Democrats Are Pouring Into This Red-State Senate Race
HuffPost
State Rep. Josh Turek, a former Paralympian, is the fifth major Democratic candidate to challenge Republican Sen. Joni Ernst in Iowa.
A surprisingly robust primary field has emerged to challenge GOP Sen. Joni Ernst in bright-red Iowa, with state Rep. Josh Turek announcing a run on Tuesday to become the fifth major Democratic candidate in the race.
Turek, who represents Council Bluffs in far western Iowa in the state House, is a former Paralympian who won two gold medals in wheelchair basketball as part of Team USA. He announced his run with a two-minute video in which he casts himself as an underdog who’s managed to win in Trump territory.
Turek joins four already-announced candidates: State Sen. Zach Wahls; Jackie Norris, the chair of the Des Moines School Board and a former chief of staff to then-first lady Michelle Obama; former professional baseball player and State Sen. J.D. Scholten and Nathan Sage, an Iraq War veteran who chairs the Chamber of Commerce in the tiny town of Knoxville.
The size of the field reflects Democrats’ optimism that the backlash to President Donald Trump’s second term could be large enough to give them a fighting chance in a state he won by 13 percentage points in 2024. It also highlights the party’s ongoing uncertainty about the best pathways to compete in red territory.
The five candidates are taking distinct approaches: Norris is emphasizing her background as a teacher and education issues; Sage and Scholten are both running as populists; Wahls, age 34, is promising to be part of a “new generation” of Democrats; and Turek is emphasizing his past electoral successes.
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