1611 Forecasting

Iowa

Iowa

U.S. Senate

Open seat

Forecast as of October 7, 2026. These vote totals equal the sum of the counties below. Not a poll average.

RAshley Hinson, R

Ashley Hinson

Republican

632,462 votesWin probability 59.5%

DJosh Turek, D

Josh Turek

Democratic

617,931 votesWin probability 40.5%

Other

17,299 votes

Margin

R+1.1

Win probability

59.5%

80% interval

D+5.0 to R+7.2

95% interval

D+8.2 to R+10.4

Market

55%

Ashley Hinson · win probability, not a vote share

Raw data Checking polls.

50,000 draws. The 80% interval is the 10th to the 90th percentile. The 95% interval is the 2.5th to the 97.5th. The thin mark is the 95% interval. The thick mark is the 80%. The hairline is zero. 1,267,692 ballots, equal to the table.

Counties

Every reporting unit in the race. Sort any column. The votes above are this table added up.

Counties
Party
Polk CountyJosh TurekDD+21.259.9%204,450
Linn CountyJosh TurekDD+20.259.4%97,895
Scott CountyJosh TurekDD+6.452.5%71,794
Johnson CountyJosh TurekDD+48.473.5%68,854
Black Hawk CountyJosh TurekDD+11.555.0%50,122
Dallas CountyJosh TurekDD+5.552.1%50,106
Dubuque CountyJosh TurekDD+1.750.2%42,053
Story CountyJosh TurekDD+20.759.6%39,360
Pottawattamie CountyAshley HinsonRR+9.754.2%35,529
Woodbury CountyAshley HinsonRR+12.755.7%34,139
Warren CountyAshley HinsonRR+10.454.5%26,130
Clinton CountyAshley HinsonRR+8.653.6%19,050
Cerro Gordo CountyAshley HinsonRR+1.450.0%18,354
Jasper CountyAshley HinsonRR+17.358.0%16,119
Muscatine CountyAshley HinsonRR+4.651.6%15,756
Marion CountyAshley HinsonRR+27.563.1%15,592
Des Moines CountyAshley HinsonRR+4.851.7%15,198
Sioux CountyAshley HinsonRR+60.879.7%15,105
Marshall CountyAshley HinsonRR+5.352.0%13,774
Webster CountyAshley HinsonRR+20.959.8%13,365
Lee CountyAshley HinsonRR+17.558.1%12,923
Boone CountyAshley HinsonRR+11.254.9%12,277
Wapello CountyAshley HinsonRR+21.259.9%11,657
Bremer CountyAshley HinsonRR+11.955.3%11,645
Benton CountyAshley HinsonRR+22.960.8%11,576
Plymouth CountyAshley HinsonRR+44.071.3%11,145
Winneshiek CountyJosh TurekDD+1.049.8%9,542
Washington CountyAshley HinsonRR+14.156.4%9,241
Dickinson CountyAshley HinsonRR+29.764.2%8,954
Carroll CountyAshley HinsonRR+31.665.1%8,896
Jones CountyAshley HinsonRR+16.057.3%8,759
Mahaska CountyAshley HinsonRR+41.370.0%8,728
Jackson CountyAshley HinsonRR+22.260.4%8,626
Buchanan CountyAshley HinsonRR+17.958.3%8,571
Cedar CountyAshley HinsonRR+11.555.1%8,499
Delaware CountyAshley HinsonRR+29.364.0%8,090
Madison CountyAshley HinsonRR+28.363.5%7,996
Poweshiek CountyAshley HinsonRR+6.752.7%7,977
Fayette CountyAshley HinsonRR+20.259.4%7,854
Iowa CountyAshley HinsonRR+17.558.0%7,694
Henry CountyAshley HinsonRR+25.762.2%7,659
Clayton CountyAshley HinsonRR+24.261.4%7,505
Tama CountyAshley HinsonRR+16.657.6%6,875
Clay CountyAshley HinsonRR+32.965.8%6,811
Hardin CountyAshley HinsonRR+28.163.4%6,747
Kossuth CountyAshley HinsonRR+33.966.3%6,701
Jefferson CountyJosh TurekDD+3.551.1%6,654
Mills CountyAshley HinsonRR+28.863.7%6,578
Butler CountyAshley HinsonRR+35.166.8%6,422
Harrison CountyAshley HinsonRR+27.763.2%4,604
Floyd CountyAshley HinsonRR+12.955.8%4,423
Hamilton CountyAshley HinsonRR+19.258.9%4,392
Buena Vista CountyAshley HinsonRR+19.258.9%4,359
O'Brien CountyAshley HinsonRR+46.872.7%4,351
Allamakee CountyAshley HinsonRR+20.359.4%4,236
Page CountyAshley HinsonRR+28.363.5%4,232
Cass CountyAshley HinsonRR+26.662.6%4,173
Grundy CountyAshley HinsonRR+27.763.2%4,136
Lyon CountyAshley HinsonRR+55.777.2%4,051
Crawford CountyAshley HinsonRR+29.464.0%3,784
Guthrie CountyAshley HinsonRR+23.961.2%3,778
Shelby CountyAshley HinsonRR+28.963.8%3,762
Appanoose CountyAshley HinsonRR+32.665.6%3,750
Chickasaw CountyAshley HinsonRR+23.160.9%3,613
Cherokee CountyAshley HinsonRR+31.765.2%3,532
Union CountyAshley HinsonRR+22.160.4%3,478
Hancock CountyAshley HinsonRR+33.366.0%3,441
Mitchell CountyAshley HinsonRR+17.057.8%3,339
Wright CountyAshley HinsonRR+22.460.5%3,309
Winnebago CountyAshley HinsonRR+16.657.6%3,264
Sac CountyAshley HinsonRR+37.568.1%3,160
Keokuk CountyAshley HinsonRR+37.568.0%2,982
Louisa CountyAshley HinsonRR+26.962.7%2,979
Calhoun CountyAshley HinsonRR+32.665.6%2,954
Humboldt CountyAshley HinsonRR+35.967.3%2,939
Montgomery CountyAshley HinsonRR+25.061.8%2,935
Palo Alto CountyAshley HinsonRR+30.964.8%2,886
Franklin CountyAshley HinsonRR+27.663.1%2,833
Greene CountyAshley HinsonRR+18.958.8%2,827
Howard CountyAshley HinsonRR+17.758.2%2,805
Emmet CountyAshley HinsonRR+30.064.3%2,776
Lucas CountyAshley HinsonRR+34.066.3%2,691
Monona CountyAshley HinsonRR+31.365.0%2,677
Clarke CountyAshley HinsonRR+28.063.3%2,586
Worth CountyAshley HinsonRR+15.457.0%2,481
Monroe CountyAshley HinsonRR+36.667.6%2,405
Adair CountyAshley HinsonRR+30.964.8%2,357
Davis CountyAshley HinsonRR+40.369.5%2,291
Fremont CountyAshley HinsonRR+30.564.6%2,195
Decatur CountyAshley HinsonRR+33.065.8%2,162
Ida CountyAshley HinsonRR+39.369.0%2,112
Van Buren CountyAshley HinsonRR+41.370.0%2,101
Pocahontas CountyAshley HinsonRR+40.069.3%2,072
Audubon CountyAshley HinsonRR+24.361.5%1,879
Osceola CountyAshley HinsonRR+50.174.4%1,867
Wayne CountyAshley HinsonRR+43.170.9%1,809
Taylor CountyAshley HinsonRR+41.670.1%1,785
Ringgold CountyAshley HinsonRR+37.267.9%1,556
Adams CountyAshley HinsonRR+30.064.3%1,236

Model

  1. Raw data

    2024 presidential baseline

    National R−D 1.5

    County presidential file. Not the 2026 result.

  2. Raw data

    Generic ballot

    D 50.8 R 42.6 R−D -8.2

    National Wikipedia aggregate, October 5, 2026. State generic ballots, where a public poll exists, replace a uniform national swing: ME, MI, NH, NY, OH. A state with no generic-ballot poll keeps the national number and is not assigned a neighbor's.

  3. Raw data

    Party identification

    Pew D+5 and Gallup D+10, blend R−D -7.3

    Pew NPORS 2026, identifiers plus leaners: Republican 43, Democratic 48. Gallup party identification plus leaners, first two quarters of 2026: Democratic 49, Republican 39. Pew is 55% of this blend and Gallup is 45%.

  4. Model input

    National block

    R−D -7.8

    60% generic ballot and 40% party identification. The swing versus the 2024 presidential margin is what gets transmitted.

  5. Model input

    Swing transmitted

    0.77 × -9.3 = -7.2

    Only the share of the national swing this state took in the last midterm is transmitted. Elasticity is shrunk halfway toward 1.

  6. Raw data

    2026 early vote

    None reported

    No verified 2026 returned-mail or in-person ballots for this state in the October 7 file. Nothing was imputed. Day-1 early vote is a signal, not a statewide margin. Applications and ballots that were only sent are not in this count. A day-1 pace gap is not a statewide margin.

  7. Model input

    History block

    R−D 7.5

    Weights 2018 5 / 2024 35 / 2020 20 / 2022 40. 2020 and 2022 results for this office are included in every state that had those races, including blowouts. A 2022 election is weighted ahead of 2018. If that office was not on the ballot, the 2020 result for the same office fills the year. Another office is not used. 2018 from 2020 R+38.4 w5, 2024 from 2020 R+38.4 w35, 2020 R+38.4 w20, 2022 R+44.0 w40. This is the last result for the office, not the presidential margin. A 2024 county map is not copied forward unchanged. A 2018 model error is not used.

  8. Model input

    Electorate block

    R−D 2.6

    History reweighted by usual midterm turnout, plus half of the transmitted swing. Rural and presidential-only counties still move farther when the result is spread back to counties. The 2026 early-vote count is not inside this margin.

  9. Model input

    Turnout block

    R−D 5.0

    Each county is weighted by its 2018 ballots divided by its 2024 presidential ballots. Small counties shrink halfway toward the state median. 2020 mail shares are not used. No verified 2026 returned-mail or in-person ballots for this state in the October 7 file. Nothing was imputed. Day-1 early vote is a signal, not a statewide margin.

  10. Model input

    National environment

    R−D 0.4

    History plus the full transmitted swing from the 60/40 national block.

  11. Model input

    State environment

    R−D 3.0

    History plus 45% of the transmitted swing.

  12. Model input

    State partisan lean

    R−D 13.3

    The 2024 presidential margin of this state, or of this district for a House race. It is heavier than the old state-environment block and is not shrunk toward the polling term.

  13. Model input

    Trump popularity

    R−D -5.1

    New York Times approval average, October 7, 2026: 37% approve, 60% disapprove. Net approval -23. That is not a vote share. Four-tenths of the net is a margin, then scaled by this place's partisan lean (factor 0.56), so an unpopular president costs more in a Democratic state.

  14. Model input

    Candidate favorability

    R−D 0.0

    Open seat or no incumbent. Favorability is zero.

  15. Model input

    Demographics

    R−D -0.7

    County college, rural, and nonwhite shares from the 2018 election-context file change how much of the swing a county takes. No separate microdata file.

  16. Model input

    Finance

    R−D 5.0

    No sourced spending edge, so the block starts on history. With a poll, it shrinks toward the polling term with the other non-poll blocks.

  17. Model input

    Issues

    R−D 5.0

    No sourced issue score. Same treatment as finance.

  18. Model input

    Polling

    R−D 0.6

    Individual polls -0.7 (80%) and the Wikipedia average -1.3 (20%). Named support R−D -1.1. Allocated support R−D -0.8. Named support does not move. Only the undecided line is split, 53.4% Republican and 46.6% Democratic. That is the 2024 two-party Republican share 56.7 moved halfway to 50 and capped at 60/40. A named third-party vote stays third-party. Banned individual rows excluded: 2. State miss shrunk 40% toward zero: 1.38. Public pollsters: 7. Outliers: 2. Recency half-life 16 days. Sample weight n/(n+350). A registered-voter poll is 0.90. An internal poll, or a poll sponsored by one party, is weighted 0.20, and only when a public poll is also in the race. An internal-only file is dropped. A poll that names both parties is not an internal. A poll more than 8 points from the median of the others is cut in half.

  19. Model input

    Candidate

    R+0.00 reaches the result

    Open seat. No incumbency term. A negative popularity score is not added on top of the office baseline. No overperformance. An open seat, a scandal, or a missing incumbent gets none.

  20. Model input

    Halfway floor

    Applied

    Presidential margin 13.3. A thin poll may not move the result more than halfway from the office baseline 7.5 to the polling term. Held at 4.0. One poll does not rewrite the race.

  21. Model input

    Pooling

    35% of the way from each history block toward the polling term

    Otherwise the shrink is 35%.

  22. Model input

    Prediction market

    55% win probability

    Ashley Hinson 55.0% is a win probability, not a vote share. Republican win probability 55.0 from Kalshi 55.0% Republican; Polymarket 55.0% Republican. A price of 50 is a tie. Each point above 50 is 0.35 margin points, capped at 12, so the raw margin is 1.8. That margin is shrunk 40% toward the pre-market margin 4.0, which leaves 2.7. It enters once, at 5.0%. The polling term is not nudged. Books under $10,000 and primary markets are ignored.

  23. Model input

    State bend

    R−D -2.8

    IA is adjusted 2.8 points toward the Democrats after the blend, from 3.9 to 1.1. Florida takes less of a Democratic national swing. Iowa, Wisconsin, and Arizona are not left pinned to a red presidential lean when the race is close. A seat already 15 points the other way, or a House seat whose own lines are 6 points that way and the race is already 4 points that way, only moves 1.2.

  24. Model input

    Weights

    polling 20.4% · history 7.4% · candidate 5.6% · electorate 4.7% · national 5.6% · stateEnv 3.7% · turnout 2.8% · demographics 2.8% · finance 1.9% · issues 1.9% · stateLean 16.8% · trump 11.2% · favorability 10.3% · market 5.0%

    History is lighter. State partisan lean, Trump popularity, and candidate favorability are their own terms. A market, when it qualifies, scales every other weight and is not taken out of polling alone.

  25. County-sum margin

    1.1

    This is the sum of the reporting units after each unit moved off its own history. It is not the poll average.

  26. 80% interval

    -5.0 to 7.2

    10th to 90th percentile of 50,000 draws. Poll, national, state, turnout, and candidate error.

  27. 95% interval

    -8.2 to 10.4

    2.5th to 97.5th percentile. Senate and governor state errors in the same state share a correlation of 0.30. The band shown is the marginal interval.

Wikipedia, 2026 United States Senate elections (general-election infobox, checked against the state narrative) sos.iowa.gov/elections/pdf/2020/general/canvsummary.pdf