PolitiFact Rates Attack Ads on Iowa Senate Candidate Ashley Hinson

PolitiFact has deemed two attack ads aimed at Republican Iowa U.S. Senate candidate Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) as “Mostly False.” The ads, created by WinSenate, a project of the Democratic Senate Majority PAC, made questionable claims about her personal finances and her voting history related to the release of Jeffrey Epstein’s files.

One advertisement, dated October 19, accused Hinson of becoming $8 million wealthier during her tenure in Congress and claimed she voted against releasing Epstein’s files. The narrator stated, “After just five years in Washington, she’s $8 million richer. Ashley Hinson got rich. Iowa got left behind.” Although the ad’s text noted the figure as “up to” $8 million, the narration failed to mention this detail.

Turek, her opponent, has echoed similar sentiments, asserting her wealth soared by as much as 15 times since she took office. In fact, a campaign advertisement specifically reiterated that Hinson could be $8 million wealthier.

PolitiFact found that WinSenate derived its figure by contrasting the lowest property estimates from 2020 and the highest from 2025, which isn’t a fair comparison. Hinson reported assets valued between $726,000 and $2.4 million in 2020, along with debts of $65,000 to $150,000. By 2025, her assets were listed as between $2.3 million and $8.8 million, with no debts.

The calculation for the supposed $8.2 million increase was made by deducting her maximum debt from her minimum asset value in 2020 and comparing that with her maximum asset value in 2025. Michael Beckel, research director at Issue One, noted that it doesn’t make sense to mix the lowest and highest estimates from different years. PolitiFact’s assessment indicated that using average values results in a wealth increase closer to $4 million, about half of what WinSenate claimed. A significant portion of this increase is tied to Hinson’s husband, Matt Arenholz, who sold his local insurance business in 2021.

Hinson’s 2020 disclosure pegged Arenholz’s ownership stake in the agency between $250,000 and $500,000. Following the sale, he received private stock options in Highstreet Insurance Partners, which are now valued between $1 million and $5 million, according to Hinson’s 2025 disclosure. Hinson’s spokesman asserted that this increase is unrelated to her Congressional service and that the sale was in progress before her election.

PolitiFact concluded that WinSenate’s claims presented the most exaggerated possible increase in Hinson’s wealth, failing to account for the context surrounding her husband’s business dealings, hence the rating of “Mostly False.”

A different advertisement from WinSenate, released on September 25, alleged that Hinson voted against releasing Epstein-related files while taking campaign contributions from individuals listed in those documents. It claimed, “Her top donors appear in the Epstein files over 700 times.” The narrator went on to state that she voted against releasing the files and, when given another chance, chose to skip the votes while fundraising from one of Epstein’s associates.

PolitiFact noted that while Hinson did support procedural motions in 2025 that stalled legislation concerning the release of Epstein’s files, the ads overlooked her later vote in favor of the Epstein Files Transparency Act. In July 2025, she supported a procedural motion that resulted in a narrow approval, which had it failed, would have allowed further consideration of an amendment mandating the release of Epstein’s files within 30 days. They also identified two procedural votes in subsequent months where she took similar actions to block the release of the files, but she later voted for the bipartisan transparency legislation, which passed overwhelmingly after being directed by President Trump.

Hinson’s spokesman pointed to her affirmative vote as a rebuttal to WinSenate’s claims, which they described as misleading by omitting the context of her eventual support for the legislation requiring the files’ release. PolitiFact rated this characterization as “Mostly False” as well.

These fact-checking results follow Turek’s previous, incorrect statements linking Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) and Randy Feenstra (R-IA) to the Dignity Act, a piece of immigration legislation. During a recent interview, he mistakenly linked their positions on the bill advocating a pathway to legal status for certain illegal aliens.

On October 23, Turek attended a fundraiser hosted by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), an environmental group that supports various controversial initiatives, including reducing red meat consumption in Iowa, a key issue given the state’s agricultural economy. Turek received substantial donations from NRDC leadership but faced criticism from Hinson for his involvement and her claims about missed legislative votes related to agriculture.

In an October 8 debate, Hinson criticized Turek for missing a large percentage of votes and suggested he had taken taxpayer money without justification. Turek argued for more transparency from Congress, citing his own experiences holding town hall meetings, but Hinson countered by stating that her engagement with constituents was clear and visible.