Rep.-elect Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa-01)

Date of birth: June 27, 1983
Residence: Marion, Iowa
Occupation: state legislator, former TV reporter
Education: B.A., University of Southern California
Family: husband, Matthew; two children

Ashley Hinson returned Iowa’s 1st Congressional District to GOP hands with her defeat of one-term Rep. Abby Finkenauer (D).

Hinson worked as a TV reporter in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for more than a decade before she decided to leave her job and run for the state legislature in 2016.

She became the first woman to represent her district.

While there, she served on the Judiciary, Public Safety and Transportation committees.

Not long after, she launched her bid for Congress as part of the National Republican Congressional Committee’s Young Guns recruiting and training program.

She defeated Thomas Hansen, a local Republican Party chair and vocal supporter of President Trump, in the party’s primary in June.

“I am a different brand than what the president offers. That doesn’t mean I don’t support a lot of what he’s trying to do,” she said in a May interview with CBS2 Iowa.

– Jessie Hellmann