Cotton to stump for Iowa GOP candidate amid 2024 speculation

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) is heading to Iowa to stump for Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa) at a fundraiser this month, fueling speculation of a potential 2024 presidential bid. 

“I’m thrilled to join Congresswoman Ashley Hinson later this month in Iowa,” Cotton said in a statement. “Ashley is a force to be reckoned with in Washington — she is fighting Nancy Pelosi’s radical agenda and defending our values, our Constitution, and Iowa’s taxpayers every single day. Together we are going to take back the House in 2022.”

Hinson, a first-term member of Congress who defeated former Rep. Abby Finkenauer (D) last year, is among Democrats’ top GOP targets in the 2022 midterm elections. So far, only one Democrat, Iowa state Sen. Liz Mathis, has jumped into the race to oust Hinson next year.

Cotton, who easily won a second term in the Senate last year, is one of several Republicans seen as a potential presidential contender in 2024. 

He traveled to Iowa, the first-in-the-nation caucus state, to campaign alongside Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) in June and made a trip to New Hampshire, which holds the first presidential primary, last month.  

Cotton isn’t the only prominent GOP senator and potential 2024 candidate heading to Iowa to stump for Hinson. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is also expected to campaign for Hinson at a barbecue fundraiser on Aug. 28. 

Updated at 12:30 p.m.