NEW: “Ashley Hinson […] Repeatedly Cast Votes as a State Legislator in Line with the Positions of an Insurance Trade Group That Employed Her Husband”
Iowa Independent: “Hinson’s Votes in the Iowa House Were in Line with Positions Taken by the Independent Insurance Agents of Iowa on 19 Out of 20 Bills”
DES MOINES – A new report from the Iowa Independent revealed Ashley Hinson has long voted in the interest of the insurance lobbying group that her husband worked with – all while hurting Iowans.
During her time in the Iowa House of Representatives from 2017 to 2020, Hinson’s votes “were in line with positions taken by the Independent Insurance Agents of Iowa on 19 out of 20 bills.”
One of those votes even made it harder for Iowans to seek accountability for asbestos and cancer-causing substances.
What’s more: Hinson’s claims that her husband is simply an insurance agent who “works in our basement” are more ridiculous than ever, as photos show the duo speaking at the insurance lobby’s group’s legislative conference held in Washington.
A report from the Washington Sun previously found that Hinson’s husband used his government affairs post at the insurance lobbying group to “gain access to Hinson and other Iowa lawmakers” and “blur the lines” as a shadow lobbyist.
Hinson currently faces an ethics complaint calling for an investigation into whether she violated House Ethics rules by letting her shadow lobbyist husband arrange meetings with her and the entire Iowa delegation.
Missed the report? See below for more key highlights:
Iowa Independent: Ashley Hinson’s alleged ties to her husband’s insurance lobby group dog her US Senate run
- Rep. Ashley Hinson, the Republican candidate for the open Iowa U.S. Senate seat repeatedly cast votes as a state legislator in line with the positions of an insurance trade group that employed her husband.
- Hinson was a member of the Iowa House of Representatives from 2017 until her election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2020.
- Hinson’s votes in the Iowa House were in line with positions taken by the Independent Insurance Agents of Iowa on 19 out of 20 bills.
- In one instance, she was one of only two members of the Iowa House who voted against legislation that would have required the state’s Department of Transportation to maintain a database verifying that registered vehicles are insured, which the Independent Insurance Agents of Iowa had lobbied against. The bill passed the House, but did not advance in the Senate.
- In a different case that overlapped with her husband’s tenure at the Independent Insurance Agents of Iowa, Hinson voted in favor of a bill tightening requirements for Iowans seeking to bring asbestos and silica lawsuits. The group had lobbied in favor of those stricter requirements.
- Hinson has not hidden her ties to the lobbying group. In 2023, she spoke at the organization’s legislative conference in Washington, D.C. This year, she was photographed at the legislative conference. Her husband spoke during a panel event at the same conference.
- The Hinson campaign, which did not respond to the Iowa Independent’s request for comment for this story, denied that Arenholz had lobbied his wife.
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