Iowa Capital Dispatch
8/13/25
Iowa Rep. Josh Turek announced his campaign for U.S. Senate Tuesday, becoming the fifth Democrat running for the seat currently held by Sen. Joni Ernst.
Turek, 46, launched his campaign with a video titled “Underdog,” where he shared his experience on the path to become a two-time Paralympic gold medalist. The Council Bluffs native, who was born with spina bifida and uses a wheelchair, said his family got assistance from Iowa’s free summer lunch program and Area Education Agencies as he was growing up.
“I knew nothing would come easy, but I never doubted my right to the American dream,” Turek said in the video. “Sitting in my wheelchair nine years old, watching the Olympics, I dreamed of winning gold for my country, too. In 2016 I did just that.”
After his 2016 and 2020 wins on the U.S. wheelchair basketball team for the Paralympic Games, Turek won election to represent Iowa House District 20 in the 2022 election by a margin of 6 votes after a recount. He won reelection in the 2024 election by 5% against his Republican challenger.
Turek said his wins in the Paralympics and in politics have come from support through the AEAs and other state programs, as well as his father’s Veterans Affairs health coverage. He cited former U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin as a figure in Iowa politics who “made sure that the doors were open for kids like me” — but said Iowa’s current representation in Washington is “just closing doors.”
Ernst is putting programs and services at risk that supported his family growing up, Turek said. He pointing to her comment, “Well, we all are going to die,” at a May town hall responding to a person criticizing the Medicaid cuts included in the GOP budget reconciliation bill.
In a statement on his campaign launch, Turek said he wants to support farms and small businesses and focus on bringing down the cost of health care, prescription drugs and housing.
“Instead of cutting Medicaid for thousands of Iowans, we should make it easier for people to afford health care and address the growing rates of cancer,” Turek said. “Joni Ernst went to Washington and forgot about fighting for us. Now she’s helping her party make life worse for working people while the wealthy and big corporations thrive. I’m running for Senate to stick up for Iowans, not billionaires.”
Ernst has not said if she plans to run for another term in the 2026 election, though on Sunday she told reporters at the Iowa State Fair Sunday an announcement will be “coming soon.” Though not officially in the race, Ernst has support from GOP Senate leadership to run again, and has hired a campaign manager.
Turek must also compete with a field of Democratic candidates who are vying to become the party nominee in the midterms. Fellow state legislators Sen. Zach Wahls, D-Coralville; state Rep. J.D. Scholten, D-Sioux City, are running for the seat, as are Des Moines School Board Chair Jackie Norris and former Knoxville Chamber of Commerce Director Nathan Sage. There are also two Republicans running in the primary to challenge Ernst — Jim Carlin, a former state lawmaker, and Joshua Smith, who has previously run for public office as a Libertarian.