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2026 Iowa Senate Election

Tossup
Open (Ernst retiring)

About this race

The current officeholder is retiring, so the seat will have a new winner. Forecasters say it’s too close to call — one of the most competitive races of the year. Ashley Hinson, a Republican, shows a record of donations linked to AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobbying group, but the exact amount is still being confirmed. Thomas Laehn, a Libertarian, shows a record of donations linked to AIPAC, but the exact amount is still being confirmed. The November ballot lists 3 candidates: one Democrat, one Republican and one Libertarian.

Key issues in Iowa

Major issues facing Iowa, based on 2025–2026 reporting. Compare them with what each candidate says they focus on below.

Candidates & funding

Ashley Hinson Republican Nominee

Campaign raised $6,500,000
Super PAC / outside spending $3M+
AIPAC-linkedamount under verification
FundVoter lists an AIPAC-linked FEC record for this candidate; the dollar amount is still under verification.
2026 fundraising (FEC)$10,217,845 raised · $5,396,429 spent · $6,749,491 cash on hand through Jun 30, 2026
Focus: Secure borders, cut wasteful spending, restore prosperity, make Washington run like Iowa

Josh Turek Democrat Nominee

Campaign raised $757,000
Party committee $677K
✓ No AIPAC-linked FEC record
2026 fundraising (FEC)$6,276,527 raised · $3,914,213 spent · $2,362,314 cash on hand through Jun 30, 2026
Focus: Affordable accessible health care; kitchen-table issues for working families

Thomas Laehn Libertarian Nominee

AIPAC-linkedamount under verification
FundVoter lists an AIPAC-linked FEC record for this candidate; the dollar amount is still under verification.
2026 fundraising (FEC)$31,908 raised · $38,131 spent · $8,334 cash on hand through Jun 30, 2026
Focus: People over party; dismantle two-party system; return political power to Iowans

Where the money comes from

FEC campaign finance data through Jun 30, 2026. Campaign dollars, by source.

Ashley Hinson RJosh Turek DThomas Laehn L
Raised$10.2M$6.3M$32K
Individuals$5.3M52%$5.8M93%$32K99%
PACs & parties$2.2M22%$440K7%$0
Self-funded$0$0$1961%
Other$2.7M27%$5830%$0
AIPAC-linked*———
Outside spending†———

* AIPAC-linked money is already counted in the rows above — it flags the pro-Israel share, not extra money.

† Independent spending on ads for or against a candidate. It never goes to their campaign.

“Individuals” covers both small-dollar (under $200) and large donors.

Who are the biggest donors?

Every donor ranked by how much they gave, from the candidate’s own FEC filings — individuals, PACs, and party committees all in one list. Expand a candidate to see theirs, then tap any name to learn more about the donor.

Why are so many gifts exactly $10,000? That’s the legal maximum a PAC can give one candidate for the whole cycle — $5,000 for the primary plus $5,000 for the general — so many PACs give the max. Individuals can give up to $3,500 per election.

Ashley Hinson 4042 donors
FINANCIAL POSITION
Campaign raised$10.2M
Campaign spent$5.4M
Cash on hand$6.7M
FEC 2026 through 06/30/2026
CANDIDATE-CONTROLLED MONEY
Individuals52%
PACs / committees22%
Self-funding0%
Share of campaign receipts. FEC 2026.
  • Party committee$62K
  • Membership PAC$17K
  • Trade association PAC$15K
  • Individual$14K
  • Trade association PAC$11K
  • Individual$10K
  • Individual$10K
  • Individual$10K
  • Individual$10K
  • Individual$10K
  • Individual$10K
  • Individual$10K
  • Individual$10K
  • Individual$10K
  • Individual$10K
  • Individual$10K
  • Individual$10K
  • Individual$10K
  • Individual$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Corporate PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • PAC$10K
  • Corporate PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • PAC$10K
  • Corporate PAC$10K
  • Trade association PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Cooperative PAC$10K
  • Corporate PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Corporate PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Membership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Corporate PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K

Showing the 50 biggest of 4042 donors. The other 3992 gave $5.1M combined.

Plus $1.1M from small donors giving under $200 each — those aren’t itemized by name.

See Ashley Hinson’s full FEC filings →

Josh Turek 3452 donors
FINANCIAL POSITION
Campaign raised$6.3M
Campaign spent$3.9M
Cash on hand$2.4M
FEC 2026 through 06/30/2026
CANDIDATE-CONTROLLED MONEY
Individuals93%
PACs / committees7%
Self-funding0%
Share of campaign receipts. FEC 2026.
  • Party committee$62K
  • Individual$16K
  • Individual$14K
  • Individual$12K
  • Individual$11K
  • Individual$10K
  • Individual$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Individual$8K
  • Individual$8K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K

Showing the 50 biggest of 3452 donors. The other 3402 gave $3M combined.

Plus $2.8M from small donors giving under $200 each — those aren’t itemized by name.

See Josh Turek’s full FEC filings →

Thomas Laehn 36 donors
FINANCIAL POSITION
Campaign raised$32K
Campaign spent$38K
Cash on hand$8K
FEC 2026 through 06/30/2026
CANDIDATE-CONTROLLED MONEY
Individuals99%
PACs / committees0%
Self-funding1%
Share of campaign receipts. FEC 2026.
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$4K
  • Individual$3K
  • Individual$2K
  • Individual$1K
  • Individual$1K
  • Individual$1K
  • Individual$600
  • Individual$550
  • Individual$500
  • Individual$500
  • Individual$500
  • Individual$500
  • Individual$500
  • Individual$500
  • Individual$500
  • Individual$500
  • Individual$500
  • Individual$500
  • Individual$500
  • Individual$500
  • Individual$500
  • Individual$250
  • Individual$250
  • Individual$250
  • Self-funded$205
  • Individual$200
  • Individual$200
  • Individual$200
  • Individual$200
  • Individual$150
  • Individual$133
  • Individual$100
  • Individual$100
  • Individual$64
  • Individual$10

Plus $7K from small donors giving under $200 each — those aren’t itemized by name.

See Thomas Laehn’s full FEC filings →

These figures come from the candidate’s own itemized FEC reports (2026 cycle, through the coverage date above), with amendments applied and refunds netted. Joint fundraising transfers are left out of the ranking: they’re pass-throughs, and the individual donations behind them are listed above. Bank interest, vendor refunds, and other non-donation receipts are excluded. Donor names are as reported — the same person can appear twice if their name was recorded differently. Independent spending on ads is never included here — see the Outside spending column.

More Iowa races

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