Democratic U.S. Senate candidates Josh Turek and Zach Wahls faced off in their first debate on Tuesday night ahead of the primary next month.
Turek and Wahls spent an hour at the Iowa PBS studios in Johnston, discussing issues like campaign finance reform, Social Security, immigration, agriculture and healthcare, while addressing questions of electability.
Turek, a state representative from Council Bluffs, initially won his statehouse seat in a red part of the state in 2022 by beating out his Republican opponent by just six votes. It’s a victory he said could translate to flipping a U.S. Senate seat that has been held by Republican Sen. Joni Ernst since 2014.
“I'm battle tested. I know what it takes to win, and there's something specific about my story, my background, my resume and my politics focusing on 'prairie populism' that has a unique ability to be able to resonate with independents and moderate Republicans,” he said.
Wahls, on the other hand, is a state senator and former senate minority leader from Coralville, a heavily Democratic district in the eastern part of the state. He argued his anti-corruption message resonates with Iowans across the state from all backgrounds.
“This election is not about the past. It has to be about the future and a new vision for the future of our state,” he said. “And that message about taking on the corruption, building an economy that works for us, it is resonating with people across the political spectrum and big cities, small towns and rural communities.”
For certain issues, like healthcare, Wahls and Turek shared similar positions, each saying they believe that Affordable Care Act subsidies should be renewed, that Medicaid spending cuts under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act should be reversed and that there should be a public option to lower costs.
“We released a comprehensive plan that would lower the Medicare enrollment age, allow any American or employer to buy into Medicare,” Wahls said. “You're going to have a combination of increased people buying into Medicare, and that was going to pay for a lot of the increased costs.”
Both also agreed that they do not support President Donald Trump’s war with Iran.
“We're spending $1 billion a day in this conflict with Iran," Turek said. "Meanwhile, we've got closing schools and hospitals and roads here in Iowa. A real America first approach — a real Iowa first approach is — let's take care of our citizens here."
But the two candidates sparred over issues of immigration and campaign finance.
Wahls attacked Turek for being one of three Democrats who voted for a 2024 Iowa law that allows law enforcement to arrest immigrants who are in the country without documentation and had previously been deported.
Turek said Wahls was leaving out “important details.”
“This bill firstly took place during the Biden administration — fundamentally different what we're seeing [with] the Biden administration and Trump administration with ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement],” Turek said. “Secondly, this bill only applied to individuals that had come here illegally and had already been deported. I have been very, very clear about this.”
Both candidates have pledged not to take money from corporate PACs. Wahls has previously attacked Turek for getting support from VoteVets. The super PAC has spent millions on Turek’s campaign, and Wahls has repeatedly claimed it is aligned with U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, whom he has pledged not to support.
At the debate, Turek criticized Wahls for his previous position as the executive director of The Next 50, which he called a “dark money PAC,” and for accepting $250,000 in campaign contributions when he was Iowa Senate minority leader from a cryptocurrency exchange that collapsed in 2022.
Wahls called Turek’s claims “categorically false” and said he was a victim of financial fraud.
“It's absolutely true that when I was the minority leader, we were the victims of a fraudster, and that person was brought to justice, and that is absolutely what should have happened,” he said.
The debate was moderated by Kay Henderson, the host of Iowa Press on Iowa PBS; Erin Murphy, the Des Moines bureau chief for The Gazette; and Stephen Gruber-Miller, the Capitol bureau chief for the Des Moines Register.
Turek and Wahls both committed to a second debate that will air on Des Moines television station KCCI on May 14 at 7 p.m.
The Democratic and Republican primaries are both on June 2, with early voting beginning May 13.
U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson faces former state Sen. Jim Carlin in the GOP primary.
