Four months after telling supporters he could not urge them to back Ashley Hinson — describing the Republican U.S. Senate candidate as someone who did not share their values — former GOP candidate Jim Carlin has thrown his support behind her.

Carlin, an attorney and former member of the Iowa state legislature based in Sioux City, had entered the Republican primary contest for the U.S. Senate seat left open in Iowa. Hinson, the congresswoman representing Marion, secured victory in the June 2 primary with 74 percent of the vote against her opponent's 26. On the November 3 ballot, Hinson will face Democrat Josh Turek and Libertarian Thomas Laehn.

About two weeks after the primary concluded, Carlin addressed supporters in an open letter, stating that his conscience prevented him from directing them toward Hinson and that her positions diverged from the values he and his backers held, adding that a shared party label alone was not sufficient reason to support her. The letter argued that party votes must be earned rather than assumed.

By Thursday, however, Carlin's campaign Facebook page carried a post expressing support for Hinson, with Carlin noting the two had previously competed against each other in the primary. In a written statement, Carlin acknowledged that the contest had been an active one in which she had made her positions known, and while noting that the two hold differing views on certain matters, he expressed his intention to vote for Hinson in the November U.S. Senate race and encouraged others to do the same.

Carlin also noted that voters who identify as conservative but choose to stay home or back a different candidate could shift the balance of power in the Senate away from their preferred party, and that the outcome of the Senate majority leadership race hinges partly on how individual voters cast their ballots, with Chuck Schumer positioned as a potential leader if results break in that direction.

Hinson also drew backing from the National Federation of Independent Business. The Hinson campaign's news release attributed the endorsement to her record on tax policy — pointing to reductions benefiting small businesses, the removal of taxes on tips and overtime pay for workers in Iowa, and a broader push toward policies aimed at economic growth — while the statement opened by describing Iowa's small businesses as the foundation of the state's economy.

NFIB Iowa state director Cody Carlson expressed the organisation's enthusiasm for backing candidates it views as aligned with small-business priorities.

Meanwhile, Cedar Falls City Council member Kelly Dunn, writing a letter to the editor in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, announced her backing for no-party congressional candidate Dave Bushaw in Eastern Iowa's 2nd District and described her relationship with the national Democratic Party since 2016 as one she characterised as harmful. In a written statement, Dunn — who had supported Vermont's independent senator Bernie Sanders during that presidential contest — stated that the party had long expected loyalty from its members without offering the same in kind, and that casting a ballot for a candidate listed under a different party name represented a vote for something different.

That statement expressing dissatisfaction with long-serving officeholders came from Justin Brandt — a Republican sitting on the Black Hawk County Board of Supervisors and running for another term there — who had announced his backing for Bushaw in the days prior.

Bushaw, a folk musician who also works as a community and labor organizer out of Hawkeye in Fayette County, has entered the race for the U.S. House seat alongside Republican Joe Mitchell and Democrat Lindsay James. Iowa's 2nd Congressional District stretches across 22 counties in the northeastern and eastern portions of the state, taking in communities including Cedar Rapids, Dubuque, Mason City, Waverly, Waterloo, and Grinnell.

Three election-forecasting outlets have placed the contest in different competitive tiers. Cook Political Report and Sabato's Crystal Ball each categorise it as a toss-up, whereas Inside Elections puts the district one notch toward the Republican side with a "tilt Republican" designation.