State Rep. Josh Turek, a Paralympics gold medalist with a history of winning over voters who backed President Donald Trump, won the Democratic nomination for Iowa's Senate race on Tuesday night. This victory gives national Democrats the candidate they believe has the best chance of defeating Republican Ashley Hinson in November.
Primary Victory
Turek defeated state Sen. Zach Wahls to secure the nomination. While Wahls began the contest as the front-runner, the super PAC VoteVets spent $9.7 million on television, mail, and digital ads boosting Turek. The group, which normally only backs veterans, justified its spending by noting that Turek, who has been in a wheelchair since childhood, developed spina bifida because of his father's exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam.
National Implications
National Democrats now feel they can seriously contest Iowa, which has shifted heavily toward the GOP in the past decade. The state's sluggish economy has made GOP leaders unpopular, and Democrats believe they have a star candidate, Auditor Rob Sand, already running for governor. Turek will face Rep. Ashley Hinson, a Republican running as a close ally of Trump. The seat is open because GOP Sen. Joni Ernst opted to retire rather than run for reelection.
VoteVets' intervention in the race was massive, with the group outspending each campaign by large margins. Wahls and his allies have suggested Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer was behind the spending, as Schumer-aligned groups have worked with VoteVets in the past. However, the group was not required to reveal its donors before the primary. Wahls had emphasized his opposition to Schumer returning as party leader, saying on the first day of his campaign he would not support him.
Candidate Profiles
Wahls was seen as the more progressive candidate and had the endorsement of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and many of the state's labor unions. But many other Iowa Democrats, including former Sen. Tom Harkin and a number of former candidates in the race, lined up behind Turek as the more electable option. Turek has twice won a state house district won by Trump.
Turek, a longtime professional wheelchair basketball player, was part of the gold-medal winning U.S. teams at the 2016 and 2020 Paralympics.
