For the first time in 2026 midterms, Iowa Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Josh Turek edged out Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson in fundraising in the most recent campaign finance period.
But Hinson still holds a substantial money advantage over Turek, with about $6.7 million in cash on hand — nearly triple the roughly $2.3 million in Turek’s campaign coffers.
Turek, a state representative from Council Bluffs, had the best fundraising period of his campaign, outraising Hinson by just over $750,000 from May 14 through June 30, according to recent federal campaign finance filings.
He raised roughly $2.8 million compared with Hinson’s $2 million, more than triple what Turek has pulled in during other fundraising periods.
The filings provide a first look at candidate fundraising following the June 2 primary in the closely watched and competitive U.S. Senate race, which saw ramped-up spending from outside groups hoping to either maintain or flip the seat.
The two campaigns had similar spending in the most recent quarter — $1.3 million for Hinson, compared with $1.17 million for Turek.
Both also have the financial backing of PACs, spending heavily on advertising for the candidates.
VoteVets, a Democratic-aligned PAC, has spent over $10 million elevating Turek while the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC that elects Republicans to the U.S. Senate, has pledged to spend $29 million on Hinson’s behalf beginning this summer.
Hinson, who represents northeast Iowa’s 2nd District in Congress, reported raising $4.2 million when including fundraising through joint committees, according to her campaign.
“I’m grateful to Iowans in all 99 counties who have contributed to our campaign to defeat Josh Turek and keep Iowa red,”Hinson said in a statement. “Out-of-state liberals and dark-money groups are dumping money into Iowa to flip this seat blue and send Chuck Schumer’s handpicked candidate to the U.S. Senate. With the incredible support of Iowans, we won’t let that happen. I will keep working to earn the vote of every Iowan who wants a leader with a proven track record of working with both parties to deliver results for Iowa.”
Turek, who reported raising $3.8 million when including fundraising through joint committees, touted 68,000 individual campaign contributions and a $3 million post-primary surge in donations, his campaign said.
“Iowans across the political spectrum are supporting Josh because they are sick and tired of multi-millionaire politicians like Ashley Hinson who sell out working families to benefit their billionaire donors,” Turek’s campaign manager, Brendan Koch, said in a statement. “This is a campaign that is built to win, and we will spend the next 111 days reaching Iowans in every corner of the state who are ready to send a working class champion to the U.S. Senate.”
Libertarian Thomas Laehn reported raising $11,485 and spending $8,664. He has $8,334 in cash on hand.
US Rep. Ashley Hinson (R)
State Rep. Josh Turek (D)
Thomas Laehn (L)
Rapid Response Politics Reporter Maya Marchel Hoff can be reached at mmarchelHoff@registermedia.com. You can find her on X (formerly Twitter) at @mmarchelhoff.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Turek leads in quarterly Senate fundraising. Hinson holds 3X more cash
Reporting by Maya Marchel Hoff, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Maya Marchel Hoff, Des Moines Register | USA TODAY Network
