Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson won another two years representing northeastern Iowa Tuesday. Hinson ran up a sizable vote margin over Democratic challenger Liz Mathis, capturing 55 percent of the vote by the time the Associated Press called the race shortly after midnight.
“I think it's really important that we continue to believe in our state,” Hinson told an ecstatic crowd in Cedar Rapids. “We have to believe in Iowa and Iowa.”
Tonight, Iowans sent a clear message that we are not going to stand for this craziness being pushed by Nancy Pelosi and those who are committed to doubling down on the D.C. way... We are doubling down on the Iowan way.Rep. Ashley Hinson
With her victory, Iowa Republicans appeared to take home every seat in Iowa’s congressional delegation, though the 3rd District race between Rep. Cindy Axne and Republican state Sen. Zach Nunn had not been called early Wednesday morning. Hinson called her victory a rebuke of Democrats and the Biden administration.
“Tonight, Iowans sent a clear message that we are not going to stand for this craziness being pushed by Nancy Pelosi and those who are committed to doubling down on the D.C. way,” she said. “We are doubling down on the Iowan way.”
In the lead up to Election Day, Hinson and the rest of her ticket focused their message on blaming the Biden administration for the nation’s high inflation rate, particularly the price of gas. At a campaign event in Robins, last month, she approached residents at the gas pump to talk about the rising prices to foreground the issue.
Karen Kedrowski, the Director of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics at Iowa State University, told IPR News that the time to beat an incumbent is their first time they are up for reelection. And on Tuesday night, Hinson cleared that hurdle.
In a statement conceding the race to Hinson, Mathis said she was disappointed she wasn’t able to overcome the “Republican midterm momentum.”
“I’m proud of the campaign we built together and grateful for the hard work our volunteers and team have put in over the last 14 months,” her statement said.
Election Results
U.S. House Balance of Power
2nd Congressional District
Iowa's 2nd Congressional District now includes Cedar Rapids, Waterloo, Dubuque, and much of northeast Iowa. The district numbering has changed in the latest redistricting process - the 2nd District had covered Southeastern Iowa.
The 2nd District candidates
Two former broadcast journalists are competing to represent Iowa's newly redrawn 2nd Congressional District in the U.S. House. Let's get to know them.
Ashley Hinson
Also a former KCRG-TV9 anchor and reporter, Hinson was the Iowa state representative for the 67th district from 2017 to 2021, the first woman to represent the district. Hinson and Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks are the first Republican women to represent Iowa in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Liz Mathis
Democratic state Sen. Liz Mathis has been an Iowa state Senator since 2011. A former anchor and reporter at both KCRG-TV9 and KWWL, she was elected to represent the 18th district in a November 2011 special election and re-elected to the redrawn 34th district in 2012.
Mathis co-chairs the Administration and Regulation Appropriations Subcommittee, serves as the legislative liaison to the Iowa Department of Public Health.
