# Iowa Senate debate fact-checked: votes, lobbying and farm bill

> PolitiFact examines claims from the final Iowa Senate debate between Republican Ashley Hinson and Democrat Josh Turek.
- Title: Iowa Senate debate fact-checked: votes, lobbying and farm bill
- Summary: PolitiFact examines claims from the final Iowa Senate debate between Republican Ashley Hinson and Democrat Josh Turek. In Iowa's competitive Senate race…
- Keywords: ashley hinson, josh turek, iowa senate, 2026 midterms, debate, fact-checking, joni ernst, politics, fact check, Iowa, Senate, fact-checked
- Source: PolitiFact — https://politifact.com/article/2026/oct/14/hinson-turek-iowa-senate-farm-bill-shadow-lobbyist
- Author: Caleb McCullough
- Published: 2026-10-14T05:05:35+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: ashley hinson, josh turek, iowa senate, 2026 midterms, debate, fact-checking, joni ernst, politics, fact check
## Final Iowa Senate debate
Republican Ashley Hinson and Democrat Josh Turek faced off in Des Moines on October thirteenth at WHO thirteen. The race to replace retiring Senator Joni Ernst has drawn tens of millions in super PAC advertising.
## Hinson attacks Turek's absences
Hinson claimed Turek showed up to work only forty-two percent of the time this year. She said that was two out of every five days of work in the Iowa House.

> 42% of the time is all Representative Turek showed up to work this year, and that's two out of every five days of work.
## Turek's vote record verified
Turek missed two hundred sixty-one out of four hundred forty-five House floor votes during the two thousand twenty-six legislative session.That was the second highest absence rate among Iowa House members.

> I'm out meeting Iowans all over all 99 counties. I've done hundreds of in-person town halls.
## Turek's counter-claim doesn't compare
Turek said Hinson missed one hundred ninety-three votes.But he was counting all her floor and committee votes since two thousand twenty-one, while Hinson counted only his two thousand twenty-six floor votes.Not an apples-to-apples comparison.

> missed 193 votes
## Farm bill vote claim is accurate
Hinson said Turek did not show up to vote for the Iowa Farm Bill.The vote on SF two thousand four hundred sixty-five was held May second.The House journal lists Turek as absent or not voting.

> didn't even show up to vote for the Iowa Farm Bill
## Hinson's apartment claim needs context
Turek said Hinson took fifty thousand dollars in taxpayer money for a luxury Washington D.C.apartment despite being a multimillionaire.Hinson used a congressional program covering living costs.

> She also took $50,000, even though she's a multimillionaire, in taxpayer dollars to give herself a luxury (Washington) D.C. apartment.
## Shadow lobbyist claim is misleading
Turek accused Hinson's husband Matt Arenholz of operating as a shadow lobbyist.Arenholz is an insurance agent and chairs the government affairs committee for the Iowa branch of Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America.

> had her husband operating as a shadow lobbyist
## Russia ban claim is accurate but incomplete
Hinson said she was banned from Russia because of her stance on supporting Ukraine.This is accurate, but she was not singled out.

> I'm banned from Russia because of my stance on being tough on them and supporting Ukraine.
## Key takeaway

In Iowa's competitive Senate race, fact-checkers found Hinson's claim about Turek's missed votes accurate, but Turek's comparison was not apples-to-apples, and his shadow lobbyist claim needed context.