October 23, 2026 / 10:09 PM EDT / CBS News

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Sioux City, Iowa — Senate Majority Leader John Thune campaigned with GOP Rep. Ashley Hinson in Iowa on Friday in his latest effort to prop up Republican candidates on the campaign trail, emphasizing how the Hawkeye State, reliably red in recent elections, now may hold the key to control of the Senate .

"The majority in the United States Senate must run through the state of Iowa," Thune said.

Iowa is one of several states that entered the midterm conversation in recent months, with a number of Senate races appearing in play for Democrats despite being unthinkable at the start of the cycle.…