting [1:21:47] that deal across the finish line. [1:21:49] Corn exports are up 5 percent. [1:21:50] Ethanol exports are up. [1:21:51] DDG exports are up. [1:21:53] So we are having those conversations about how do we support Iowa farmers. [1:21:57] My opponent didn't even show up to vote for the Iowa Farm Bill. [1:22:00] So you talk about actually having farmers' backs. [1:22:02] Again, Josh, you have to show up to work more than two out of every five days. [1:22:05] We're going to move ahead on that thought. [1:22:07] It's a point, though. [1:22:08] I mean, and he's supporting climate activists to sue our farmers. [1:22:10] On to our next question, turning now to the topic of immigration. [1:22:14] A few days ago in the PBS debate, Mr. Turek, you said this. [1:22:19] The ag workers bill. [1:22:21] What I am talking about is we can have safe and secure borders, and we need to have a pathway [1:22:25] to earn citizenship for those that have come here legally. [1:22:30] Mr. Turek, what about those who are here illegally, but they have not committed a criminal offense? [1:22:36] Should there be a pathway to citizenship for them? [1:22:38] You have 60 seconds. [1:22:39] It's not a pathway to citizenship for them. [1:22:42] I've been really clear that, one, we need to have safe and secure borders. [1:22:45] I went down to the border in Laredo. [1:22:47] I saw it. [1:22:48] We still aren't doing enough for stopping illegal drugs, fentanyl, human trafficking. [1:22:55] And we need to have an earned pathway to citizenship for those that have come here legally. [1:23:01] Now, I would say that I agree with Representative Nunn, with Representative Miller-Meeks, and Representative Feenstra that we should pass the Dignity Act, which provides work permits to individuals in that situation, and also the Ag Worker Act, which provides an ease of visas for ag workers. [1:23:20] Ms. Henson, staying with the same topic, immigration, has the administration gone too far on immigration enforcement? [1:23:27] You have 60 seconds. [1:23:28] Well, I think this was the defining issue of the 2024 election. [1:23:32] Iowans were tired of a wide-open border that the Democrats in Congress and President Biden left us a huge mess. [1:23:38] Representative Turek went to the southern border to shoot a commercial. [1:23:41] I've been to the southern border to hear directly from our agents who were dealing with the cartels and the human trafficking every single day. [1:23:47] So, it turns out we didn't need legislation to fix the southern border, we just needed a new president and representatives who were willing to help make sure we actually were funding our CBP agents and our ICE agents. [1:23:58] I am proud to have the endorsement of the Border Patrol agents because I think it is important that they know we have your back on making sure we're keeping our borders safe and secure. [1:24:08] Fentanyl is down in this country. [1:24:10] Dangerous drugs that we're pouring across our southern border are down. [1:24:14] Crime is down because the cartels are losing business. [1:24:17] If you want the cartels to be back in business, vote for Josh Turek, who's allowing your taxpayer dollars to go to illegal immigrants and make it harder for our law enforcement to comply with immigration enforcement. [1:24:27] He even counseled in his official newsletter on how to avoid deportation and avoid immigration enforcement. [1:24:33] I think that's wrong. [1:24:34] That is a lie and actually I am the only one on this stage that has actually voted in a bipartisan manner to address immigration. [1:24:40] I voted with, I was one of only three Democrats. [1:24:43] I'm going to give you 30 seconds, by the way. [1:24:44] Sure, sure, to vote with Republicans because if you have come here illegally and you have committed crimes, you should be deported. [1:24:51] And I'm proud of that. [1:24:53] Meanwhile, Ashley Hinson had an opportunity to vote for a bipartisan bill that was called the most conservative, the most robust, endorsed by the Border Patrol. [1:25:01] And she preferred to play political games. [1:25:03] I acted because of the failure of D.C., because of the failure of people like Ashley Hinson. [1:25:07] I believe that we need to have safe and secure borders. [1:25:10] 30-second rebuttal, Ms. Hinson. [1:25:11] Yeah, I'd be happy to. [1:25:13] The Dignity Act, which my opponent is talking about, allows people convicted of serious misdemeanors to stay, and that includes drunk driving. [1:25:19] So I would say tell that to the mother of Sarah Root, Michelle Root, who lost her daughter to an illegal immigrant who killed Sarah Root because he was here illegally and he was driving drunk. [1:25:28] I think it's also important to talk about the specifics of that legislation, which would have allowed up to 5,000 more illegal immigrants to cross across the southern border every single day. [1:25:38] We needed to turn off that spigot of illegal immigration, and we did that. [1:25:42] We've taken care of the problem, and my opponent doesn't want to recognize that his votes would actually make our country less safe. [1:25:47] Thank you, Ms. Hinson. [1:25:48] Tim, you have a question now on Iowa's farmland. [1:25:50] Yeah, let's talk about this. [1:25:52] Both of you have expressed concerns about outside ownership of Iowa assets. [1:25:57] Who poses the bigger threat to Iowa farmland, foreign governments or large domestic investment firms? [1:26:02] Ms. Hinson, you get the first 60 seconds. [1:26:05] Thank you, Tim. [1:26:06] Yeah, we absolutely need to make sure that foreign adversaries do not own another ounce, another single acre, [1:26:11] of Iowa farmland, and I've led on this issue. [1:26:15] We've been working on making sure that the agriculture secretary actually has a seat at the table on the national organization that actually monitors these transactions. [1:26:24] Our laws here in Iowa, we are very lucky. [1:26:27] We have very strict laws that mandate that foreign adversaries cannot buy our land, but not every state has that. [1:26:33] So I do think there is a federal role here in making sure we're stopping not just the Chinese Communist Party, but adversaries like Russia, like North Korea, like Iran, from buying our farmland near sensitive military sites. [1:26:46] They've tried that down in Texas at the Air Force Base, up in the Dakotas, at our sensitive defense installations as well. [1:26:52] We need to make sure that we're protecting our American infrastructure and our American farmland because we do it best here. [1:26:58] We feed and fuel the world. [1:26:59] We need to protect our assets here. [1:27:00] Mr. Turek, you get 60 seconds as well. [1:27:02] And the same question to you. [1:27:03] Who poses the bigger threat to Iowa farmland, foreign governments or large domestic investment firms? [1:27:08] 60 seconds. [1:27:09] Well, Representative Hinson is actually correct. [1:27:11] We have one of the most robust bans on foreign ownership. [1:27:15] And I was really, really proud in the Iowa legislature to vote on that. [1:27:19] And so I would say that the bigger issue is large corporations. [1:27:24] I mean, our farmers have been told get big or get out many years ago. [1:27:29] 40 years ago, we lost half of our small family farms. [1:27:32] We are on the verge of a farm again, a second farm crisis. [1:27:35] And that is because the real issue that is affecting our farmers now are the tariffs that Ashley Hinson voted in favor of five times. [1:27:43] And this war in Iran that she has voted in favor of continuing seven times, which has led to an increase here in Iowa more than almost any other state gas prices, diesel prices and fertilizer prices. [1:27:53] We have to stop. [1:27:54] That's the real issue that Iowa farmers are dealing with. [1:27:56] Yeah, we have to stop right there. [1:27:57] There's going to be our last questions of the night. [1:27:59] It's hard to believe, but the debate is over. [1:28:01] We have come to the end. [1:28:02] It is time, though, for closing statements. [1:28:05] Mr. Sturk, Mr. Turk, based on a card draw, we're going to begin with you. [1:28:09] You have 30 seconds. [1:28:11] I want to thank each and every Iowan for turning in. [1:28:15] Iowans, as I've been traveling this state, I know. [1:28:18] I've heard from you. [1:28:19] I feel your pain. [1:28:20] I know that you're struggling just to keep food on the table, a roof above your head, and keep gas in your tank. [1:28:25] I want to go to D.C. not to make myself more wealthy, not to go up there and fight for billionaires and large corporations like Ashley Hinson, [1:28:33] has voted for cuts to health care, food assistance, and Social Security just to give tax breaks to billionaires. [1:28:38] I want to go up there and fight for you because I'm one of you. [1:28:40] I've been in that same struggle, and you deserve someone in the United States Senate that is fighting for the average family, the working families, the middle class. [1:28:48] That's time, Mr. Turk. Thank you. [1:28:49] Thank you all. [1:28:50] God bless you all. [1:28:51] God bless Iowa. [1:28:52] Ms. Hinson, you get 30 seconds as well for your closing statement. [1:28:54] Thank you. [1:28:55] Well, thank you, everybody, for joining us tonight. [1:28:57] It's been my honor to represent Northeast Iowa in Congress, and I look forward to serving as your United States Senator. [1:29:03] I'm running for this because I'm a mom. [1:29:05] I'm concerned about the future of our country and what we're doing to leave it for the next generation. [1:29:09] And what you heard tonight was broken record and broken rhetoric. [1:29:13] It doesn't match up, and we need to make sure that we're sending a true Iowan who's going to fight for taxpayers, [1:29:18] who's going to fight for rural America, and who's going to fight to make our country safe and secure. [1:29:22] That's what I will deliver. [1:29:23] Put a minivan-driving mom driving common sense into Washington, D.C. [1:29:27] Thank you both for being with us tonight. [1:29:28] Here in Des Moines, your late news is next, where you'll have full coverage of tonight's debate. [1:29:32] If you're looking for more post-debate coverage, use the QR code. [1:29:36] All right. [1:29:41] You have been watching Iowa debate night. [1:29:43] Ashley Henson and Josh Turk going at it for about an hour or so on a slew of political topics as they vie for the opening. [1:29:51] Senate seat there in Iowa. [1:29:54] Corey Smith, live here in Washington, joined by the Hills Drew Petromo, the National Journal's Nicholas Anastasio. [1:30:01] Guys, what did you make of that, Drew? [1:30:03] You mentioned the word Midwest nice before we went to this debate. [1:30:07] If we didn't get any last week, it felt like we got a double dose of Midwest nice tonight. [1:30:13] As you mentioned, the candidate sitting sort of changes the dynamic a little bit. [1:30:19] The debate was well run. [1:30:20] They got to a lot. [1:30:21] But the candidates didn't necessarily go after each other all that much. [1:30:25] I think I can count on one hand how many times one of them interrupted the other one. [1:30:29] What did you make of what we just saw? [1:30:30] Yeah, man, I think you watch the debate. [1:30:32] And on one hand, it's nice to see some people that are running for political office having a civil discussion about the major issues of the moment. [1:30:40] On the other hand, you could just see to feel felt like there were so many opportunities where we're looking at it like, oh, is this a time when he or she goes after the other candidate that I think there were opportunities to kind of pounce and really try to prosecute the case against their opponent in a way that it just doesn't seem like they want to do in this race. [1:30:57] Now, I don't know if that's a calculation inside the campaigns where they're saying, look, our people are not going to want to see us verbally sparring with each other in that way. [1:31:06] And that will turn off voters. [1:31:07] Or maybe it's just like not the style of these two particular candidates. [1:31:10] But, you know, there was one point where we were just talking as we watched the debate. [1:31:14] Seems like they agree on more than they don't. [1:31:16] They disagree on, which is kind of a rarity to see in politics. [1:31:19] In a certain sense, it's nice. [1:31:20] But I don't know that either candidates separated themselves from the other or made a moment that's going to go viral and possibly kind of change the dynamics of this race. [1:31:29] It seems to be a coin flip. [1:31:30] It's going to be a coin flip going in. [1:31:32] I do think that Ashley Henson showed herself to be a pretty natural communicator. [1:31:37] You have Josh Turek kind of looking down at his notes a lot and not really as nimble, I think, as as as Henson is in this debate. [1:31:45] But both of them, I think, performed well and we're not going to see, I don't think, a change in the dynamic of this race. [1:31:51] Nicholas, if Josh Turek didn't mention Trump by name, he certainly tried to tie Ashley Henson to the president via his policies on tariffs on the one big, beautiful. [1:32:02] Bill, what did you make of the hour long debate we just watched? [1:32:05] You know, I think it was one of those situations where Henson, I think, started out trying to like tow that bipartisan line to sort of focus on what they agree upon. [1:32:16] And it was apparent that Turek was not going to do that necessarily. [1:32:19] It was going to do a dose of bipartisanship and a dose of trying to bring her favorability down. [1:32:25] And in some ways, you know, she was trying to avoid it a little bit, just stand the bipartisan lane a little bit. [1:32:32] But the moment when stock trades were mentioned and Turek mentioned her husband, you could tell that a switch flipped and she was going to refer to every single one of her notes. [1:32:41] And she was very quick witted about it. So ultimately, you know, I would say it was Midwest nice. [1:32:46] It seems nicer than the other debates that we've seen as of recently. [1:32:49] But there was a little bit of slyness to it. [1:32:52] And the one thing with Henson is she is very quick witted. [1:32:55] Yeah, if there was one moment that kind of did have some tension there and candidates kind of going after each other. [1:33:02] It was the moment where Nick just mentioned talking about the Ashley Henson's business, her husband's business that he sold. [1:33:09] Turek will say that that shows that maybe her influence in Congress allowed their net worth to go up. [1:33:15] I think he mentioned by 15 times over. [1:33:18] So I do think that was the one issue where he saw some tensions flare. [1:33:21] But like compared to what we saw in Michigan, I think it was really, you know, not that bad. [1:33:25] Yeah. To Drew's point, I was surprised how many times we did actually hear Josh Turek say, you know what, on this issue, me and Ashley Henson agree. [1:33:32] I was also interested and struck by the way that they both did not necessarily answer the entire question on the war in Iran. [1:33:39] They both say that it needs to end immediately. [1:33:42] Ashley Henson makes the case that it needs to end immediately and successfully. [1:33:46] I don't she never went into what successful looks like. [1:33:50] But neither of them answered should Iran be given or allowed to have control over the Strait of Hormuz. [1:33:57] And Drew, to your point, I thought that that was a chance perhaps for Josh Turek to pounce because we have heard other candidates mentioned. [1:34:04] This wasn't this wouldn't even be a question if the president had launched a war in the first place. [1:34:09] So now we've got to figure out a way to get out of the war while also returning the Strait to its pre-war sort of reality on the ground. [1:34:18] Yeah. One of the questions I have if I'm putting on my strategist for the hat for the turret campaign, it's like if he's going around the state and people are feeling so much pain over the policy of the Trump administration. [1:34:30] Like he says, people talking about farmers losing their farms. I mean, these are really kind of life altering scenarios that he's talking about. [1:34:38] I just don't know if that comes through on the debate stage where he's really trying to hold her account. [1:34:42] She is a member of Congress from the party of the president. [1:34:45] These all these terrible things are happening in the state, and I just don't really see that sense of urgency from him. [1:34:51] I'm sure he's you know, when he's out on the campaign trail, it's different. I imagine people are getting flooded with ads that make that point. [1:34:58] But yeah, I think he took some opportunities to kind of chip away at it and make sure that people that are feeling that pain realize where it's coming from. [1:35:07] But I don't think it was just like you could imagine a case being made that was a little bit more forceful. [1:35:13] Yeah, I think, Nicholas, I think there was also a lot of meat left on the bone when you're talking about the rural health care piece of this and how many rural health care facilities have been shut down. [1:35:24] And like a lot of Republicans running for office this cycle, they continue to point to this 50 billion dollars for rural health facilities that was put in the one big, beautiful bill. [1:35:36] But they conveniently leave out the part that it was a last minute addition to that bill. [1:35:41] And it was interesting to hear Josh Turek say, yeah, she added it to the one big, beautiful bill and voted for it. [1:35:46] But Iowa only gets a sliver of that money continuing to sort of drive the point home that Republicans and their policies have been bad for rural health care in places like Iowa. [1:35:57] Yeah, I think ultimately Turk was trying to strike this tone of disagreement, but not complete lambasting. [1:36:04] I feel like that was always something that was talked about in the Democratic primary when he went up against State Senator Zach Waltz, who I think was a little bit more forward on these issues. [1:36:14] Turk was always kind of trying to lay low a little bit and not cause too much fire. [1:36:18] And, you know, the goal for Turk is to try and tie himself as much as possible to Robson, who's tried his best to kind of buck the partisanship, not just in Washington, but in the country. [1:36:30] And so I think for Turk, he's in this weird situation where he's trying to tack as many things as he can to Hinson, but he's not trying to come off as too aggressive. [1:36:40] I mean, I think it's worth noting that Hinson didn't really call him a ton of labels throughout the night. [1:36:46] You know, sometimes she'll say, like, you know, he's spouting liberal lies, but she's not going on and on about radical leftist Josh Turk and calling him a socialist. [1:36:54] She recognizes that Turk has kind of mellowed himself enough. [1:36:58] And so the biggest thing that, you know, people are able to complain about him is Miss State House votes. [1:37:05] That's the biggest complaint on him versus, you know, ideological constraints as much. [1:37:10] So I think he's trying to just lay low as much as possible. [1:37:13] And you could tell that the laying low on both of their parts kind of minimized how many big attacks there really were. [1:37:19] I think both of them were just trying to avoid massive attacks and massive holes. [1:37:24] And, Drew, to Nick's point there, you mentioned that there were times where they just completely agreed with one another on policies. [1:37:31] I watched this debate, and at several moments, if I closed my eyes and listened to Josh Turk and didn't know if he was a Republican or Democrat, I would say he was talking like a Republican. [1:37:41] He talked about the moratorium on data centers, and he's not for that, you know, requiring some of these farms to do more to mitigate water quality issues. [1:37:50] He says he wasn't in favor of the federal government coming in and mandating it. [1:37:55] And then on the trans issue, he said, look, this is already settled law in Iowa. [1:37:59] I don't believe biological boys should be allowed to play in girls' sports. [1:38:04] It really kind of takes the culture wars off the table and puts more of the emphasis on the economic issues, [1:38:10] that we know are ultimately going to drive voters to the polls. [1:38:12] I think also very moderate on the immigration issue. [1:38:14] They sound pretty similar on that issue, too. [1:38:16] He says no path to citizenship for people who came here illegally. [1:38:20] Talked about a path to legal status and some of the issues and how that affects agricultural, [1:38:25] the agricultural economy inside the state. [1:38:27] But, yeah, I mean, you know, I think he's trying to paint himself as a moderate. [1:38:30] And even, you know, if you're going to criticize him for not really laying in to Henson over what, you know, [1:38:36] you could say where some are more controversial votes or the Republican, the Trump administration's foreign policy. [1:38:42] She didn't really go after him trying to tie him to the more progressive members of the party. [1:38:47] We didn't hear her talking about DSA, didn't talk about the fact that he could empower that wing of the party, [1:38:53] which is a framework, a framing that we've seen many Republicans make. [1:38:57] So, yeah, I think leaving some meat on the bone is a good way to put it, which you said earlier. [1:39:02] But I do think there are both areas. [1:39:04] If you close your eyes, there are a lot of areas where you can't really tell who's the Democrat and who's the Republican in this race. [1:39:09] Nicholas, if you were in the spin room tonight there in Iowa, what would you be asking both of these campaigns? [1:39:14] You know, I think I would be asking, you know, Turek. [1:39:18] I would probably be pushing him a little bit on the Miss State House votes because I think in the past few debates, [1:39:24] he's focused on his bipartisan record in the State House. [1:39:29] But ultimately, oftentimes, he isn't always explaining the motives behind it. [1:39:33] And some of the reasoning he usually gives is, well, I had to campaign. [1:39:37] And I think the big question is, OK, well, then what is the apparatus? [1:39:41] Is this an issue for any State House member or member of the state legislature that's trying to campaign for a higher office? [1:39:48] Is this an institutional problem? [1:39:49] Does this need to be changed? [1:39:50] But ultimately, his answer is either to kind of ignore the fact that he's missed a lot of State House votes [1:39:55] or to just kind of tack it on to, well, I had to campaign for his office. [1:40:00] If it was to come to Hinson, I think ultimately it's what she's expecting on a range of these things, whether it's tariffs, whether it's the Iran war. [1:40:09] Ultimately, she's always in this state where you could tell that she wants to break away from Trump, [1:40:14] but she also feels that she can't separate herself so much that she sort of bothers him. [1:40:21] And I think that's been the struggle for a lot of these Republican candidates, [1:40:24] is they do as much as they can to separate themselves from the president without bringing his ire. [1:40:30] The Dignity Act in question, which is a bipartisan bill that is co-sponsored by Maria Elvira Salazar, [1:40:36] she caught a lot of flack for that and not just that bill specifically, but for pushing for amnesty. [1:40:42] And so it was very interesting to see Hinson in this battleground state talk about it. [1:40:46] But granted, that's Iowa and Salazar is representing a district in South Miami. [1:40:51] So ultimately, it shows this divide within the party and ultimately what candidates have to do to succeed. [1:40:57] So ultimately, I think it's just pushing Hinson on how does she expect these things to end and what pressure she can actually apply. [1:41:05] And that's what's so interesting, Drew, is in a state like Iowa, just like in a state like Texas and like Florida, [1:41:11] the immigration issue is also very much an agricultural issue. [1:41:15] And we heard Josh Turek talking about, you know, not necessarily saying that there should be a pathway to citizenship. [1:41:20] But when it comes to needing work in agriculture, there needs to be an ease of access to get things like work permits and visas in order to do the work that so that a lot of immigrants had been doing before we saw, you know, the current crackdown by the Trump administration, [1:41:39] which even some Republicans have hinted has been sort of this unintended consequence of the mass deportation effort coming from the White House. [1:41:46] Yeah. And we even heard one of the candidates talking about the soybean issue. [1:41:50] You know, I was looking back at some statistics about how much soy is being sold into China. [1:41:55] Ten years ago was about 50 50 of the soybeans that China bought came from the U.S. and Brazil. [1:42:01] Those numbers are way down. And Iowa is one of the states that's feeling that's feeling the pain from that. [1:42:06] I think you watch this camp, you watch this debate and you think, you know, if you close your eyes, you can't really tell who's a Democrat and who's the Republican. [1:42:13] I think the big question moving forward is to voters look at that and say, look, they both kind of sounds the same. [1:42:18] I'm just going to go with my reflexes here and do what I usually do, which is vote Republican. [1:42:21] Or am I so angry at the current state of affairs that I want to send a message to the president because I don't think that he followed through on his campaign promises. [1:42:29] And I think that's kind of ultimately what's going to decide this race. [1:42:32] Nicholas, did you notice any, you know, made for political campaign ad moments? [1:42:39] I mean, to Drew's point, it was a lot of Midwest nice. [1:42:42] And while it was a very well run debate at times, it was a little dry, but perhaps maybe that's what Iowans are looking for. [1:42:50] Of course, we always want to learn as much as we can from these candidates. [1:42:53] But did you see anything that may have a campaign strategist, a campaign manager, you know, clicking click clacking their their their keyboard to try and come up with an ad idea? [1:43:03] You know, it's it's we're getting so down to the wire that I question how much they're going to like clip out of this ad if they hadn't clipped out of the Iowa PBS ad. [1:43:13] I think it was very striking when they asked Turek about his missed state house vote record and immediately answered. [1:43:20] Yes, I did miss. So like so it was very straightforward and very honest. [1:43:24] So I would imagine Republicans feel good about that straightforward answer. [1:43:28] But there's also a lot of fodder ultimately for Hinson and some of the answers that she brought about, whether it was the Iran war, whether it was in relation to terrorists. [1:43:40] I mean, she acknowledged in the debate that no one likes terrorists. [1:43:43] So ultimately, she there's this recognition that she's stuck between a rock and a hard place. [1:43:48] So, you know, I'm sure both parties are going to try their best to shoehorn it into a digital ad. [1:43:53] Don't know if it ends up in a TV ad. [1:43:55] Frankly, a lot of this stuff has been talked about ad nauseum to the point where you don't even need to waste your time putting it in an ad. [1:44:02] It's already been made. [1:44:04] Yeah, no, it's interesting to like we think that the election is still a few weeks away. [1:44:10] So maybe this still has a time to trickle out into the state. [1:44:13] And granted, you know, some people will end up voting on Election Day, but early voting starts tomorrow. [1:44:18] So it's like the notion that there's a lot of voters to still make up their mind may not be the case right now. [1:44:23] People are knowing that they can start voting with early voting in person. [1:44:26] This first weekend coming up will be a big weekend for voting. [1:44:29] So I think it's not like maybe we used to think of back 10, 15 years ago where everything was focused so much on Election Day because of the important role that early voting plays in the election cycles these days. [1:44:42] You know, a lot of these decisions, I imagine, have already been made. [1:44:46] And because of the kind of gloves on approach, I think these candidates took, I don't think there's one moment that is just going to light the Internet on fire. [1:44:54] Nicholas, before we let you go, do you have a sense of maybe which candidate did better tonight or is this kind of just going to be a wash of a debate and it's going to be up to those sort of last days and weeks for them to make their case? [1:45:06] You know, I think Hinson, you could you could tell that, you know, her past days as an anchor really helped her in this debate. [1:45:13] She was very quick with it. [1:45:14] She was very quick to the touch. [1:45:15] And I think that's what helps for ticket splitting to potentially happen. [1:45:20] You know, Iowans aren't it's not new to them to do ticket splitting. [1:45:25] That's how Rob Sand has been state auditor for two terms in a row. [1:45:28] There was a point in time heading into 2022 that the state attorney general was a longtime Democrat. [1:45:34] So, you know, Iowa has shifted, you know, more and more in the Trump era towards Republicans. [1:45:39] But ticket splitting has been a thing, but it's been, you know, rather strategic. [1:45:43] And at least how Republicans put is that they don't think that it's the hardest or most unbelievable idea that if there are voters that are willing to vote for Rob Sand, they can sort of cleanse their decision in voting for Ashley Hinson. [1:45:59] But the one thing I would pay attention to is that there was one candidate that was not on this debate that could make a big deal. [1:46:06] And it was the libertarian candidate. [1:46:08] It was Greene County attorney Thomas Lane. [1:46:10] He is, I believe, the first libertarian elected official in Iowa. [1:46:15] And, you know, there have been many great articles. [1:46:18] Paul Cain, he's a columnist with The Washington Sun right now, pointed out that back in 2006, a lot of these races, the winner didn't win 50 percent. [1:46:26] The libertarian took, you know, one to two to three percent in a very, very close race. [1:46:31] And ultimately, the Democrat prevailed. [1:46:33] So, you know, Hinson could really work hard and get that ticket splitting to narrow it closer than that governor's race. [1:46:39] But I would keep an eye out for the libertarian number on election night if this race gets really, really close. [1:46:45] And that's exactly why we have somebody like you join us every single time we have a primary or debate. [1:46:50] Nicholas Anastasio with The National Journal. [1:46:52] Nicholas, thank you so much. [1:46:53] We'll see you next time, my friend. [1:46:55] Let's go and bring in Sofia Vento, the campaign editor for The Hill. [1:47:00] Good evening to you, Sofia. [1:47:01] What did you make of this very cordial and civil debate we just watched? [1:47:05] Yeah, it's definitely a bit of a palate cleanser, I'd say, for other debates that I've watched. [1:47:11] You know, I was watching Georgia earlier, too, and there's a lot more jabs in that Senate debate. [1:47:15] But, you know, I mean, I think, again, you're seeing a lot of policy proposals. [1:47:19] It's a little bit meatier. [1:47:20] And, you know, maybe it's not as sexy for, you know, talking on cable TV purposes. [1:47:24] But, you know, it is really indicative of sort of where this race is at. [1:47:28] You know, I don't think there was necessarily a clear winner. [1:47:31] And, you know, I think they both and they also had some pretty similar policy positions in a lot of positions or a lot of places, too. [1:47:39] So I think this is really going to be one of those races to watch. [1:47:42] Obviously, you know, it is a toss up. [1:47:44] But today's debate, I don't you know, I don't see it necessarily moving the needle in one direction or the other. [1:47:50] So, Drew, I think if you're an Iowa voter and you're not sure you saw tonight, well, there's Ashley Henson, who's got an R next to her name. [1:47:57] She is in the same party as the president, who has made some decisions, good and bad, for the state of Iowa. [1:48:04] And then you got Josh Turek, who, as you mentioned, isn't DSA, isn't far left, certainly paints himself as a moderate, the former Republican. [1:48:12] For those undecided voters out there, was there anything tonight that you could look at and say, OK, that could probably get an undecided voter to vote Henson or vote Turek? [1:48:23] You know, I think it's actually a pretty difficult decision to make for the undecided voter, because say you're an undecided voter who thinks that the president's policies has generally not been good for the state. [1:48:34] Even if you think that you realize that Henson is a Republican and she has some ties to the president, maybe she's a more effective. [1:48:42] She has more ability to communicate with the president. [1:48:45] I mean, there's I think there's some natural questioning is Josh Turek and actually be able to step in and change anything. [1:48:51] I mean, he's a politician from the other party. [1:48:54] President Trump is going to kind of be President Trump no matter what the Democrats do. [1:48:59] So it's a tough difficulty. How much of a message? [1:49:02] I think that's that's the big question here is like, do people really feel like they want to send a message to President Trump and Republicans that they think he's veered off course? [1:49:12] Because this is a state, after all, that did vote for President Trump three times. [1:49:16] It's a state that he has had a lot of success in elections, not on the obviously the ballot right now. [1:49:21] So it's going to be a different electorate. But can you convince enough people that it is important at this moment to send a message whether or not he can change the dynamics on the Iran war or the tariff war or anything like that? [1:49:33] I think there's probably some skepticism of whether he's going to be able to do that even with Republican majorities in either chamber. [1:49:40] Yeah, you know, it was interesting, Sophia, we were watching this and there were moments where they said, oh, I agree with you. [1:49:44] One of them was on this Russian diesel deal and they both said, yeah, we got to do something to get diesel prices down. [1:49:49] But I don't necessarily know if making a deal with Vladimir Putin is the way to go. [1:49:54] But the only person who can have any sort of legislative impact on a decision such as that is Ashley Henson, because she's the one serving in Congress. [1:50:03] She's the one that could potentially have the president's ear here to say this is not a good deal. [1:50:09] How do you think that answer came across where she says, no, we shouldn't do this. [1:50:15] But I understand that diesel prices are high. We've got to do something to address that. [1:50:19] I mean, it's sort of in the same vein of we've been seeing these battleground candidates come out sort of in waves against the Iran war, Canada tariffs. [1:50:26] And, you know, they're walking that fine line and Republicans, I mean, are walking that fine line with the president where you're trying to stay in his good graces, trying to attract those voters that, you know, are really firmly in his camp while also acknowledging the realities of the economy right now. [1:50:42] Things are expensive. And I think whether or not that action, you know, sort of comes to fruition. [1:50:47] Obviously, we have to see on Election Day whether Iowa voters choose her. [1:50:50] But again, it shows that willingness to sort of buck your leader and the leader of the party in the interest of voters and the general population. [1:50:59] So, I mean, I think that was probably the biggest moment in my book that stood out just given it was, you know, little news being made. [1:51:06] But we'll have to see. All right, guys, let's let's take a step back. We've got about 10 minutes left. [1:51:12] Let's just talk about the races shaping up. There's been a lot of news about the Texas Senate race and James Tallarico. [1:51:20] Where was he for nine days? So much so that you've got The New York Times reporting on timestamp surveillance video showing where he was. [1:51:27] Sophie, I'm interested. You were I've been looking at X over the last couple of hours and hour or so and seeing the Georgia debate as well. [1:51:36] We didn't get any fireworks in Iowa debate, but just walk us through some of what happened in Georgia tonight and some of what we saw there as Mike Collins and John Ossoff continue to go at it. [1:51:44] You know, that's definitely a very fiery battle to very, you know, strong personalities, I'd say. [1:51:49] And it was they first met on the debate stage last week and it's largely I mean, it continued to today where it's been focused on a lot of personal attacks about their backgrounds. [1:51:57] You know, Collins is calling Ossoff a trust, you know, trust fund kid. [1:52:02] And, you know, today he used the line that, you know, he represents Georgetown, not Georgia. [1:52:06] Whereas Ossoff has really ripped Collins for some of the controversies. [1:52:10] He's had some ethical issues and investigations, but also some scrutiny of staffers with controversial remarks and whatnot that he's had. [1:52:20] So we've seen just sort of the jabbing back and forth there where, you know, that's a race. [1:52:25] It's interesting because a year ago we were all like Georgia, Georgia, Georgia. [1:52:29] And now, you know, Ossoff, I think the latest has a 10 point lead in the polls. [1:52:33] And, you know, it's maybe not the sexiest race on everyone's radar. [1:52:36] But again, when you see those big figures on the stage, it definitely attracts those eyeballs. [1:52:42] The other notable thing I would mention is having watched the debate, Ossoff did confirm when asked directly if he would serve the six year term if elected again and not run for president in 2028. [1:52:53] And he said yes. [1:52:54] You know, he's been pretty clear he's not running in 2028. [1:52:57] But I believe this was the first time publicly that he's, you know, committed to running or to staying in the seat for six years. [1:53:03] Raise your hand if you're skeptical of that answer. [1:53:05] He said he had no interest in running for president, not even a 1% or 2% chance. [1:53:11] I think that's a little bit hard to believe. [1:53:13] Yeah. [1:53:14] We're all skeptical of this because we've heard politicians say this before. [1:53:17] But I do think, I mean, if he does end up running, that's going to be a pretty big backtrack. [1:53:22] That's going to be difficult to explain away. [1:53:24] I mean, sometimes we've seen politicians kind of hedge like I'm running for Senate. [1:53:29] I don't have any interest in running for the president. [1:53:31] That can change. [1:53:32] But saying, yes, I'm going to serve my six years and I have no interest in running for president. [1:53:38] Pretty unequivocal there. [1:53:39] I mean, it would be a pretty big backtrack if he does, but we've seen that. [1:53:42] But it's the built in backtrack. [1:53:44] It's you never know when when when duty will call upon you and you have to answer that call no matter when it is. [1:53:50] And what I said X amount of years ago is so much different now that the time demands action and I've got to step in. [1:53:56] But would it really be that big of a deal if he hedged in some way? [1:53:59] I mean, would people be like, I'm not voting for him because he said right now I'm focused on this race. [1:54:04] Obviously 28 is going to be big. [1:54:06] I intend on, you know, I, you know, some kind of, I intend on serving the six years. [1:54:11] All I'm thinking about is Georgia. [1:54:13] Well, Sophie, it sounds like even if, even if he had said no, it really wouldn't have made a difference in this race. [1:54:19] Because he just continues to pummel Mike Collins on the professional and personal baggage in his life. [1:54:26] We're also seeing, I believe today it was announced Obama will be traveling to Georgia actually later this month, too. [1:54:32] And I was a little surprised to see that. [1:54:34] I wonder how much about how much of that is more about Keisha Lance Bottoms. [1:54:38] And that was my race. [1:54:39] Exactly. [1:54:40] That was my next point because I think that's sort of one of the sleeper races, too. [1:54:43] It's been very neck and neck in the polls. [1:54:45] And, you know, obviously hasn't had much of attention given there's so much other stuff going on. [1:54:49] But, you know, that the governor's management will matter a lot, whether that's redistricting or just looking ahead to 2028 in general. [1:54:56] So I do think it's probably more for that. [1:54:59] But I'm sure Obama, Ossoff campaign photos will also do great. [1:55:04] We were comparing Senate races and Georgia strikes me as what we could potentially see in Texas, where you get a Democratic Senate candidate win that race and you get a Republican governor. [1:55:16] I can certainly see a scenario where James Tallarico wins the Senate race and Greg Abbott wins the governor's race. [1:55:22] Absolutely. [1:55:23] Yeah. [1:55:24] What other races are you watching as we get ever so close to Election Day, where, you know, some of these races are leaning more towards Democrats now than originally thought. [1:55:36] And in some races, Republicans may be reeling the challenger back in. [1:55:40] I mean, obviously, Texas. [1:55:42] Are there going to be a debate in that race? [1:55:44] It looks like at least of now there's not going to be. [1:55:46] Does that end up being an issue for Ken Paxton? [1:55:48] Because it seems you can make the argument that he seemed to be ducking and doesn't want to actually debate Tallarico. [1:55:54] Also interested in Alaska. [1:55:55] You know, we were talking about the different, you know, this is a state we're talking about Iowa today. [1:56:00] It's a big agricultural state manufacturing in Michigan up in Alaska. [1:56:04] It's a natural resource extraction, big fishing industry there. [1:56:09] So maybe not as hard hit on some of the agriculture issues as as Iowa is. [1:56:15] Mary Potola has one statewide there before President Trump obviously there today campaigning with Sullivan. [1:56:21] So Alaska is an interesting one to watch. [1:56:24] And of course, Maine, like can Susan Collins again resist the political currents and hold onto that seat in a state that Democrats almost always win in presidential cycles? [1:56:34] Yeah, we've been just watching clips on social media of the debate up in Maine where Susan Collins, it appears, perhaps got the name of a person killed by federal agents in an immigration crackdown. [1:56:49] And that was quickly pounced upon by her challenger. [1:56:52] Yeah, to your point, Drew, the president being up in Alaska and we continue to see Sophia, the president going to these, you know, traditionally strong red MAGA states to gin up the base. [1:57:06] Is that still the strategy for Republicans get the president out there to excite the base and not necessarily try to go for the independence, go for the persuadable Democrats or the moderate Republicans? [1:57:20] It sure seems like it. I mean, these campaign stops, there's multiple a day that I feel like are getting announced and, you know, red states or even just red districts to, you know, at the convention, the midterm convention in Dallas last month, he pledged to visit all 35 swing districts or, you know, districts up in contention. [1:57:38] And I don't, at this rate, I don't know if that's possible, especially when you're, you know, heading to ruby red techs or Kentucky and these Texas districts and whatnot. [1:57:47] So it does seem like, you know, there's no sign of slowing down that that's the strategy. [1:57:52] He announced today that they'll be heading to Wichita, Kansas. [1:57:56] Obviously, there's a really big Senate race there of watch. [1:57:59] But at this point, it does seem like they're hitting all those red states. [1:58:02] And we're three weeks out from Election Day. So there's not much more time. [1:58:05] Yeah. We interested to see if he makes any trips to Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia, some of the states that I think. [1:58:13] But even if the question, I think, but even if he does go to any of those states, are the Republican candidates, the nominee is going to appear on stage with him? [1:58:20] I mean, if you're, if you're Mike Rogers, do you want to be seen on stage with the president Trump? [1:58:26] Probably not. [1:58:28] But there, I think there comes a time in some of these races. [1:58:32] Anyway, I think we'll see what happens in the polling, but you're almost to, for some of these Republican candidates in a place, maybe like North Carolina, that president Trump has performed well in. [1:58:41] You're almost to like hail Mary time. [1:58:43] I mean, Roy Cooper has been consistently up sometimes even by double digits. [1:58:47] It might be time to throw a hail Mary and say, look, President Trump has won this state. [1:58:51] His voters like him. [1:58:52] If he comes here, maybe I have a chance of, you know, drumming up the MAGA vote in a way that I can't without him. [1:58:58] So, you know, maybe that's a calculation that goes into the last few weeks of the campaign. [1:59:02] Yeah. And look, we've also seen some Republican donors pull back in a state like North Carolina. [1:59:07] We got news today that Republicans are pulling back for a congressional race in Iowa as well. [1:59:13] So I'm really interested, Sophia, to know if that could have a down ballot effect or I guess in this case an up ballot effect because the Senate's an upper chamber thing. [1:59:21] But if you're Ashley Henson, I mean, that can't necessarily be bad because any sort of good ads for a Republican is going to serve all Republicans, not just the one the ad is about. [1:59:31] Mm hmm. It's definitely interesting to see sort of the calculus playing out just as we really quickly approach Election Day. [1:59:38] And I believe also they pulled there's some reporting in The Times today or maybe yesterday that they're pulling out funding for Tom Kane's district in New Jersey as well. [1:59:46] Just also a toss up. And I mean, it surely can't be a great feeling for Republicans in the House seeing, you know, there are these incumbents losing those funds. [1:59:55] But I mean, again, it's Republicans do have that spending and fundraising advantage. [2:00:01] But, you know, with these these political headwinds, they definitely do have to really, I think, reevaluate and that's what we're seeing in real time where that money is going to be going. [2:00:12] Some of those 15 seconds. Some of those candidates should dial 1-800-ELON-MUSK and hit him up because he's spending ungodly amounts of money in this campaign. [2:00:21] And some of those candidates could sure use it after the National Party is pulling that money out. [2:00:25] But interesting debate tonight. It was good to actually see some some issues be talked about and a little more civility in our politics. [2:00:31] All right. We are going to have to leave it there. Everybody, thank you so much for joining us, not just tonight, but for every primary and debate we hosted here. [2:00:38] We will see you on election night, November 3rd. Be sure to subscribe to The Hill Insider for all your election coverage. [2:00:44] For Drew, for Sophia, I'm Corey. We'll see you next time.