Corkery challenges Hinson on abortion and education at Iowa State Fair

DES MOINES, Iowa — At the Iowa State Fair, congressional candidate Sarah Corkery took the stage for the Des Moines Register's Political Soapbox.

"It's time for a truth teller," Corkery said. "That's what I am. I'm new to politics. I'm not in this for money or power. I want to represent you."

District two congressional candidate Corkery shared her breast cancer story and explained how it led her to get involved in politics. Her advocacy eventually resulted in her lobbying for the Metastatic Breast Cancer Access to Care Act in Washington, D.C.

"So we asked all of our elected officials to sign this bill to help people whose cancer's spreading and dying," Corkery said. "Help them get insurance that they've paid into. All of the other Republicans in the House said yes. We even got Joni Ernst to be the cosponsor of the bill, little old Sarah Corkery and the Beyond Pink team. But we asked Ashley Hinson four times and she said no."

Corkery also criticized GOP incumbent Hinson, aiming to highlight their differences on women's reproductive rights and public education. She condemned Iowa's nearly six-week abortion ban and the state's education savings accounts.

If elected, Corkery vowed to codify Roe v. Wade into federal law and ensure public schools are fully funded.

"We need to have women's rights," Corkery said. "I believe all medical decisions should be between a person and their doctor, end of story."

However, Corkery is still working to catch up to Hinson in fundraising. As of June, Corkery had raised roughly $250,000, compared to more than $4 million raised by Hinson, according to OpenSecrets.

The Cedar Falls Democrat said she is exploring more creative campaign strategies.

"What we are doing is meeting people where they are at," Corkery said. "We are on TikTok. We have some great ways to meet older people where they are at that's a lot less cost effective. And I also say this: if we don't want Congress to be full of millionaires and billionaires, you have to actually elect somebody who's not a millionaire or billionaire."

The Political Soapbox concluded without comment from Congresswoman Ashley Hinson, who did not participate in this year's event.