Both Democrats vying for Iowa’s open U.S. Senate seat held a largely cordial debate Thursday as they tried to define the best strategy for a November contest against the Republican nominee. The race between State Rep. Josh Turek and State Sen. Zach Wahls has also turned into an intraparty test of how Democrats plan to reach voters in a state that has sent an all-Republican federal delegation and backed President Donald Trump by double digits in the last presidential election.
Turek, who represents a House district in a Republican-leaning part of the state, argued that his record translating support from outside the Democratic base offers a blueprint for winning statewide. He described himself as “battle-tested,” saying he has won in his red state House seat by reaching independents and moderate Republicans who supported Trump. In his view, Wahls’s path is less proven because, as Turek put it, Wahls has “never run against a Republican.” Turek also said his candidacy rests on “something specific about my story, my background, my resume … that really has this unique ability to win over independents, which are the kingmakers in the process, and moderate Republicans.”
Wahls framed the race differently, arguing national Democratic leadership has failed to connect with rural and working-class voters. He criticized Sen. Chuck Schumer, saying Democrats wrote off voters who are frustrated with both parties, and he said Democrats face a choice between repeating the same strategy and losing or “fight[ing] for the voters that he wrote off and win them back.” Wahls also defended his own political record by emphasizing that he has “gone up against plenty of Republicans,” and he tied his appeal to his public profile, including a reference to a 2011 speech to Iowa lawmakers about his two moms that went viral.
While the debate featured a number of areas of agreement, both candidates focused much of their attention on the Republican front-runner, Rep. Ashley Hinson, who is seeking the GOP nomination. Turek and Wahls both criticized Hinson for votes they said align with Trump’s agenda, including positions they highlighted in the context of tariffs and the U.S. approach to the war in Iran. Each candidate said he would not support the Republican president’s tariffs or the war in Iran.
On Iran, Wahls said Hinson “rubber stamped” Trump’s approach by voting against a resolution to curb the president’s powers in the Iran war. Wahls linked that vote to economic effects he said include higher gas prices and increased farmer input costs such as diesel and fertilizer. Turek, meanwhile, attacked Hinson’s record on a separate set of votes tied to a tax and spending package championed by Trump. He said he supports no tax on tips and overtime and described those policies as supporting the middle class, but he said the package’s cuts to Medicaid and food assistance worsened a “crisis in this state, unique to Iowa.”
The candidates also challenged one another on domestic policy and reproductive health. Wahls criticized Turek for missing votes on bills related to reproductive health care, including a measure that bans most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy and another that would have criminalized the death of an “unborn person.” Turek responded by explaining his absence during a one-day special session vote on Iowa’s abortion law, saying it was connected to a serious medical issue related to his disability and adding that he apologized to constituents in a newsletter after being unable to cast his vote against the bill.
Turek’s campaign said he was in Washington during another vote connected to reproductive health issues while attending a disability-focused legislative summit. Wahls also said Turek voted in committee supporting a broader bill that included funding for centers that discourage women from getting abortions, while Turek said he opposed the measure on the House floor. Both candidates said they would work to codify access to abortion in the U.S. Senate.
As Iowa Democrats prepare for early voting that began Wednesday, the race is drawing increased attention because Democrats see an opportunity to win in a state that has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 2014. The seat opened after Republican Sen. Joni Ernst opted out of a reelection bid, leaving Democrats without an incumbent to defend and forcing their primary decision ahead of the general election. Hinson’s campaign has support from Republican Senate leaders, and the campaign arm has committed $29 million to help it maintain the GOP’s thin majority.
Democrats’ own strategy includes outside spending. The political committee aligned with Senate Democrats said Thursday it was investing $13 million in Iowa. In the final stretch, VoteVets, which is aligned with Democrats, has spent about $7 million to support Turek—more than the two candidates have spent combined. Turek has been identified as not a veteran, with Turek saying he was born with spina bifida after his father’s exposure to chemicals while serving in the Vietnam War, and VoteVets said Turek is uniquely positioned to advocate for veterans’ services, particularly health care and military families.
Wahls criticized what he called an influx of cash aimed at Washington insiders seeking outsized influence. He also faced a separate set of outside activity: filings show another group purchased more than $40,000 in airtime to support Wahls this week, according to the AP report, and Iowa Action was funded by a lawyer with a California address who has also donated directly to Wahls’s campaign.