(Iowa Capital Dispatch) State Rep. Josh Turek, D-Council Bluffs, submitted thousands of petition signatures at the Iowa Secretary of State’s office Thursday, qualifying his U.S. Senate campaign for the 2026 Democratic primary.
Turek’s campaign submitted more than 10,000 signatures from all 99 counties, he told reporters.
Joined by other Democratic state legislators who supported his campaign, the four-time Paralympian said he felt similar while submitting the petition signatures to when he qualified for the Team USA wheelchair basketball team. Turek competed in the Summer Paralympics four times, his team winning the bronze medal in 2012 and the gold metal in 2016 and 2020.
Turek said now he is focused on winning the June 2 primary. Turek faces state Sen. Zach Wahls, D-Coralville, for the nomination. Wahls filed his own paperwork for the ballot Wednesday.
“Over the next 90 days, I’m going to be working as hard as I can to get in front of as many Iowans as possible to be able to win,” Turek said. He said Iowans should expect to see him on televised debates in the weeks before the primary election.
When he’s speaking with voters and on a debate stage, Turek said he wants to show Iowans his campaign is focused on sharing a positive vision for the state’s future.
“I said when I started this campaign that I wanted this to look and feel and sound different than your usual Senate campaign, and I knew some of that was going to be by the very nature of being 20 years younger than (the) average United States senator age, and also having a visible disability,” Turek said.
“But the energy of what you’re going to see … it is going to be about hope and positivity and inspiration, because I think there’s a lot of that missing right now in our politics, he said. “I see a lot of people that have just given into the cynicism and the nihilism, and it’s been a situation where I think a lot of Iowans, or a lot of Americans have lost hope in their elected officials. And at times, I think they have felt like they need to when they go to the ballot box, they have to vote for the lesser of two evils. I want to inspire people saying, ‘I believe in this guy, what he’s trying to do, the messaging he’s trying to do,’ that he’s actually out there doing this for the right reasons, to fight for the middle class, to fight for the people, not just billionaires and large corporations. That’s the energy that you’re going to see from me.”
When asked to respond to concern from some Democrats who may see him as the candidate supported by U.S. Senate Democratic leadership, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Turek said he was the “Iowa candidate” in the race.
“I think there’s a genuineness, and there’s an authenticity — first and foremost, coming from a working-class family, working-class community, I did this through enormous amounts of hard work,” Turek said. “You know, I’m not a blue blood, I’m not elite educated. I was never meant to be here. Everything that I’ve achieved in my life is doing hard work, winning gold medals through working hard, getting to this (Iowa House) seat, winning by six votes, dragging my wheelchair upstairs.”
He also pointed to endorsements received from fellow Iowa Democratic state lawmakers, as well as former primary competitors Iowa Rep. J.D. Scholten, D-Sioux City, and former Knoxville Chamber of Commerce executive director Nathan Sage, as proof that he was the “Iowa candidate.”
When asked about the possibility of facing U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson in the 2026 general election, Turek said an independent poll showed him tied with the Republican candidate. He also said he is “battle tested” as the only Democratic candidate in the race to win against a Republican challenger.
Hinson commented on the Democratic Senate primary Wednesday, saying, “Let’s just say I think Zach Wahls seems to be running away with it right now.”
Turek said Hinson’s comment “may show who they prefer to run against.”
“However, look, I’ve been an underdog my whole entire life, in every single aspect,” Turek said. “But I know that Iowa loves an underdog, and I fully expect to win this primary in June and take on Ashley Hinson and have the opportunity to win Sen. (Tom) Harkin’s seat back.”
Iowa Rep. Josh Turek, D-Council Bluffs, was joined by fellow House Democrats supporting his campaign March 12, 2026, as he submitted petition signatures in the Iowa Secretary of State’s office to qualify for the Democratic U.S. Senate primary ballot. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
