Democrats are spending heavily on Iran war-themed campaign ads across the country, and Iowa Republicans Ashley Hinson, Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Zach Nunn are prime targets heading into the November midterms. An Associated Press analysis of AdImpact data, published Oct. 17, found Iran-related spots have aired more than 43,000 times since Sept. 1 at an estimated cost of $42 million.
In Iowa, the group Vote Vets Action Fund has run ads saying Republican Senate candidate Ashley Hinson voted five times for the Iran war, which the group says produced record prices for gas and fertilizer. The claim touches a nerve in a farm state where fertilizer and fuel costs drive the bottom line for thousands of producers.
How the Iran War Became a Campaign Weapon
Democrats launched the strategy in the spring, when they began forcing repeated votes on war powers resolutions aimed at ending the conflict. The votes had little practical effect, but they put every lawmaker on record.
Now those records are being replayed on television screens in competitive districts nationwide. Of the 65 unique Iran-themed ads identified by the AP, 61 leaned on household cost-of-living messages such as rising prices for fuel and other goods. At least half of the 50 most competitive House and Senate races, as rated by the Cook Political Report, have featured Iran-related advertising since Sept. 1.
The AP reviewed broadcast and cable ads aired from Sept. 1 through Oct. 14, along with a smaller number of streaming ads. According to AP News, the goal for Democrats and allied groups is to tie an unpopular war to the price of groceries, gasoline and medicine as they work to win back the House and Senate.
Iowa Republicans Break With Trump on Latest Vote
The Senate has voted 14 times on resolutions seeking to halt or restrict President Donald Trump's military action against Iran, and the House has held six such votes since the conflict began in late February.
On the latest House vote, seven Republicans sided with Democrats in voting to end the war. Four of them are seeking reelection in highly competitive districts: Tom Barrett of Michigan, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, and Iowa's own Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Zach Nunn.
Barrett and Fitzpatrick had previously voted to remove U.S. troops from hostilities, but the yes votes were the first for Miller-Meeks and Nunn. The AP noted the shift reflects growing weariness with the war, even among members of the president's own party.
That split looms over Iowa's congressional map, where Miller-Meeks and Nunn face contests that could help decide control of the House. Readers can find more on the broader ad blitz in our earlier coverage of Iowa Republicans facing Iran war ads as the midterms near.
What the Ads Say in Other States
The pattern repeats across the map. In Wisconsin, an ad against Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden tells viewers that groceries and utilities keep getting more expensive and that Van Orden voted for the costly Iran war and spiking gas prices.
In Nebraska, Democratic candidate Chris Backemeyer says families are drowning and that Republican Rep. Mike Flood voted six times for Trump's tariffs and the Iran war, which the ad claims costs families a thousand dollars more a year.
Some Republicans targeted by the ads have never served in Congress and could not have voted on any war powers resolution. Democrats are instead portraying them as rubber stamps for the president on the war.
The Republican Counterplay: Taxes, Crime and the Economy
Republicans are largely ignoring the Iran war in their own advertising. The major GOP themes since Sept. 1 are taxes and crime, followed by character, healthcare and immigration.
Ron Bonjean, a Republican strategist, said the best approach is to attack Democratic weaknesses so voters conclude the other candidate is worse.
“In the end, you're trying to get as many Republicans out to vote for you as possible and bring over some independents,” Bonjean said. “And talking about the Iran war is really not a winning message because you're playing on the Democratic turf.”
Some Republicans have distanced themselves from the conflict off the airwaves. In Michigan, GOP Senate candidate Mike Rogers has said the war with Iran needs to end, and end quickly. His opponent, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, has run ads saying a billion dollars a day is going to a war America has no business fighting.
In Maine, Republican Sen. Susan Collins noted in a recent debate that she voted nine times to end the conflict. Her Democratic challenger, Troy Jackson, countered that she voted five times to make it happen.
Where Iran Ads Run Heaviest
Nationally, Iran war ads make up about 5 percent of total TV spots in competitive races, but some contests have leaned in hard.
The heaviest concentration is in California's 48th Congressional District near San Diego, where roughly a third of the 12,000 ads aired touch on Iran. Democrats there seized on a remark by Republican Jim Desmond, who said in an interview on Real America's Voice that the higher prices were a spike that would come down once the U.S. eliminated Iran's nuclear capability.
Virginia's 2nd District and Maine's 2nd District follow, with about a quarter of their ads addressing the war. In Ohio, some 4,000 Iran-themed ads have aired, nearly all from Democrat Sherrod Brown's campaign, according to ABC News, with heavy emphasis on pocketbook themes.
What This Means for Iowa Voters
For Iowans, the stakes are straightforward. Hinson's Senate bid against an incumbent, plus the House defenses by Miller-Meeks and Nunn, will determine whether the state's delegation stays in Republican hands as pressure builds on the president's party over a war that began in late February.
Expect the price-of-living argument to dominate the airwaves through Election Day, because that is where both parties believe persuadable voters live. Whether Iowa's incumbents can hold their seats while carrying votes the other side calls a liability is the question the next three weeks will answer.