Democrat Sarah Corkery is challenging U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson in Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District in the Nov. 5 general election. (Photos by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch; Pool photo by Savannah Blake/The Gazette)
As U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson defends her seat in northeastern Iowa in the upcoming election against Democratic challenger Sarah Corkery, the candidate has spent time on the campaign trail linking her candidacy with former President Donald Trump’s 2024 run.
The race for Iowa’s 2nd District is expected to be less competitive than other congressional seats in the state, like Iowa’s 1st and 3rd districts. In the 1st District, Democrat Christina Bohannan faces Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks. In the 3rd, Democrat Lanon Baccam is challenging GOP incumbent Rep. Zach Nunn.
Cook Political Report, alongside other election forecasters, have labeled both the 1st District race and the 3rd District races as “toss-ups,” but do not list the 2nd District as a competitive race.
The 2nd District Democrat, a disability rights advocate and small business owner in Cedar Falls, attributed that disparity to the lack of money her campaign has raised in comparison to other candidates. Corkery raised $98,166 in the Federal Elections Commission reporting period from April 1 through June 30, significantly less than Baccam at $1.3 million and Bohannan at $1.2 million. Hinson raised $719,581 in the same period, and ended the July report with $1.9 million cash on hand while Corkery had $69,428 in reserve funds.
Corkery said that while her campaign has seen higher donations in the months since that summer report, her campaign has smaller fundraising and spending efforts than Democratic campaigns for other congressional seats – and she says that the lack of money is why the 2nd District is not on many national election watchers’ radars.
“It’s 100% because we have not raised nearly the money that the other candidates had,” Corkery said. “Ashley’s raised $4 million. Lanon, all those folks have raised $2 to $4 million. We’ve raised $400,000, we might get to a half a million … I don’t think most Americans, or Iowans say, ‘who raised the most money? That’s what I’m going to vote for’. They vote for the person they connect with and that they believe in.”
Though fundraising numbers are less flashy in the 2nd District race, Corkery said that both her campaign and Hinson’s have started their ad pushes this week as early voting begins.
“We’re running over $100,000 worth of ads,” Corkery said. “For someone who only raised half a million dollars, that’s pretty darn good.”
On the campaign trail, Hinson has taken largely a wider focus than the congressional race, speaking in support of former President Donald Trump and criticizing President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, at Iowa events and when speaking as a surrogate for GOP candidates in other states.
Hinson focuses on immigration, taxes while Corkery hits abortion
The incumbent Republican has named inflation as her top issue heading into the 2024 general election, stating that it’s the biggest issue impacting Iowa families she hears about when traveling through the 2nd District. In a Monday “Iowa Press” debate, Hinson called for Congress to extend the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed by Trump in 2017 that is set to expire in 2025, and said it’s necessary to help families and small businesses deal with rising costs of living.
“I just finished another Main Street tour on my 22-county tour last week, visited three small businesses in Waukon – look, they’re already feeling the pinch of inflation because people are not buying as much as they maybe had resources to do before,” Hinson said. “That is the reality under Biden inflation and Biden and Harris’ America. So, I think it’s really important that we protect Iowans from a tax increase next year because if those are allowed to expire the average Iowa family will see an increase of about 25 percent.”
Corkery said she supports letting the 2017 Trump tax law expire, saying that it disproportionately favors wealthy Americans. Hinson said her opponent “said the quiet part out loud here,” and that Democrats support increasing taxes across all income levels.
“This is important to consider, if you’re watching this tonight and you’re concerned about your bottom line at home, at your kitchen table,” Hinson said. “The Democrats in Congress have said, ‘We don’t have a spending problem, we have a revenue problem.’ My philosophy is this is your money, it’s not the government’s money, I want to see as much of it stay with you at home as possible.”
Corkery also told reporters that she does not want to be “flippant” about the impacts of inflation, but that the current rate of inflation is expected as the American economy continues to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and shutdowns.
In addition to invoking Biden and Harris as responsible for rising costs, Hinson has also heavily criticized the Democratic administration’s border security policies. At Hinson’s annual “BBQ Bash” fundraiser in August, the representative said both Biden and Harris have been “trying to turn our country into a liberal wasteland with their policies.”
She contrasted federal immigration policies with those implemented in Iowa, like the 2024 law currently being challenged by the U.S. Department of Justice making illegal immigration a state crime.
“While Biden and Harris are our supposed borders czars, right, opened up our southern border, allowing communities of dangerous into our communities, Gov. Reynolds and our legislation passed legislation to deport dangerous illegals from our communities,” Hinson said to applause.
Hinson also spoke in October about seeing the impacts of immigration and illegal border crossings on Iowa communities, pointing to anecdotes about higher rates of people who do not speak English requesting translation or English education services.
Corkery said Hinson and Republicans were “fear mongering” on the issue of immigration, instead saying the focus should be on expanding and improving the legal immigration system.
The Democratic candidate also said more focus needs to be put toward abortion – a topic that’s expected to be a decisive issue in many of this year’s legislative races. Corkery criticized Hinson for cosponsoring legislation that would guarantee a “right to life” for every human being while defining a human life as beginning at conception. Critics say that language could make abortions illegal, as well as endanger other reproductive health care services like in-vitro fertilization. While the legislation does not specifically mention abortion procedures, it also does not contain exceptions to the definitions.
Hinson said she would not vote in support of the measure she cosponsored – nor any other piece of legislation dealing with abortion – if it does not specifically contain exceptions for rape, incest and to save the life of the pregnant person. Hinson said she signed onto the legislation to “culture of life in Washington, D.C.”
Corkery also criticized Hinson for participating in a Republican study committee that encouraged raising the retirement age, cutting Social Security and Medicare and banning abortion nationally with no exceptions. She said these two actions as a lawmaker show Hinson wants to ban abortion at the federal level.
“She says she supports women, but she would rather they die than have an abortion, that’s the truth,” Corkery said. “… She either doesn’t understand what she signed or she is playing politics with women’s lives.”
Hinson has similarly called her Democratic opponent extreme on the issue of abortion, specifically condemning Corkery’s statement that she does not support stating at how many weeks of gestation abortions should become illegal.
Corkery said that as a person who personally faced late-term pregnancy complications, she does not believe conversations focused on abortions late in pregnancies accurately reflects why women must get abortions in these situations.
“These are scary, terrible things, and so for my opponent to basically say people are having abortions up until birth and after — it’s hurtful to those of us that have almost lost our lives in childbirth,” Corkery said during the debate.
Independent conservative candidate will also appear on ballot
There was some controversy in September about whether Libertarian candidates running in three of Iowa’s four congressional districts would make it on to the ballot, despite a State Objections Panel ruling that the Libertarian Party of Iowa had failed to conduct its nominating process in adherence with state law.
While there was no Libertarian running in Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District, there is a third candidate running in the general election, whose name will appear alongside Hinson and Corkery on the ballot.
Jody Puffett of Dehli, who identifies as a lifelong Republican voter according to her campaign website, wrote that she decided to run because she has been “increasingly discouraged and frustrated with Ashley Hinson’s voting record.”
Jody Puffett is running as an independent in Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District, competing against U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson and Democrat Sarah Corkery in the 2024 general election. (Photo courtesy of Jody Puffett campaign)
Puffett said in a news release she disagrees with Hinson’s decision to support the $95 billion foreign aid package going to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan earlier in 2024. She also called for changes to Congress to make federal legislators more accountable, like requiring bills only address a single subject, implementing term limits and reducing Congressional spending.
She said more federal funds should be invested in local communities.
“I’m here to champion real change in our political system,” Puffett said in an August news release. “And to prove my commitment, once elected, I pledge to donate my entire 2025 congressional salary to charities within the 2nd District, where the need is great, and resources are scarce.”
While Hinson did not speak on Puffett’s candidacy, Corkery called during the debate for Republicans who disagree with the incumbent lawmaker’s policies to look at the independent’s campaign and consider supporting her. Corkery said reporters after the event that part of her motivation for encouraging voters to check out Puffett was because it could benefit her campaign.
“If Jody Buffett takes 5% or 10% away from Ashley, we win,” she said. “I’m not being sneaky. Jody Puffett is a lifelong Republican, and she did get into this race because of Ukraine. So if those out there who really feel the same, I want them to look at Jody Puffett, because that is 100% her reason for joining this campaign. I want a little honesty and transparency. I’m not tricky, so whether it’s smart or not, it’s the truth.”