Voters Most Concerned About Economy Break for Sand for Governor, Hinson for Senate
A new Emerson College Polling/Nexstar Media poll finds 47% of Iowa voters support Republican Ashley Hinson, while 45% support Democrat Josh Turek for U.S. Senate. Libertarian Thomas Laehn has 2% support, while 7% are undecided. Since September, Hinson’s support decreased three points, from 50% to 47%, while Turek’s support held at 45%.
In the race for Governor, 49% support Democrat Rob Sand and 45% support Republican Zach Lahn. Six percent are undecided.
“Voters over 50 differ on the Senate and gubernatorial ballot: they break for Hinson over Turek for Senate by 13, but for Lahn by a-five point margin for Governor,” Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling, said. “Voters under 50 are more consistent: they break for Turek on the Senate ballot by 14, and Sand by 15.”
The top issue for Iowa voters is the economy (42%), up four points from August, followed by healthcare (18%), threats to democracy (10%), and education (8%).
“Voters who say the economy is the top issue facing the state break for Hinson by four points, 47%-43%, but for Rob Sand by three points, 49%-46%,” Kimball said. “Voters who find healthcare or threats to democracy to be the top issue facing the state break for the Democratic candidates by double digits.”
President Trump holds a 42% job approval rating, and 51% disapproval among Iowa likely voters.
Methodology
The Emerson College Polling/Nexstar Media Iowa survey was conducted October 5-6, 2026. The overall sample of Iowa likely voters, n=650, has a credibility interval, similar to a poll’s margin of error (MOE), of +/- 3.8 percent. The data sets were weighted by gender, education, party registration, and region based on U.S. Census parameters and voter file data.
It is important to remember that subsets based on demographics, such as gender, age, education, and race/ethnicity, carry with them higher credibility intervals, as the sample size is reduced. Survey results should be understood within the poll’s range of scores, and with a confidence interval of 95% a poll will fall outside the range of scores 1 in 20 times.
Data was collected by contacting registered voters from a voter file provided by Aristotle using MMS text-to-web. Additional panel interviews were provided by PureSpectrum. The survey was hosted on QuestionPro. All respondents were recruited using customized links that prevent responses from anyone outside of the poll’s sample frame. Panel responses were matched to the Aristotle voter file using respondents’ full name and ZIP code. The survey was administered using QuestionPro, and the survey was offered in English.
All questions asked in this survey with exact wording and order, along with full results, demographics, and cross tabulations can be found below. The poll was sponsored by Nexstar Media.
