Meet U.S. Senate Candidate
Josh Turek
Iowa
Open-Flip
Why This Race Matters
During the last several decades, Iowa has become reliably Republican. They hold a trifecta in state government with control of the governorship and both chambers of the state legislature. The last Democrat to win a US Senate seat in Iowa was Tom Harkin in 2008. However, this cycle has highly competitive races for governor, congressional districts 01, 02 and 03 and the US Senate.
There’s a Senate vacancy because incumbent Jodi Ernst, first elected in ‘15, is not running. The Republican candidate facing Turek is Ashley Hinson- currently serving in the House representing IA 02. Her background is as a news anchor, reporter, and producer with TV-9 in Iowa. She has served in the state legislature and was endorsed by both Trump and Ernst.
Following Turek’s primary victory, both Cook Political Report and Sabato's Crystal Ball shifted their ratings for this race from Likely R to Lean R signifying that while Hinson has some advantage, this race is competitive offering Democrats a critical opportunity to flip a seat.
Background + Experience
Turek’s life story is a powerful example of the meaning of the American Dream. He has a BA from Southwest Minnesota Stare University and an MBA from DeVry University. He had successful collegiate, Olympic, and professional careers as a basketball player and was inducted into the National Wheelchair Basketball Hall of Fame in 2023. While playing professional basketball, Turek volunteered as Director of the Ryan Martin Foundation, an organization that provides opportunities for disabled children to participate in sports.
Turek was first elected to the Iowa House of Representatives in ‘22 and reelected in ‘24 in a strongly pro-Trump district. During his tenure in the state legislature, he has focused on disability policy, health care, and agricultural issues.
Turek and his wife live in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
On the Issues
Turek has “a prairie populist's platform to rebuild the American dream.” Issues he will champion in the Senate include:
- Each and every American should be able to afford the basics.
- Health care is a human right. All Americans deserve access to basic care.
- Stop the corruption. Politicians should deliver for the people, not enrich themselves.
- Iowa’s farmers are the best in the world. It’s time we fight for them.
- We must protect and defend our fundamental freedoms.
- Every Iowa child deserves access to the highest quality public education.
- We need to address Iowa’s unique cancer crisis and the water quality crisis that's driving it.
- Support our military heroes and their families while they serve - and when they come home.
- Individuals with disabilities deserve access to education, employment, and health care without unnecessary barriers.
- Our immigration system is broken and needs comprehensive reform.
“My story is truly the American dream. In no other country on earth could someone born into a working-class family from Council Bluffs, Iowa, who went to the Goodwill, shared clothes, had the wrong color lunch ticket, who was born with my disability of spina bifida due to my father’s exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam, who had 21 surgeons before the age of 12, be able to represent the United States in four Paralympic games and bring home two gold medals, and represent their community in the legislature. Only in America is that possible. And I am running for the United States Senate to protect that American dream for future generations.”