State representative and Paralympian Josh Turek from Council Bluffs wants to be the Democrat on the ballot to beat two-term U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst.
The 46-year-old calls himself a common-sense populist who is focused on issues that matter to Iowans.
“I decided to run because I love this country and I love Iowa — I love Iowans. And everywhere I go, within my community and around the state, I'm seeing a lot of Iowans that are really struggling, and their government is not working for them,” Turek said. “And you've got people like Joni Ernst that are going out there and cutting social safety nets and saying, ‘Well, we're all going to die.’"
Overcoming personal setbacks
Turek said he personally knows the struggles people face with money and health care. He was born with spina bifida due to his father's exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam and endured 21 surgeries before the age of 12 at Shriners Hospitals for Children.
“That’s the only way my family could afford it. I’m someone who was here because of free summer lunch programs, or the AEAs [area education agencies] or vocational rehabilitation. And to see all of these social safety nets being eroded and gutted all just to make tax breaks to billionaires is just fundamentally wrong," Turek said. “I think with this most recent Big Beautiful Bill where [Ernst] is voting to gut health care to poor children and to disabled, and to cut SNAP benefits — you know, food assistance — merely to make tax cuts for large corporations and billionaires is just frankly immoral.”
Turek said he also benefited enormously from the Americans with Disabilities Act, passed by Congress 35 years ago. He uses a wheelchair and competed for Team USA in basketball, winning two gold medals.
“Had it not been for the Americans with Disabilities Act sponsored by long-time Iowa senator — and now friend of mine — Tom Harkin, I would never have had the success that I've been able to have in my life. I would never have been able to even operate within society,” he said. “So, I understand firsthand the impact of what a U.S. senator from Iowa can have on individuals, on a community, on a state and on society. And that's what I want to give back — give back to Iowans, who deserve to have a senator that is going to work for them.”
Priorities for the U.S. Senate candidate
Turek's platform focuses on kitchen table issues, like lowering costs, raising the minimum wage and providing affordable health care. He also emphasized the need for clean air and water, as well as cancer prevention.
“Unfortunately, here in Iowa, we have the second-highest rates of cancer and the only state with a growing cancer rate. This is something that touches everyone, regardless of the political spectrum, something that has touched my life. My grandmother died of pancreatic cancer. My father had stage four throat cancer. I just found out last week that my sister has breast cancer. It touches all of us,” Turek said.
Turek first won election to the Iowa Legislature in 2022 by six votes. In 2024, the margin was bigger.
“I come from a county that Trump won by 20 points and a city that Trump won by double digits. That shows that I've got that ability to reach out to everyone, all across the aisle — and that's what it's going to take to beat Joni Ernst,” Turek added.
Who's in the race?
Turek is the fifth Democrat to launch a bid to unseat the incumbent Ernst. Others in the race include state Sen. Zach Wahls of Coralville, state Rep. J.D. Scholten of Sioux City, former Knoxville Chamber of Commerce Director Nathan Sage of Indianola and Des Moines School Board Chair Jackie Norris.
Republicans who announced their candidacy are former state Sen. Jim Carlin of Sioux City and Joshua Smith, a veteran from Indianola.
“I actually think that shows the energy that we have right now and maybe also how much Joni Ernst is disliked that lots of people — they want to get her out of there," Turek said. “But I think there's a lot of value in us having multiple people in this primary. I think that it's ultimately going to make us sharper. We do not want to be going into a general election, not being battle-tested."
