Des Moines, Iowa: Although he has been dead for seven years, Jeffrey Epstein has become a central figure in the US midterm elections.

In the Midwestern state of Iowa, Democratic attack ads accuse Republican members of Congress Zach Nunn and Ashley Hinson of protecting paedophiles by blocking the release of the so-called Epstein files .

Both eventually voted to release the files after US President Donald Trump gave the OK. Hinson, who is in a tough race for the US Senate, hits back at Democrat Josh Turek in her own ad.

US President Donald Trump greets Iowa Senate candidate Ashley Hinson at a campaign rally in Sioux City this week. AP Photo/Alex Brandon

“Men like Epstein who hurt children – they’ll have to answer to God,” she says. “But men who lie about it to win an election? They’ll have to answer to you.”

Epstein fuels dozens of TV ads across the country. But it’s not just him. On Wednesday night in Des Moines, during a Dolly Parton tribute show, the late news and Jimmy Kimmel Live!…