During the final debate of Iowa’s U.S. Senate election, hosted by WHO-13 in Des Moines, Republican Ashley Hinson and Democrat Josh Turek traded familiar blows. PolitiFact stepped in to fact-check the key claims they made on attendance, spending, and personal wealth.
Hinson claimed Turek only showed up to work 42% of the time, or two out of every five days, during the legislative session. This is accurate. Turek missed 261 of 445 House floor votes, meaning he was present for 42% of the votes, which translates to about 43% of actual working days. It was the second-highest absence rate in the Iowa House. Turek said he was campaigning across the state.
Turek countered by saying Hinson missed 193 votes. However, this comparison is misleading. Turek was counting only 2026 floor votes, while Turek’s figure of 193 covers all of Hinson’s floor and committee votes since she took office in 2021. Looking just at House floor votes, Hinson has missed very few—about 1.1% since 2021, including only five out of 314 so far this year.
Hinson also pointed out that Turek didn’t vote for the Iowa Farm Bill. This is true. The House journal lists Turek as absent on May 2 when the bill passed, though he filed a comment saying he would have supported it.
Turek accused Hinson of taking $50,000 in taxpayer money for a luxury DC apartment despite being a multimillionaire. The money is real—she took $50,000 over three years under a standard congressional program for living expenses. However, the apartment she rents is priced close to the average cost of housing in Washington, D.C., and the building is described as upscale, not uniquely extravagant.
Turek also claimed Hinson’s husband was operating as a shadow lobbyist. This is misleading. Her husband, Matt Arenholz, is an insurance agent who holds an unpaid advocacy role with a local branch of a professional insurance group. While he helped arrange a meeting with Iowa’s delegation, there is no evidence Hinson used her position to benefit the group, and his activities do not meet the legal definition of a lobbyist.
Lastly, Hinson said she is banned from Russia for being tough on them and supporting Ukraine. While she is indeed on the ban list, she was not singled out. She was part of a group of nearly 400 House members banned in 2022 as part of a broader retaliatory ban affecting over 1,000 Americans.
