Ashley Hinson

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz said Iowa could decide control of the U.S. Senate by electing Republican nominee Ashley Hinson.

Cruz headlined Hinson's BBQ Bash fundraiser, where she touted her record in Congress and attacked her Democratic opponent, state Rep. Josh Turek.

Cruz, who is considered a potential 2028 presidential contender, said "my focus right now is on the midterms."

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz urged Iowa Republicans to elect Ashley Hinson to the U.S. Senate, keep Democrats in the minority and make Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer "cry again."

Cruz, the Texas senator and potential 2028 presidential contender, headlined Hinson's annual BBQ Bash fundraiser at the Horizon Events Center in Clive on Aug. 29.

"Control of the House and control of the Senate both run through Iowa. And I’ll tell you this. When Ashley wins, Chuck Schumer’s going to cry," Cruz said. "So I love Make America Great Again but I’d also love to see a hat that says Make Chuck Schumer Cry Again."

Iowa's open U.S. Senate seat has emerged as a key national battleground this year. The Cook Political Report recently rated the contest a "toss-up," a move that reflected the strength of Hinson's Democratic opponent, state Rep. Josh Turek.

Libertarian Thomas Laehn is also on the ballot.

Democrats would need to win four Republican-held U.S. Senate seats this fall and hold all their own seats to nab control of the chamber. Iowa is among half a dozen or so states that are considered highly competitive.

Cruz used his speech to tout Republicans' record under President Donald Trump and to criticize Democrats, casting the midterms as "common sense vs. crazy."

"Ashley will fight for each and every one of you," he said. "She’s fought for veterans and won victories. She’s fought for moms and won victories. She’s taken on the mental health crisis in this country, and we have a mental health crisis. And by the way, I’m well familiar with it because Ashley and I both work in a lunatic asylum."

Cruz, who won the Iowa Caucuses in 2016, has returned to the state frequently.

Hinson's BBQ Bash is the third major Iowa Republican event Cruz has headlined this year. In May, he headlined a forum hosted by the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition. And in July, he was the keynote speaker at Attorney General Brenna Bird's annual Barn Bash fundraiser.

"Y'all know how to make a Texan feel welcome," Cruz said. "First of all, you serve BBQ. And the pulled pork is fantastic."

In addition to Jethro's BBQ, the event featured nearly every one of Iowa's Republican elected officials and candidates for office, including Gov. Kim Reynolds, governor nominee Zach Lahn, Iowa's full congressional delegation and several statewide officeholders.

Hinson warmed up the crowd of 1,000 by joining the band onstage and playing a few songs on her violin, including "Jolene" and "9 to 5" in a tribute to the late Dolly Parton.

And the event finished with a performance by country musician Lee Greenwood, who had the audience clapping and waving miniature American flags as Hinson joined him onstage for, "God Bless the U.S.A."

Ashley Hinson touts bipartisan bona fides, attacks Josh Turek

Hinson praised Republicans' record in Congress, working with President Donald Trump on his signature "One Big, Beautiful Bill" last year.

"Here’s what success looks like: We cut taxes on tips, we cut taxes on overtime, we cut taxes on Social Security," she said. "We delivered real relief for small businesses and for family farms all across this state. We also prevented a $4 trillion tax hike on all of you. I would say that makes you pretty happy, right?"

And she also emphasized her bipartisan credentials, noting she has had bills signed by both Trump and President Joe Biden.

"I have worked with President Trump and with President Biden to deliver for Iowa because frankly I’ve heard from all of you, that’s what you expect," she said. "Heck, even when Nancy Pelosi was the speaker we brought home a lot for Iowa. And so you know that means I can work with anybody."

Hinson sought to tie Turek to Schumer and to other Democrats in Washington, D.C.

"Turek’s campaign is nothing more than a Schumer production, and Josh Turek is reading directly from the script that they gave him," she said. "So when Josh Turek tells you he’s a moderate, you tell him this: You are what your record says — a far left liberal fraud."

And she criticized Turek for missing votes in the Iowa House this year while running in a competitive primary race.

"Any other job that you show up only 42% of the time, you’re getting fired, you’re not getting a promotion," she said.

Turek has said, "I was around meeting Iowans all over the state."

"I worked really, really hard behind the scenes, the kind of work that nobody will ever see or hear from, to find strange bedfellows, build relationships across the aisle, and I was able to get a lot of policy to the finish line," Turek said. "That's what's missing in D.C. That's exactly the kind of senator that I will be."

Acknowledging that the race could be close, other speakers at the event urged the attendees not just to vote this fall but to go above and beyond to get others to do so.

"I’m going to ask you to particularly spend your time with some independents that may not go to the polls and may not know Ashley as well," U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley asked the crowd.

Republican Party of Iowa Chair Jeff Kaufmann told the crowd "this is no time for the faint-hearted."

"Putting up a yard sign, that’s necessary but it’s not enough," he said. "It’s not enough. Telling one neighbor, that’s necessary but it’s not enough. You’ve got to push the limits."

Cruz urges pastors to 'show up and vote' in midterms

Earlier on Saturday morning, Cruz joined pastors and faith leaders at the Machine Shed Restaurant in Urbandale for an event hosted by the National Faith Advisory Board.

Cruz recently said on a podcast that "it's no secret that I want to be president." But in Iowa, Cruz said, "my focus right now is on the midterms."

"We are just a couple of months out from what may be the most consequential midterm election we've ever had," he told reporters. "And Iowa is a real battleground. Iowa, we've got a Senate race here that is neck and neck. The polling shows it's a one-to-two-point race. And of the four House seats in Iowa, three of them are incredibly close and competitive."

Cruz told the pastors that "frustration is palpable" among Republican voters who are angry the Senate hasn't passed Trump's massive election bill, the "SAVE America Act."

"What worries me is voters who are pissed off that we haven’t done the SAVE America Act will stay at home and instead of 53 Republicans we’ll end up with 45," he said.

That's why, he told reporters, it's important to convey to voters "the urgency of the stakes."

"I'm trying to do everything I can to encourage conservatives to show up and vote," he said. "To encourage Christians to show up and vote and to encourage just common-sense Americans."

Democrats criticize Hinson over approach to Epstein files

Democrats blasted Hinson at a news conference ahead of her fundraiser for missing votes in Congress related to the release of documents associated with deceased sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Hinson, along with Iowa's entire congressional delegation, voted in favor of the Epstein Files Transparency Act in November 2025, which required the U.S. Department of Justice to release unclassified documents related to the investigation and prosecution of Epstein.

But Hinson did not sign an earlier discharge petition which would have forced a vote on legislation to release the documents, circumventing Republican congressional leadership to do so.

"For months last year, she publicly opposed and blocked the release of the Epstein files," state Rep. Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights, said of Hinson. "She alone could have at any time decided to join the bipartisan effort in Congress to release the files, but she chose to stand in the way."