(Story, and Photo Courtesy of the Iowa Capital Dispatch)
(Des Moines) Iowa Representative Josh Turek has won the Democratic nomination for Iowa’s U.S. Senate seat in his race against state Sen. Zach Wahls, with 62.53 percent of the vote to Wahls’ 37.32 percent with one county left to report.
The race for the Democratic nomination for Iowa’s U.S. Senate seat brought national attention over the past year after U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst announced she would not seek reelection. While other Democrats, like Rep. J.D. Scholten and Nathan Sage, also campaigned to become the nominee, Wahls’ and Turek’s campaigns were the only two to make it onto the June 2 primary ballot.
Turek is expected to speak in Des Moines at an Iowa Democratic Party event Tuesday evening.
In Storm Lake, Pamela Patton cast her vote for Turek because she thinks he gives Iowa a better chance at landing a Democratic senator.
“I really liked what Josh Turek had to say, but I also think he gives us more of a shot of winning,” she said. “I was watching Lawrence O’Donnell last night. He was saying, ‘It’s the first year he’s ever considered, instead of voting for who he likes the best, voting for who he thinks will win.’”
Though the two Democrats, both serving in the Iowa Legislature, share positions on many issues, the candidates sought to distinguish themselves through debates and endorsements in the months leading up to the primary. Wahls, who was positioned as a more progressive candidate, campaigned alongside national political figures like U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and criticized Turek for getting support from the VoteVets super PAC, an organization affiliated with Senate Democratic leadership and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Turek pitched himself as a more moderate candidate, pointing to his 2024 state legislative race victory and saying he represented the “reddest district” won by a Democrat in the 2024 general election in debates, as well as his support from former U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, the Democrat who held the seat before Ernst. While Turek has not made statements on Wahls’ campaign finance records, a person who made posts in support of Turek’s campaign filed a complaint — which was ultimately dismissed — with the Iowa Senate Ethics Committee over the Coralville Democrat’s work for the Next 50 Network.
John Holderness, 45, of Council Bluffs, said he is personally acquainted with Turek.
“I grew up with him — I know his family,” Holderness said. “Josh Turek was out there knocking on doors. I think he’s a good guy — I think he’s going to do good things.”
Renee Brandow, 65, voting at the Norwalk Public Library, said former U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin’s endorsement of Turek was why she decided to back him.
“Sen. Harkin was my candidate when he was here, when he was in Washington,” she said.
Ames resident Sherry Berghefer also cast her ballot for Turek. “I like that he wants to address price gouging and artificial housing price inflation, as well as wanting to increase minimum wage,” she said.
Though some national Democrats have expressed optimism about a Democratic candidate’s chances in the 2026 election, many political forecasters prior to Tuesday predicted Republicans are “likely” to retain control of the seat. Much of this prediction was based on the campaign of U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, the Republican currently representing Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District in the U.S. House, who quickly gained support from President Donald Trump, Ernst, and other Iowa and D.C. Republican leaders after launching her campaign.
Following Turek’s victory, The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter, a political tip sheet, shifted its rating of the battle for the Senate seat in Iowa from “likely” Republican to “lean” Republican.
“Even though Hinson is a strong candidate who has amassed a formidable war chest, the overall environment in the Hawkeye State is an increasingly favorable one for Democrats given backlash to tariffs and rising fuel and fertilizer prices as a result of the Iran War,” wrote Jessica Taylor, U.S. Senate and Governors Editor.
However, Taylor said, “In a state that Trump last carried by 13 points and which hasn’t elected a Democrat to the Senate since 2008, Hinson still retains the early advantage.”
Hinson also faced a primary challenger: Jim Carlin, 63, a former state lawmaker. Hinson won the race to become the GOP Senate nominee Tuesday, according to preliminary results reported by the AP. Quickly after the race was called, Hinson’s campaign issued a news release criticizing Turek’s record on immigration and reversing tax cuts made by Republicans in Congress. The Republicans’ news release also linked Turek’s campaign with funding from Democratic groups affiliated with Schumer.
“In Washington, Turek would be a rubber stamp for the radical leftists who bankrolled his campaign,” the news release stated. “His values might fit in great in New York City with Chuck Schumer, but his liberal record won’t fly here in Iowa.”
