Turek is inspiring and knows how to win in red Iowa

In case you missed it, Iowa Republican U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst announced this past week she will not be running for re-election next year.

And no, that doesn’t mean we’re not all going to die, for heaven’s sake.

Since her callous reaction at a town hall to the contention that cuts In Medicaid health coverage will lead to deaths — “we’re all going to die” — there’s been speculation Ernst wouldn’t seek a third term. The rumor mill turned out to be accurate.

But it didn’t surprise state Rep. Josh Turek, D-Council Bluffs.

“Yeah, honestly, I wasn't surprised she didn't have the courage to stand up for the one in five Iowans that are on Medicaid, and for the thousands of Iowans that are on SNAP benefits and food assistance,” Turek told me in an interview. “And so, I'm honestly, I'm not surprised that she doesn't have the stomach to face the Iowa voters now.”

Turek is running for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in a crowded field. But has already shown he’s not your average politician.

His campaign announcement video received a lot of attention in Iowa and elsewhere. It tells of how Turek was born with spina bifida, likely caused by his father’s exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam. Turek played on the U.S. National Wheelchair Basketball team in four Paralympics, winning a bronze and two gold medals.

Then he pursued public office, and the video shows a determined Turek crawling up steps, carrying his wheelchair, to knock on a voter’s door. At a time when politics mostly inspires us to stay in bed, Turek’s story is inspiring.

Turek won an Iowa House Seat by only six votes in 2022. He won by 6 percentage points in 2024 in a district which went for Donald Trump by 11% in 2024. So, he’s a Democrat who understands how to win in a red district in a red state.

It’s no wonder Democrats are so interested in his campaign. He’s a winner, and they are so sick of all the losing.

“I don't think the Democratic brand is broken,” Turek said. “I will say this, I think that Trump accurately stated and realized that the status quo was not working for the average Iowan, the average American, for working class families. But all of his policies are just making that situation even worse. It's faux populism.

Turek considers himself a “prairie populist.”

“And that's to go out there and talk about lowering costs and talking about having a livable wage, talk about having legitimately affordable housing, and to make sure that, you know, people have access to quality, affordable health care, that health care is a human right, to have affordable pharmaceuticals to actually do something to help the individuals, to help Iowa and Iowans and working families. And that's how I've been able to be successful out here in red Iowa,” Turek said.

Turek argues that beneath a coat of red paint, Iowa is a “common sense state.” Iowans, he contends, want problem solvers who put people above party loyalty. It’s an approach Turek shares with Democratic candidate for governor Rob Sand, who also has been talking about coming up with solutions that are not red or blue.

They hope this approach will reach some Republicans and no party voters a Democrat will need to win in Iowa. Registered Democrats are becoming scarce.

Turek argues Iowans are starting to wake up with a red state hangover.

“I mean, what you're seeing in these rural schools, you're seeing the, you know, defunding of our public school system, and that was a point of personal pride for all Iowans, for us to be number one in public education and blank checks (to private schools), that hurts the rural schools the most. I think they're finally seeing through the thin veil on eminent domain and where the Republicans have been on that and eroding property rights,” Turek said.

“We are going to lose our rural hospitals, and this is going to affect the rural communities. I mean, you talk about the pillars of rural communities, if your rural hospitals and your public schools close, and then you're talking about a growing cancer rate, cuts to (National Institutes of Health) funding at the federal level, that's going to affect these rural communities and all Iowans, I think that people are finally waking up. I've heard it over and over and over in urban areas, rural areas,” Turek said.

Being a prairie populist is a throwback to Turek’s “political hero,” Tom Harkin. Turek has cultivated a friendship with Harkin, whom he talks to often. Harkin is the father of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

More than a few Democrats argue Harkin’s retirement announcement in 2014 was a key factor in Democrats’ swift decline in Iowa. The open Senate seat was captured by Ernst, who promised to “make ‘em squeal” in D.C.

“I want to be that you know, that kind of prairie populist like (Harkin) who was fighting for the average Iowan, fighting for the Iowa workers, fighting for working families, but even more than that, fighting for social and economic justice, fighting for the most vulnerable, the disabled, the elderly, you know, poor children,” Turek said.

Turek also is determined to use the Senate seat as a platform for addressing Iowa’s high and growing cancer rate. For him, it’s an issue that’s personal, as it is for so many Iowans.

“I lost my grandma to pancreatic cancer. My dad had stage four throat cancer and also skin cancer probably due to his exposure to Agent Orange. And as I announced my campaign, I found out that my sister has breast cancer,” Turek said.

His sister’s diagnosis, Turek said, is an example of how broken our health care system is.

“She's someone that's been doing the right thing. She's got a job, she's got private insurance, and she found out that she's got stage two breast cancer, not stage three or stage four. And her private insurance came back and said, sorry, we can't cover your PET scan to see if the cancer is in other places in your body, because you don't have stage three or stage four.” Turek said.

The new Republican front-runner in the Senate race is U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, who currently represents eastern and northeastern Iowa. Turek said Hinson has the same voting record as Ernst, just without the attention-grabbing gaffe. That includes support for cuts to Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance that helped finance tax cuts to primarily benefit the wealthy,

Hinson claims with a straight face that Medicaid will not be cut. The Congressional Budget Office estimates 7.8 million Americans will lose coverage by 2034.

“It's a new face. It's the exact same ideology, the exact same philosophy, the exact same votes,” Turek said, arguing Hinson will emphasize culture war issues.

“I’m going to be focusing on the issues that actually matter. We've got 3.2 million Iowans who need a livable wage, who need a roof above their head, who need to put food on the table, who need to be able to have affordable health care and pharmaceuticals. They've got to be able to drink the water. These are the things that I'm going to focus on.”

With both a Senate seat and the governor’s office wide-open, Turek said Iowa will be getting a lot of attention.

Iowa is going to be the center of the political universe in 2026 and I really believe that the stars are aligning,” Turek said. Democrats hope he’s right.

(319) 398-8262; todd.dorman@thegazette.com