Will they choose progressive Zach Wahls or pragmatic Josh Turek to run against Rep. Ashley Hinson in the state’s open Senate race?

MOUNT PLEASANT, Iowa—It’s not always easy to be a Democrat in Henry County. In this small, rural part of southeastern Iowa, Republicans have won all but five presidential elections over the last 130 years, including all three times, and by growing margins, Donald Trump. And by those terms, it’s been tough going for Democrats all across Iowa for the last 10 years as Trump seems to have turned the state solid red.

Michael Warren is a politics editor at The Dispatch and is based in Washington, D.C. Prior to joining the company in 2023, he was an on-air reporter at CNN and a senior writer at the Weekly Standard. When Mike is not reporting, writing, editing, and podcasting, he is probably spending time with his wife and three sons.

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