(Des Moines, IA) -- The gloves came off for two candidates vying for Iowa's second Congressional seat.
State Representative Lyndsay James announced her candidacy Tuesday and criticized Republican incumbent Ashley Hinson's support of the Big, Beautiful Bill.
The Dubuque Democrat claims the bill is a tax break for billionaires on the backs of working families and it's going to result to higher costs for Iowans. "That is the kind of road that Hinson is taking that is reflecting her priorities, which are billionaires and special interests," said James. "Just in the second (Congressional) district, 27,000 people are at risk of losing their health care, " she added.
Hinson says James is a radical. "She apologized for being born a white woman, she thinks kids should be able to change their genders and she opposed tax cuts for working Iowans. She opposed school choice," said Hinson. "I look at this as she's just another radical, out of touch, representative running." Hinson says James will be a rubber stamp for Democrats.
James has been in the state legislature since 2019 and is an ordained Presbyterian pastor. She says she'll work to bring down costs for ordinary Iowans.
James faces Eastern Iowa Pastor Clint Twedt-Ball and Kathy Dolter, former dean of nursing at Kirkwood Community College, in the 2026 Democratic primary.
Both James and Hinson made their comments to Jeff Angelo on Newsradio 1040 WHO.