Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ashley Hinson, a congresswoman pitching herself as a warrior against special interests in Iowa, and her husband, Matt Arenholz, have deep ties to the insurance industry, with Arenholz owning millions worth of interest in a private equity-backed brokerage.
Documents reviewed by NOTUS reveal Arenholz also held a government affairs post at a leading insurance industry lobbying group, which has not been previously reported. He helped arrange meetings with Hinson and other Iowa congressional delegation members, the documents indicate.
Arenholz, a longtime insurance executive, chaired the government affairs committee for an Iowa branch of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America, an expansive national insurance trade association and lobbying group. Magazines published by the organization and reviewed by NOTUS reveal that officials at the insurance industry group credited Arenholz for helping them gain access to Hinson and other Iowa lawmakers.
“In fact, Matt was able to arrange a meeting with all four of our congressional members in one large conference room,” Tom O’Meara, the group’s chief executive officer, wrote in the message in the magazine. “This not only saved us a lot of time but prevented us from having to bounce around from building to building in D.C.”
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O’Meara also acknowledged Hinson and Arenholz’s marriage in a fall 2023 edition of the group’s magazine. Archived material from the Independent Insurance Agents of Iowa’s website shows Arenholz took on the government affairs role with the group in 2019, and that he still held the post in 2023.
A spokesperson for the Hinson campaign, which is competing in one of the nation’s hottest Senate races, told NOTUS the meeting O’Meara referenced was “arranged just like any other meeting with an advocacy group is arranged through the proper and appropriate channels.”
The spokesperson, who declined to be identified by name for this story, said Arenholz has been a part of the Iowa insurance organization since 2003, and that his government affairs post was focused on state level issues. The panel, the campaign said, meets once a year and hears from state lobbyists about the Iowa state legislative session.
“Matt’s not a lobbyist nor has he ever lobbied Ashley on anything — they maintain the highest ethical standards,” the Hinson campaign spokesperson said. The Hinson spokesperson also said the congresswoman understood Arenholz’s involvement with the organization to be part of his participation in the broader independent insurance industry.
The Independent Insurance Agents of Iowa did not respond to a request for comment or questions about Arenholz’s role at the organization.
In a copy of the organization’s online magazine, O’Meara wrote that while in Washington for a conference, he was asked how many members of Iowa’s congressional delegation met with his organization.
“I was given several strange looks when I responded that we met with all six of ours from Iowa,” O’Meara wrote. “Several replied to me that they were not talking about congressional staff members rather the actual elected officials themselves. My answer remained the same, ALL SIX!”
Jeff Hauser, executive director of the Revolving Door Project, a watchdog organization that tracks lobbying and political influence trends, told NOTUS that Arenholz’s position “blurs the line.”
“No one’s saying that if your significant other gets elected to Congress, you have got to stop being in insurance,” Hauser said. “Then you tell me he’s involved in government affairs, right off the bat that’s not normal. Most people don’t do government affairs work.”
Hauser argued that national organizations such as the Independent Insurance Agent Brokers, the parent group of the Iowa-based branch, use a network of state-level offshoots to more effectively lobby lawmakers.
“Part of the power that, like, a Chamber of Commerce builds over time is that they can, instead of having their D.C-based official lobby someone from Iowa, they give talking points through their Iowa affiliate, and then the lobbying occurs from a constituent,” Hauser said.
InsurePAC, the political action committee of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America, has supported Hinson throughout her congressional career.
Over the years, the PAC contributed a total of more than $67,000 to Hinson’s campaign and PACs affiliated with the Iowa Republican, according to data from the Federal Election Commission.
Separately, the national group has spent more than $5 million lobbying the federal government since Hinson was elected in 2020, according to Lobbying Disclosure Act reports.
A Hinson spokesperson said the support from the PAC “had no relationship to her husband’s membership” in the Iowa insurance group.
Hinson’s annual personal financial disclosures reveal Arenholz retains a significant stake in the insurance sector. Hinson reported in 2025 that Arenholz held between $1 million and $5 million in High Street Insurance Partners, a large private equity-backed insurance brokerage. In 2021, Hinson reported that Arenholz sold interest in a private insurance company for over $1 million.
Hinson has pitched herself in Iowa as a candidate who will take on powerful special interests.
In the first ad for her Senate campaign, Hinson said, “Health care companies are ripping you off, and members of Congress should not trade stocks.”
“I’m working with President Trump to take on big insurance companies, and I’m fighting to ban stock trading in Congress,” Hinson said in the ad.
The race for Senate in Iowa, with Hinson facing off against Democrat Josh Turek, has unexpectedly become one of the most important political contests in the 2026 midterms.
Hinson holds a polling advantage of less than 1 percentage point, according to polling averages from RealClearPolitics, meaning the race is a statistical dead heat, at present.
Last week, the Cook Political Report rated the Iowa Senate race a toss-up, shifting its rating toward Democrats. Senate Democrats must hold all of their seats and defeat at least four Republicans to retake the chamber.
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