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What They’re Saying: Hinson’s Primary Opponent Refusing to Endorse Her is a “Real Problem” for Republicans

What They’re Saying: Hinson’s Primary Opponent Refusing to Endorse Her is a “Real Problem” for Republicans

Raw Story: “The Real Problem for Republicans […] is That After Hinson Won Her Primary, Her Main Challenger, Far-Right Candidate Jim Carlin Told His Supporters He ‘Cannot in Good Conscience Ask You to Vote for Ashley Hinson’”

Des Moines Register: “In an Unusual Move, Carlin Posted a Message to Supporters on His Campaign Website Saying ‘We Do Not Owe Blind Loyalty to Any Political Party’”

The Hill: “Carlin Characterized Hinson as Part of the ‘Establishment’ Class”

DES MOINES – Ashley Hinson is coming under fire from a member of her own party after Iowa Republican Senate candidate Jim Carlin urged Iowans to reject Hinson this November, telling voters he “cannot in good conscience ask [Iowans] to vote for Ashley Hinson.”

He warned Iowans that Hinson’s campaign catered to “donors, lobbyists, corporations, and Washington insiders over the voices of ordinary Americans.”

Read What They’re Saying: 

  • Jim Carlin, who lost Iowa’s Republican U.S. Senate primary earlier this month, said he cannot tell his supporters to vote for Ashley Hinson, the GOP candidate who beat him.
  • In an unusual move, Carlin posted a message to supporters on his campaign website saying, “we do not owe blind loyalty to any political party. Votes should be earned, not assumed.”
  • “So let me be direct: I cannot in good conscience ask you to vote for Ashley Hinson,” he wrote. “She does not share our values, and a Republican label is not enough. It has never been enough. And until our party understands that our votes must be earned, not assumed, nothing will change.”
  • Jim Carlin, a Sergeant Bluff Republican who lost his long-shot bid for the U.S. Senate, told his supporters Monday he could not “in good conscience ask you to vote” for the GOP nominee, U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson.
  • “Even Ashley Hinson’s fellow Republicans do not trust her to represent them in the U.S. Senate because they know that she will continue to sell out Iowans to enrich herself and her billionaire donors,” Iowa Democratic Party spokesperson Drew Myers said in a statement Monday.
  • Former Republican state Sen. Jim Carlin is telling his supporters not to support Congresswoman Ashley Hinson, whom he lost to in this month’s GOP U.S. Senate primary.
  • In his email, Carlin says Hinson “is not alone” and encourages those who voted for him to “look at your ballot this November” and ask if every candidate has earned their vote.
  • Former Iowa state Sen. Jim Carlin (R), who lost his GOP primary bid for U.S. Senate this month, is refusing to endorse the race’s victor, Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa), as she kicks off her general election campaign to succeed retiring Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa).
  • In a statement posted to his campaign website, Carlin thanked his supporters for helping him fight the “political establishment,” but he suggested, “It is time we seriously consider” letting GOP establishment candidates lose — including Hinson.
  • Carlin characterized Hinson as part of the “establishment” class that takes Republican voters’ support for granted, but said, “We do not owe blind loyalty to any political party. Votes should be earned, not assumed.”
  • Carlin suggested “perhaps it is time for something new,” adding, “And if standing for those things means losing elections for a season, then so be it. Better to lose fighting honorably than to win by surrendering everything that matters.”
  • Hinson’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
  • The real problem for Republicans, [Laura Belin] noted, is that after Hinson won her primary, her main challenger, far-right candidate Jim Carlin, told his supporters he “cannot in good conscience ask you to vote for Ashley Hinson” because she “does not share our values and a Republican label is not enough.”
  • Carlin got just about 26 percent of the primary vote, Belin noted, but if even a small fraction of those voters go for Laehn on the ballot, it could be a problem for Hinson as she fends off her Democratic rival, state Rep. Josh Turek.
  • “I don’t know if it’s two percent or five percent or what percent could see the libertarian name on the ballot as a possible landing place,” said Belin. “And we’ve just seen in Iowa elections that when there is a Libertarian or third party candidate on the ballot, they often are getting two percent of the vote, plus or minus.”

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