# Iowa Senate race 2026

Open seat. Rep. Ashley Hinson (R) faces state Rep. Josh Turek (D) to replace retiring Sen. Joni Ernst.

- Office: U.S. Senate
- Rating: Toss-up (Cook Political Report, Oct 20, 2026)
- Sabato's Crystal Ball: Toss-up
- Election Day: Tuesday, November 3, 2026
- Canonical page: https://rightnewsrightnow.com/election/ia-senate/
- Back to [Election Headquarters](https://rightnewsrightnow.com/election/)

## Who is running

- Ashley Hinson (Republican): open seat
- Josh Turek (Democrat): open seat

## The facts

- Ernst won this seat in 2020 with 51.7%. (Wikipedia)
- Ernst announced on Sept. 2, 2025 she would not run again, after criticism over her comments on Medicaid. (Wikipedia)
- A Cook Political Report poll, Oct. 9-13, 2026, of 602 likely Iowa voters (margin of error 4 points; run by Democratic firm New River Strategies and Republican firm GS Strategy Group), found Turek ahead by 2 points. (Cook, via Yahoo News)
- In that same Cook poll, Republicans led on immigration and taxes. (Cook, via Yahoo News)

## Worth knowing about this race

In the Cook poll, Republicans led on immigration and taxes.

## Why this race matters to conservatives (opinion)

Holding an open Republican seat helps keep the Republican majority.

This section is the opinion of RightNewsRightNow. The rest of the page is reporting.

## Where these facts come from

- [Cook Political Report](https://www.270towin.com/2026-senate-election/cook-political-report-2026-senate): current rating, as of Oct 20, 2026
- [Wikipedia (election pages, with their cited sources)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_United_States_Senate_elections): candidate and race facts