Iowa Senate hopeful Ashley Hinson took nearly $90K from billionaires named in Epstein files

In the tightly contested Iowa Senate race, Republican Ashley Hinson has taken roughly $90,000 from a group of billionaires repeatedly mentioned in the Jeffrey Epstein records, including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Blackstone co-founder Stephen Schwarzman and Apollo Global Management chief Marc Rowan. Campaign finance filings show $30,500 was contributed during the period when Hinson helped block the files’ release, with the remainder spread across her current Senate campaign, two prior House campaigns and two of her PACs.

Schwarzman, listed 23 times in the files, gave $7,000; Rowan, whose name appears 389 times, contributed the same amount; Lutnick, cited at least 141 times, donated over $12,000 across 2021 and 2023. Hinson declined to sign Rep. Thomas Massie’s discharge petition that would have forced a vote on the documents, a move she defended as protecting Republican leverage, though she eventually voted for the bill when it reached the House.

Iowa Democrats have condemned the fundraising, accusing Hinson of putting billionaire interests ahead of Iowans facing rising costs. The Daily Beast sought comment from Hinson but received none.