There were two big events this weekend focused on boosting the top candidates on Iowa’s General Election ballot.
U.S. Senate candidate Ashley Hinson played her violin with a band on stage as over a thousand Republicans gathered in Clive Saturday for a campaign fundraiser. “We have the Republican ticket that is ready to win, top to bottom. We’re going to run the tables. I think we’re ready to go,” Hinson said, to cheers.
Less than 10 miles away in a Des Moines park, over 800 Polk County Democrats gathered for a Saturday afternoon fundraiser that featured Hinson’s opponent, Josh Turek. “Who is ready to change this state and change this country this November?” Turek asked and the crowd cheered.
Current members of congress campaigning in Iowa this weekend urged their fellow partisans to step up their game, as Iowa’s Senate race and three U.S. House races could determine which party controls congress. Congressman Jamie Raskin, a Democrat from Maryland, said Iowa is “where all the action is…You, yourselves, can tip the House and the Senate back in the direction of democracy and freedom.”
Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat from Rhode Island, said it’s time for congress to conduct real oversight of the Trump Administration. “A Democratic senator will be a real check and a balance against the Hegseths…and the rest of the miscreants and suck-ups and sycophants,” he said.
Texas Senator Ted Cruz, the Republican who won Iowa’s 2016 Caucuses, told the crowd at Hinson’s event the Democratic leader in the U-S Senate is counting on a Turek win. “When Ashley wins, Chuck Schumber’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 Senator Chuck Grassley made a pitch to his fellow Republicans, urging them to reach out to independents who may not intend to vote this November for Hinson or for Zach Lahn, the Republican candidate for governor. “What I’m telling you is this: We don’t need any ‘Sand’ in the machinery of good running Republican government,” Grassley said, to cheers.
Gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand, speaking at the Polk County Democrats’ fundraiser, urged the crowd to volunteer to speak with Iowans face-to-face about the stakes in this year’s election. “We have a chance to win this race and if we do we can get back an Iowa that is full of common sense and full of teamwork,” Sand said, “and full of people listening to each other.”
Lahn said the 2026 election is about preserving the culture. “If you look at the Democrats today in Iowa, their entire message is that everything in Iowa is terrible,” Lahn said, “but it’s just not true.”
Bill Brauch, the chairman of Polk County Democrats, opened Saturday’s event by warning there’s a lot of work to do until Election Day. “We have a generational opportunity this year, an incredible opportunity to take back the governor’s office,” Brauch said, “and we’re going to do it,” Brauch said, to cheers.
Election Day is 64 days away.