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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa state Rep. Josh Turek won the state’s Democratic primary for U.S. Senate on Tuesday, setting up a competitive general election against Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson for a seat Democrats are hoping to flip in November.
Turek, who defeated state Sen. Zach Wahls for his party’s nomination, now faces a full-throttled Republican defense of the retiring two-term Sen. Joni Ernst’s seat, which the GOP considers pivotal to keeping its Senate majority.
Hinson, endorsed by Trump and Republican leaders, prevailed over former state Sen. Jim Carlin to secure the GOP’s nomination for Senate.
The Senate primaries were among many competitive races in Iowa attracting national interest, including from the White House. President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance have both touched down in the state this year to shore up Republican enthusiasm.
Democrats feel hopeful that high prices, lost manufacturing jobs, shuttered healthcare facilities and a struggling agricultural economy will help the party dismantle the all-GOP federal delegation and Republican statehouse trifecta.
State Auditor Rob Sand, the lone Democrat currently holding statewide office, is the party’s nominee for governor. Unopposed in the primary, Sand has been able to hone his moderate message, remind voters of his rural upbringing and amass an $18 million campaign fund.
Republicans, meanwhile, must close the door on a five-way primary Tuesday for the nominee to replace outgoing Gov. Kim Reynolds.
Tense Senate primary grappled with Democratic establishment and electability
While many voters felt Turek and Wahls were largely aligned on key Democratic positions, Turek prevailed in convincing voters that he’s better to go up against Hinson.
Turek told an election night crowd that he has been a fighter his whole life and will fight for Iowans in Washington.
“This is what we need in D.C., fighters for the people. And that is what I will be in the United States Senate,” he said to cheers. He also criticized Hinson, saying “she does not represent Iowa and does not represent our values.”
Turek, a relative newcomer to elected office, leaned on his experience campaigning and winning in a red, Trump-won state House district as evidence that he could appeal to independent and moderate Republican voters in November. He played professional wheelchair basketball in Europe, and he competed for the U.S. in four Paralympics, including as recently as 2021. He won his state House seat in 2022.
Turek referred to himself as an underdog when he launched last August and said last week that he still thinks of his campaign that way, especially against Hinson. Still, a flood of outside support and Washington endorsements boosted him in the final stretch. A Democratic political operation spent millions of dollars to blanket the airwaves, social media and mailboxes. An adviser for VoteVets said in a statement Tuesday that they were “ready to continue the fight.”
Political organizations affiliated with U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, Senate minority leader, and Kirsten Gillibrand, who chairs the Democratic Senate campaign arm, have both contributed to Turek’s campaign committee.
Wahls had criticized the massive cash spend for Turek as insiders’ influence on the race and made his opposition to Schumer as party leader a defining tenet of his campaign. He criticized a coastal playbook that doesn’t work in Iowa.
But Wahls on Tuesday vowed to support Turek in the general election, saying he was committed to beating Hinson.
As Democrats look to reclaim Senate control, Iowa was one of the last states on the map where candidates were still fighting to be the party’s nominee. The GOP Senate campaign arm has committed $29 million to help Hinson, who currently represents northeast Iowa in Congress.
Hinson’s campaign immediately went on the attack against Turek, criticizing what she called his “radical record” and his support from Schumer.
“Chuck Schumer is on the ballot in Iowa – he goes by the name Josh Turek,” the campaign said.
GOP jostling over the governor’s seat
Five Republicans are in the primary to replace Reynolds, who opted out of a third bid. The nominee will face a well-funded Sand.
The candidates are U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, state Rep. Eddie Andrews, businessman and former conservative political director Zach Lahn, former state Rep. Brad Sherman and former director of the state Department of Administrative Services Adam Steen.
Trump endorsed Feenstra on Friday, saying that “Randy is MAGA all the way!”
If no candidate earns at least 35% of Republican primary voters, the nominee would be selected at a contested state party convention scheduled for June 13.
While Republicans celebrate years of progress under Reynolds, the primary has unearthed sticking points over economic development, tax policy and property rights, as well as the relationship between the state’s water quality, farm conservation practices and rising cancer rates.
Primaries in targeted congressional seats
Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, endorsed by Trump, again fended off a 1st District challenge from businessman David Pautsch, who had earned 44% of votes against the incumbent congresswoman in the 2024 primary. Three-time Democratic candidate Christina Bohannan, who came about 800 votes shy of unseating Miller-Meeks in the last election, won the nomination from her party in the district, fending off first-time candidate Travis Terrell.
In northeastern Iowa, former state Rep. Joe Mitchell, endorsed by Trump, secured the Republican nomination for Hinson’s open 2nd District seat over state Sen. Charlie McClintock. State Rep. Lindsay James won the Democratic nomination, defeating former nonprofit leader Clint Twedt-Ball and Kathy Dolter, a former dean of nursing at an Iowa community college.
Republican incumbent Rep. Zach Nunn and Democratic state Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott are both unopposed on the primary ballot in the competitive 3rd Congressional District.
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Associated Press reporter Thomas Beaumont contributed from Iowa City.
Hannah Fingerhut, The Associated Press
