Iowa Senate: where the candidates stand

Taxes and the economy

Runs on a self-described 'prairie populist' platform that would cut taxes for the middle class and working families while closing loopholes for billionaires and big corporations. He has cited 1950s-era tax rates, when 'the highest earners were actually paying a significant amount,' as a model.

Cost of living and inflation

Proposes a federal ban on price gouging on food, raising the minimum wage with regular raises tied to inflation, cracking down on monopolies that drive up prices, and holding corporations accountable on unfair wages.

Taxes and the economy

Says 'it is YOUR money, not the government's money' and that she has been focused on lowering taxes for working families and empowering Iowans with opportunities. Her campaign also cites her support for legislation extending and expanding tax relief for working families, rolling back federal taxes on overtime pay and tips, increasing the child tax credit, and providing tax relief for Social Security recipients.

Cost of living and inflation

Says she wants to make life more affordable by cutting wasteful spending, lowering inflation, and creating an economy where small businesses can grow and create good-paying jobs. Her campaign says she is fighting to protect consumer choice, bring down the cost of living, and reduce premiums and prescription drug costs.

No documented position found in reviewed sources.

No documented position found in reviewed sources.

Immigration and border security

Calls the immigration system broken and supports bipartisan legislation that strengthens the border and simplifies an earned pathway to citizenship. He would also secure the border, deport those who come here illegally and commit crimes, and ensure regulation and accountability for ICE agents.

Immigration and border security

Says she will secure the southern border by enforcing America's immigration laws and deporting 'dangerous criminal illegal immigrants,' and that she wants an immigration system that is fair, lawful, and secure.

Health care

Calls health care a human right and supports restoring full federal Medicaid funding, protecting and expanding the Affordable Care Act, introducing a public option, ensuring paid family and medical leave, and eliminating surprise medical bills. He also proposes investing in mental health care, saving rural hospitals, and expanding telehealth.

Prescription drug costs

Sponsored legislation to cap insulin costs at $25 per month and proposes capping prescription drug prices, defending Medicare's ability to negotiate lower prices, and cracking down on pharmacy benefit managers he says are price gouging.

Social Security and Medicare

Proposes strengthening Social Security by ensuring billionaires pay their fair share and protecting Medicaid, Medicare, and the Affordable Care Act, which he calls vital to rural health care.

Health care

Says a medical decision shouldn't be a financial decision, and points to work across the aisle to improve rural health care. She supports community hospitals, expanding the rural health workforce, expanding maternal health care access, supporting cancer research, and expanding preventive care.

Prescription drug costs

Supports lowering prescription drug costs by increasing transparency and holding pharmacy benefit managers accountable, and has been a champion for expanding over-the-counter birth control access.

Social Security and Medicare

Says she will defend Social Security and Medicare benefits that vulnerable Iowans depend on, while rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse that deplete these programs.

Tariffs and trade

Wrote that 'Iowa farmers are hurting because of this chaotic tariff policy,' arguing the approach adds instability to an already pressured farm economy. His platform calls for ending tariffs that he says are sending farms toward a 1980s-style farm crisis.

Tariffs and trade

Voted against a House resolution seeking to terminate the national emergency used to impose tariffs on Canada, saying she did so to preserve the administration's leverage in trade talks and that 'President Trump is the only one willing to level the playing field and deliver new market opportunities.' She said reversing trade imbalances requires 'strong, enforceable trade agreements that open markets for our farmers ASAP.'

Biofuels and energy

No documented position found in reviewed sources.

Biofuels and energy

Says she wants to keep Iowa at the forefront of American energy by championing year-round E15, strengthening biofuels, and investing in homegrown energy production.

Climate change

No documented position found in reviewed sources.

Government accountability and ethics

Says he will address waste, fraud, and abuse in government, enforce ethics standards on Supreme Court justices, suspend pay and ban travel by members of Congress during a government shutdown, and require members to hold annual town halls.

Congressional stock trading

Supports banning members of Congress and their spouses from trading individual stocks.

Term limits

Supports setting term limits for members of Congress and Supreme Court justices, which he calls one of the best ways to address corruption in Washington.

Government accountability and ethics

Says she has been fighting to restore integrity to public service and that government should work for the people. She supports enacting commonsense lobbying bans, moving government agencies out of Washington closer to the people they serve, and rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse of tax dollars.

Congressional stock trading

Voted for the Stop Insider Trading Act, which prohibits members of Congress, their spouses, and dependent children from purchasing publicly traded stocks and requires advance public notice before covered sales. She said she voluntarily sold her publicly traded individual stocks shortly after taking office and believes every member should be held to that standard.

Term limits

No documented position found in reviewed sources.

Israel and U.S. foreign policy

No documented position found in reviewed sources.

Iran war and war powers

Calls the war in Iran 'another unnecessary war' and another 'forever war,' and criticized Hinson for voting against a measure to restrict the president's military powers in Iran. He said holding town halls he has 'yet to encounter a single Iowan' who wants to be in another forever war.

Israel and U.S. foreign policy

Voted for the Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act and is an original co-sponsor, saying the package funds Israel's Iron Dome and Iron Beam defense systems and advanced weapons so Israel can 'eradicate Hamas for good.' She also called for returning to maximum pressure sanctions against Iran and said she will continue to stand with Israel.

Iran war and war powers

Called for the war in Iran to be brought to 'a successful and immediate end' and for measures like suspending the gas tax, pausing diesel exports, and replenishing the highway trust fund to lower costs. She has voted against House resolutions directing the president to halt the war with Iran seven times, including in September 2026.

Housing affordability

In the Iowa House he sponsored legislation to cut taxes for first-time homebuyers and to limit private equity purchases of Iowa homes. In the Senate he says he would ban Wall Street private equity firms from buying single-family homes and farmland and simplify permitting so affordable housing can be built faster.

Child care

Says he will fight to lower costs for child care.

Abortion and reproductive rights

Says women, not politicians, should make decisions about their reproductive health care; he wrote and sponsored legislation to repeal Iowa's near-total abortion ban. He supports making Roe v. Wade the law of the land again and protecting access to contraception and IVF.

Fentanyl and public safety

Says he would stop fentanyl from coming across the border and deport those who come here illegally and commit crimes.

Election integrity and voter ID

No documented position found in reviewed sources.

Agriculture and farm policy

Would pass a Farm Bill plus a provision barring Congress from recessing if a Farm Bill is set to expire, a federal right-to-repair law, and mandatory country of origin labeling. He also proposes cracking down on agribusiness and meatpacking monopolies, ending the 'chaotic' tariffs he links to a 1980s-style farm crisis, stopping bailouts to foreign countries that undercut farmers, and preventing eminent domain for corporate use.

Farm input costs and competition

In the Iowa House he sponsored legislation to break up monopolies that drive up input costs and to fight consolidation so small farmers and ranchers can compete. His rural plan includes fertilizer pricing transparency requirements and a ban on vertical integration by dominant retailers in meat processing.

Rural Iowa and right to repair

Released a 'Rebuild Rural Iowa' plan drawing on his Iowa House work, including mandatory country of origin labeling for beef and pork, fertilizer pricing transparency, and incentives for water quality practices; he points to a right-to-repair bill he championed that passed the Iowa House 70-18.

Education and public schools

Says he sponsored legislation to repeal school vouchers because 'public dollars belong in public schools.' He would restore Department of Education funding, increase funding to public schools, and protect funding for Area Education Agencies.

Campaign finance reform

Is not taking corporate PAC money and proposes banning corporate PAC money in campaigns, passing the DISCLOSE Act to increase transparency in campaign contributions, and passing a constitutional amendment to reverse Citizens United. He sponsored legislation in Iowa to cap the amount that can be given to individual campaigns and political committees.

Veterans

Would protect the Department of Veterans Affairs and reverse cuts to VA staffing and health care, ensure veterans have access to mental health care, support and expand the PACT Act, address veteran homelessness, and end wars he says put American lives at risk. He passed legislation strengthening Iowa's veteran homestead tax credit.

Fuel and diesel prices

Released a plan to provide relief on fuel costs by pausing diesel exports, temporarily suspending the federal gas tax, and opening the strategic oil reserves.

Water quality and cancer

Ties Iowa's cancer crisis to a water quality crisis and proposes funding water quality sensors and cracking down on chemical companies that pollute the water supply. He also wants to stop cuts to the National Institutes of Health and restore funding for cancer research.

Disability rights

As the first and only permanently disabled member of the Iowa legislature, he wrote and passed a right-to-repair law for wheelchairs and mobility devices covered by Medicaid. In the Senate he proposes ending federal 14C certificates that allow subminimum wages for disabled workers, raising Social Security income and asset limits for disabled individuals, stopping a federal lawsuit to gut Section 504, and defending the ADA.

Same-sex marriage and LGBTQ+ rights

Supports defending the right for Americans to marry who they love and spoke out against legislation removing antidiscrimination protections for gender identity from Iowa's civil rights code.

Housing affordability

Supports allowing first-time homebuyers to save tax-free for a down payment through the First Home Savings Opportunity Act and ensuring large institutional investors cannot buy up single-family homes in Iowa neighborhoods.

Child care

Wants to make child care more affordable and accessible by expanding tax relief for working families, supporting parents who work nontraditional hours, and encouraging employers to invest in child care solutions.

Abortion and reproductive rights

No documented position found in reviewed sources.

Fentanyl and public safety

Supports combating fentanyl and violent crime by cracking down on traffickers, strengthening partnerships with law enforcement, and holding violent offenders accountable.

Election integrity and voter ID

Voted for the Voter ID Act, which requires voters to present photo ID in federal elections while allowing eligible voters who forget their ID to cast a provisional ballot. She said if you need an ID to board a plane you should need one to vote, calling it a commonsense election integrity policy.

Agriculture and farm policy

Says farmers need an advocate rather than Washington regulations, and that she has worked across the aisle to support family farms and champion Iowa biofuels. She supports pushing back on burdensome regulations, improving voluntary conservation programs, opposing California's Proposition 12, expanding export markets, and passing a Farm Bill.

Farm input costs and competition

Her campaign points to her bipartisan Fertilizer Research Act, directing the USDA to study market forces affecting fertilizer pricing and supply, and the bipartisan PRECISE Act, which seeks to expand access to precision agriculture technologies to help farmers increase yields and lower input costs. The campaign also cites a DOJ-USDA partnership aimed at protecting competition in agricultural inputs.

Education and public schools

Supports expanding career and technical education and connecting students with good-paying Iowa jobs. She also advocates giving families a stronger voice in their children's education and increasing transparency in schools.

Parents' rights and school gender identity policies

Says she will protect parents' rights by giving families a stronger voice in their children's education and increasing transparency in schools, citing concerns that 'some Iowa schools have pushed policies that allow kids to secretly change their gender identity at school.'

Veterans

Says she has worked across party lines to improve veterans' health care and mental health services, and will expand access to health care and mental health services, particularly for veterans in rural communities. She also says she will fully fund the Department of Veterans Affairs and advocate directly for Iowa veterans who need assistance.

Fuel and diesel prices

Said Iowans 'shouldn't have to foot the bill at the pump or the checkout line for the war in Iran,' calling for suspending the gas tax, pausing diesel exports, and replenishing the highway trust fund, and said these actions are needed ASAP. She also texted the House Speaker to press for returning the House to Washington to work on lowering fuel prices, calling the cancellation of session a mistake.

China

Calls for holding 'Communist China' accountable for ripping off American jobs and innovation, purchasing American farmland, and implementing unfair trade practices that hurt Iowa farmers, workers, and businesses.

Water quality and cancer

Supports improving the health of Iowa families by expanding maternal health care access, supporting cancer research, and expanding access to preventive care.