Expanding his political career, Democratic candidate Josh Turek is running for the US Senate from Iowa in the 2026 midterm elections. He will be competing against former broadcast journalist and Republican nominee Ashley Hinson, as well as Libertarian Thomas Laehn. The elected candidate will succeed Republican Senator Joni Ernst , who is not seeking re-election. Turek’s campaign focuses on healthcare costs, wages, affordable housing and clean water.
Turek entered politics in 2022 after retiring from wheelchair basketball, in which he won two Paralympic gold medals for the United States. He was re-elected in 2024 and has focused on healthcare reform, public education, workers’ wages and environmental protection. In June 2026, he won the Democratic nomination for the US Senate, defeating state Senator Zach Wahls in the primary. In the Iowa legislature, he sponsored legislation to cap insulin costs at $25 per month and expand access to dental services under Medicaid. He is currently supporting his sister through treatment for Stage 2 breast cancer. Moreover, Turek has advocated raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. During the 2026 Democratic Senate primary, Turek also faced criticism from state Senator Zach Wahls over outside spending in his campaign.
This was his first election which he won by just six votes. His campaign also focuses on education as Turek advocated for increased funding for public schools and repealing school voucher programs so that public tax money can stay within the school districts. He was elected to the Iowa House of Representatives from the 20th district where he represented Council Bluffs. In his official campaign, Turek has advocated for increased access to affordable healthcare, proposing a public health insurance option, protecting the Affordable Care Act and restoring Medicaid funding. Additionally, he backed legislation supporting cancer research, including paediatric cancer research. He wants to restore federal funding for cancer research and ensure patients can access affordable treatment. Drawing on his experience as a Paralympic wheelchair basketball player, Turek has also focused on disability rights. He wrote and passed Iowa legislation, making it easier for people covered by Medicaid to repair wheelchairs and mobility devices. He called for ending federal exemptions that allow certain employers to pay workers with disabilities below the minimum wage. In addition to that, he pledged to protect the Americans with Disabilities Act. Turek has made supporting farmers and rural communities another campaign priority. He backs stronger workers’ rights to form unions and negotiate better wages and benefits. He has proposed investing in job training programs and apprenticeships to help people develop skills and find employment without a college degree. Trade and tariffs are another area of focus for Turek’s campaign. He actively criticized the Trump administration’s policies, arguing that they have heavily affected Iowa farmers. He went on to criticize Republican Senate candidate Ashley Hinson for supporting these policies. Turek has called for a level playing field for farmers, saying they need fair opportunities to compete and sell their products in international markets. Wahls accused him of benefiting from the large sums spent by VoteVets, a political group that supports Democratic candidates. Wahls argued that such spending allowed national political groups to exert too much influence over the primary. However, Turek responded that VoteVets had independently chosen to support him and that his campaign did not coordinate with the group.
Calling the Iowa farmers “best in the world”, he advocates mandatory country-of-origin labeling and strong measures to curb monopolies in agribusiness and meatpacking.
