Takeaways from the first Iowa Senate debate

Cody Scanlan/Pool/The Des Moines Register/AP

Donald Trump’s shadow looms over every contest in November’s midterm elections — but on an Iowa debate stage Wednesday night, the president’s name was rarely mentioned.

The two candidates battling for Iowa’s Senate seat, Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson and Democratic state Rep. Josh Turek, kept their sometimes sharp disagreements on issues like health care funding, the future of Social Security and lowering gas and diesel prices largely focused on the policies at hand — and on branding their opponent as out of step with Iowa voters.

The debate highlighted the realities of several Senate races key to the battle for control of the chamber playing out in red states like Iowa. Hinson is seeking to avoid being saddled with Trump’s sagging popularity without alienating a GOP base still loyal to the president. And Turek must win over at least some Trump voters in a state he carried by 13 points in 2024.

Turek said he thinks what Iowans want most is lawmakers who will “provide solutions to people’s problems through bipartisan policy.”

Hinson, meanwhile, accused Turek of changing his tune and adopting a friendlier posture toward Trump.

“You trashed the president during the primary, and now you’re doing ads saying you’re going to work with him. It’s a tale of two Tureks,” she said.

Here are takeaways from Iowa’s Senate debate:

Turek, vying to reverse Democrats’ slippage in Iowa over the last decade, was clearly focused on attracting independents and moderate Republican voters.

For the most part, Turek tried to make the the case that Trump’s policies are “hurting Iowans in a unique way” without mentioning the president’s name. He said tariffs have driven up the prices of fertilizer and other inputs for farmers in the state; that the war with Iran has sent diesel prices soaring; and that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act gutted funding for rural hospitals and left some Iowans who depended on Medicaid or Obamacare subsidies without coverage.

He highlighted Hinson’s votes in Congress aligning with the president’s position on those issues, but did so without naming Trump.

But in a rarity for a battleground Democrat, Turek also praised parts of Trump’s signature legislation.

“When you put together One Big Beautiful Bill, as it’s called, you’re going to have a handful of things that I actually am in favor of,” he said. “I’ve said that, and I’ve been open about it. I agree with President Trump that we need to get private equity out of housing … I believe that we should have no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on Social Security.”

He also bragged that he was willing to buck his own party and work with Republicans in the state legislature.

He pledged to “do the ‘full Grassley,’” a reference to the state’s senior senator, Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, visiting all 99 of Iowa’s counties every year.

And he said he would not align with Democrats who might seek to impeach Trump if the party takes control of the House and Senate in November’s midterms.

“I have no interest in impeachment,” he said. “I think that we need to look forward, not back. My full intention is to go out there and to work on policy that is going to benefit everyday Iowans.”

Hinson, meanwhile, sought to undercut the image Turek aimed to build — while also casting herself as independent-minded and willing to break from Trump.

She suggested Turek would “vote like an East Coast liberal.”

She also sought to navigate around Turek’s criticism of her votes aligning with Trump on the war with Iran and tariffs — in part by pointing a finger at former President Joe Biden, saying she didn’t want a repeat of Biden’s management of the US military’s withdrawal from Afghanistan or the former Democratic president’s handling of the southern border.

Hinson was one of the first Republicans to break with Trump on the war with Iran, calling last month for the president to bring that war to a quick end. And on Wednesday night, she emphasized her willingness to push the president.

“I’ll be President Trump’s ally when it is important for Iowa, but I will push back on him — he knows this, because I talk to him regularly — on things that are wrong for our state,” she said.

But, she added, nodding to the potential majority leader if Democrats win control of the Senate in November: “Hopefully it’s not Chuck Schumer, but if it’s Chuck Schumer, I’ll work with him.”

Both Turek and Hinson said they see a grim future for Social Security without changes to the program. But they had dramatically different answers when asked how they would preserve Social Security’s solvency.

Hinson suggested she is open to phasing in an increase in the age – currently 62 – at which retirees become eligible to draw Social Security checks.

“If you’re 20 years old, it’s a very different conversation than if you’re at retirement age,” she said.

She also said part of the problem is that younger Americans are bad at saving money and suggested “Trump accounts” created by the Treasury Department would help. “Millennials are the worst group of savers in the country right now,” she said.

Turek, though, said he opposes changes to the retirement age, and would rather lift the $184,500 wage base cap on Social Security taxes.

“I promise you, it’s going to move things significantly in the right direction,” Turek said, adding: “Let’s make sure that billionaires and large corporations are paying their fair share.”

科迪·斯坎伦/Pool/《得梅因纪事报》/美联社

在11月的中期选举中，唐纳德·特朗普的阴影笼罩着每一场竞选——但在周三晚上爱荷华州的一场辩论中，总统的名字却很少被提及。

争夺爱荷华州参议院席位的两位候选人，共和党众议员阿什利·欣森和民主党州众议员乔什·图雷克，在医疗保健资金、社会保障的未来以及降低汽油和柴油价格等问题上，虽然有时存在激烈的分歧，但他们主要将分歧集中在当前的政策上，并致力于将对手描绘成与爱荷华州选民脱节。

这场辩论凸显了几个关键参议院席位争夺战的现实情况，这些席位争夺战发生在像爱荷华州这样的传统共和党州。辛森力图避免因特朗普支持率下滑而背负沉重包袱，同时又不疏远那些仍然忠于总统的共和党基本盘。而图雷克则必须赢得至少一部分特朗普的支持者，因为他在2024年曾以13个百分点的优势赢得了该州。

图雷克表示，他认为爱荷华州人民最想要的是能够“通过两党政策为人民的问题提供解决方案”的立法者。

与此同时，欣森指责图雷克改变了态度，对特朗普采取了更友好的态度。

“你在初选期间抨击总统，现在却在广告里说要和他合作。真是判若两人，”她说。

以下是爱荷华州参议院辩论的要点：

图雷克力图扭转民主党在过去十年中在爱荷华州的颓势，显然专注于吸引独立选民和温和派共和党选民。

图雷克在发言中主要试图论证特朗普的政策“以一种独特的方式伤害了爱荷华州人民”，但他并未直接提及总统的名字。他指出，关税推高了该州农民所需的化肥和其他生产资料的价格；与伊朗的战争导致柴油价格飙升；而《一项宏伟法案》大幅削减了对农村医院的拨款，使得一些依赖医疗补助或奥巴马医改补贴的爱荷华州居民失去了医疗保障。

他强调辛森在国会的投票与总统在这些问题上的立场一致，但没有指名道姓地提到特朗普。

但对于一位摇摆州的民主党人来说，图雷克罕见地也赞扬了特朗普标志性立法的部分内容。

“当你把所谓的‘一项宏伟法案’整合起来的时候，你会发现其中一些内容是我真正赞成的，”他说。“我之前说过，而且我一直公开表达过我的观点。我同意特朗普总统的看法，我们需要让私募股权退出住房市场……我认为我们不应该对小费征税，不应该对加班费征税，也不应该对社会保障金征税。”

他还吹嘘说，他愿意违背自己党派的意愿，与州议会的共和党人合作。

他承诺要“像格拉斯利那样全面走访各地”，指的是该州资深参议员、共和党参议员查克·格拉斯利每年都会走访爱荷华州的全部 99 个县。

他还表示，如果民主党在11月的中期选举中控制了众议院和参议院，他不会与可能寻求弹劾特朗普的民主党人结盟。

“我对弹劾毫无兴趣，”他说。“我认为我们应该向前看，而不是向后看。我的目标是走出去，制定能够造福爱荷华州普通民众的政策。”

与此同时，欣森试图削弱图雷克想要塑造的形象，同时把自己塑造成一个思想独立、愿意与特朗普决裂的人。

她认为图雷克会“像东海岸的自由派人士那样投票”。

她还试图回避图雷克对她在对伊朗的战争和关税问题上与特朗普立场一致的批评——部分原因是她将矛头指向了前总统乔·拜登，称她不希望重蹈拜登处理美国从阿富汗撤军的方式，也不希望这位前民主党总统处理南部边境问题的方式重演。

欣森是最早一批在伊朗战争问题上与特朗普决裂的共和党人之一，她上个月呼吁总统尽快结束这场战争。周三晚间，她再次强调了自己向总统施压的意愿。

“当对爱荷华州至关重要时，我会成为特朗普总统的盟友，但对于对我们州不利的事情，我会反对他——他知道这一点，因为我经常和他交谈，”她说。

但她补充道，并向民主党在 11 月赢得参议院控制权后可能出现的多数党领袖点头示意：“希望不是查克·舒默，但如果是查克·舒默，我会和他合作。”

图雷克和欣森都表示，如果不进行改革，社会保障制度的前景黯淡。但当被问及如何保障社会保障的偿付能力时，他们的回答却截然不同。

欣森表示，她愿意逐步提高退休人员领取社会保障金的年龄上限（目前为 62 岁）。

“如果你只有 20 岁，那和你到了退休年龄，谈论的话题就完全不同了，”她说。

她还表示，部分原因是年轻的美国人不善于储蓄，并建议财政部设立“特朗普账户”来解决这个问题。“千禧一代是目前美国储蓄能力最差的群体，”她说。

不过，图雷克表示，他反对改变退休年龄，宁愿取消社会保障税 184,500 美元的工资基数上限。

“我向你们保证，这将极大地推动事情朝着正确的方向发展，”图雷克说，并补充道：“让我们确保亿万富翁和大公司缴纳他们应缴的税款。”