DES MOINES, Iowa —
Dozens of West Des Moines educators rendered a collective judgment of disappointment in U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Marion, an alum of Valley High School, in a relentless rally Saturday that served as both a post-graduation failing grade from a new advocacy group on Hinson’s record of public service and a call to action for her opponents in what promises to be an intensely fought campaign for an open U.S. Senate seat in Iowa this fall.
The newly formed Iowans For Decency rolled out a battery of challenges to Hinson’s voting record and public comments in an event attended by nearly 250 people in the Iowa State Capitol rotunda late this morning. The rally presaged the publication of a letter to the eastern Iowa congresswoman that will appear as a paid advertisement in The Des Moines Register and other media. Organizers were on hand to sign up supporters of Iowans For Decency and mobilize for the general election in November. The political action committee is raising money as well.
Hinson is the prohibitive favorite to capture the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate June 2. State Rep. Josh Turek of Council Bluffs and State Sen. Zach Wahls of Coralville will face off in the Democratic primary with polls showing Turek as the commanding frontrunner. Incumbent U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Red Oak, is not running for a third term.
Iowans For Decency is not taking a stance in the primaries, and instead is gearing up for the general election with its ire and fire trained on Hinson.
“We are saddened and disappointed by your votes, loyalties and words as a U.S. congresswoman,” read Nick Nelsen, a retired Valley High School teacher. “You are failing your state and country. Your actions are antithetical to good and just decency.”
The majority of people in attendance at the public launch for Iowans For Decency were Democrats, but The Iowa Mercury talked to independents and Republicans there.
Teachers blasted Hinson for her support of what they said were Trump’s “reckless” tariffs, supported by Hinson; a “costly and unprovoked” war with Iran; her decision to “stand with ICE” amid deadly encounters with citizens; ignoring what they believe is rampant corruption in the Trump administration; and a range of other issues detailed in the exhaustive letter.
Dr. Erika Cook, a former West Des Moines administrator and chief academic officer for the state, focused on the defunding of USAID and Trump-administration management of immigration enforcement.
“As a registered independent who has voted for both parties, and as someone who has worked on both sides of the political aisle, now isn’t about liberal or conservative policies, but about right or wrong,” she said.
After reading sections of the letter, and offering other observations, teachers held signs designed to shame Hinson, such as: Why don’t you want to be kind and just? Why aren’t you fiscally responsible? Why are you afraid of the truth?
Read the full letter here. More than 60 teachers had signed the letter as of presstime.
One of the founding organizers of Iowans For Decency, filmmaker and “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?” author Peter Hedges, a 1980 Valley High School alum now living in Brooklyn, New York, acknowledged the extraordinary break with convention in seeing teachers so publicly criticize a former student of their school system.
“One of the beauties of the name of our group is it insists that we be worthy of the name,” Hedges said in an interview with The Iowa Mercury. “When it became clear that we had this groundswell of teachers join our group — and that they, to a person, felt so deeply offended by the policies and efforts of Ashley Hinson — the first thing they said was, ‘But we don’t want to attack her personally.’ Some of them taught her and quite liked her. We don’t want to engage in the tactics that in our view the other side just traffics in. Then the question became how do you proceed and what became essential is: They proceed with facts and with truth.”
Launched by teachers and alumni of West Des Moines schools, Iowans For Decency is building a statewide coalition to prevent Hinson’s election, Hedges said.
“It’s wide open,” Hedges said. “We have new members who come from Carroll, Decorah. Other smaller towns are starting to join our group.”
Hedges added, “I am just moved by how many people in Iowa really care about the future and are ready to fight for a better one.”
Peter Hedges is a member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative.
For her part, Hinson graduated from Valley High School in 2001 before going to the University of Southern California. She worked as a journalist in Cedar Rapids and served in the Iowa Legislature before being elected to Congress. Hinson, 42, lives in Marion.
BELOW IS THE LETTER FROM EDUCATORS TO HINSON:
