TOM BARTON Lee-Gazette Des Moines Bureau

CEDAR RAPIDS — Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson drew a crowd of a couple hundred party faithful Saturday at Hawkeye Downs Speedway & Expo Center in Cedar Rapids as she launched her re-election push with help from GOP leaders, conservative commentators and a neighboring U.S. senator, who cast her as a key fighter in Congress and a reliable ally of President Donald Trump’s agenda.

Hinson, a former TV news anchor and state lawmaker, was first elected to Northeast Iowa’s U.S. House seat in 2020, ousting then-Democratic incumbent Abby Finkenauer. She won re-election in 2022 and 2024 and is serving in her third term.

Iowa’s 22-county 2nd Congressional District includes Cedar Rapids, Waterloo, Cedar Falls, Dubuque and Mason City.

Hinson, 42, of Mario

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