Hinson promised more town halls, she hasn’t held one all year

Iowa Rep. Ashley Hinson has not held a single town hall in 2026 despite repeated promises to have more such events.

Hinson, who represents Iowa’s 2nd District, participated in several town halls between 2024 and 2025, but appears to have stopped scheduling them after launching her U.S. Senate campaign last September.

Her office initially scheduled a telephone town hall meeting for March 26, but it was canceled for unknown reasons. Hinson’s public calendar still says the event is “postponed,” but a new date has not yet been announced.

Last year, many House Republicans faced intense backlash from constituents at town halls for supporting the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a law that will cut $1 trillion from Medicaid over the next decade to fund tax breaks for the rich. The National Republican Congressional Committee advised lawmakers to hold fewer in-person meetings as a result.

Despite this, Hinson told KTTC in August 2025 that town halls were critical to being an “open, honest, transparent representative” and she would continue to schedule them.

“I keep doing those town halls because I think they’re important,” Hinson said. “I do in-person town halls, telephone town halls, virtual town halls. I think it’s important to hear from everyone, and I will continue to do that as their representative.”

Hinson made similar remarks on the Family Leader podcast last month.

“My governing philosophy has always been that I will work with anyone who will work with me,” Hinson said. “I’ve done a lot of town halls in my time as a representative, and my approach to everybody has always been, well, if you have a differing opinion of me, come out and let’s have a conversation and try to change my mind.”

Hinson voted in favor of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and has publicly praised the law since.

While Hinson has not held a town hall this year, her Senate campaign did host a meet-and-greet at a coffee shop in Charles City on April 6. The event was scheduled on short notice and drew a small crowd of about 10 people, including India May, a Democrat running for the state house.

The Charles City Press reports that the event became chaotic when May attempted to livestream Hinson’s remarks. The police were called and six people left the coffee shop. Hinson held a roundtable discussion with the four remaining attendees.

Hinson is running to replace retiring Republican Sen. Joni Ernst. Her Democratic opponent will be chosen in a June 2 primary.