The former U.S. men's wheelchair basketball player won gold medals and now the Democratic nomination for Iowa's Senate seat.Show Caption
Josh Turek won his first race for a seat in the Iowa House of Representatives in 2022 by six votes.When he accepted the biggest win of his career thus-far on June 2, he pointed to that race as evidence that he could convince Iowa voters to send him to Washington in November."I won that first race by dragging my wheelchair up stairs every single day to talk to voters, regardless of party," Turek said as he accepted the nomination to be the Democratic nominee for Senate.The former Paralympian born with spina bifida turned self-described "prairie populist" now embodies Democratic hopes of replacing retiring Republican Sen. Joni Ernst and potentially taking control of the Senate in a race that has made Iowa Republicans unusually nervous.“In no other country on earth could someone born into a working-class family from Council Bluffs, Iowa, who went to the Goodwill, shared clothes, had the wrong color lunch ticket, who was born with my disability of spina bifida due to my father's exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam, who had 21 surgeries before the age of 12, be able to represent the United States in four Paralympic Games and bring home two gold medals and represent their community in the Legislature,” he said during his Tuesday victory speech. Here's what to know about Josh Turek.Who is Josh Turek?The 47-year-old Turek is a four-time Paralympian, playing for the U.S. men's wheelchair basketball team and winning gold medals twice at the 2016 and 2020 games.He got into politics four years ago when he won that 2022 race in a Republican-leaning district in western Iowa. Supporters say his success in the district demonstrates an ability to appeal to disaffected Republicans and independents in the conservative-leaning state. At a time of rising economic anxiety, he has championed access to healthcare, a living wage, affordable housing and other policies important to working families.“I wanted to be a voice for the voiceless, for the Iowans who cannot afford a lobbyist,” he said during his primay night speech.Turek ran a populist campaign in a race that drew national attention for his personal story as well as his opponent, state Sen. Zach Wahl's, history of testifying to the Iowa state legislature in favor of gay marriage rights while still a teenager.He was boosted by more than $10 million in outside spending from VoteVets, a Democratic-aligned PAC, which ran television and digital ads supporting his candidacy. VoteVets Senior Advisor Major General (Ret.) Paul Eaton said in a news release that "veterans across America are proud to congratulate Josh Turek on his decisive victory.""Josh knows firsthand what it means to fight through adversity," Eaton said. "That’s a quality veterans know well — and we are proud to stand behind him. If elected, he will fight for working families, veterans, and military family members like his own."Turek calls former U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, a Democrat from Iowa, his political hero for Harkin's work to pass the Americans with Disabilities Act and has said it will be “beautifully poetic when the man who takes back Sen. Harkin’s seat is only here because of his work.”The final months of the race saw Turek consolidate support with endorsements from national figures like former U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, U.S. Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto, Maggie Hassan, Tammy Duckworth, Bob Casey and Ruben Gallego, as well as Harkin.Why are Republicans nervous?National midterm trends favor Democrats, as polling shows voters souring on Republican President Donald Trump, gas prices skyrocket amid war with Iran, and the cost of living remains high.In Iowa, the state has taken additional hits as trade wars and high costs threaten a renewed farm crisis in the state’s agricultural economy.“The Democrats have put a bullseye on the state of Iowa,” Texas U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz warned Iowa Republicans at a May 2 rally in suburban Des Moines.But it will be a challenge for Democrats in the Hawkeye State.Registered Republican voters outnumber registered Democrats in Iowa by nearly 200,000, and Republicans have dominated recent election cycles in the state.Trump carried Iowa by about 13 percentage points in 2024 and Republicans hold all six seats in Congress, both chambers of the state Legislature and every statewide elected office but one.However, Turek won reelection in 2024 by nearly six percentage points even as Trump carried his district. As the primary was called for Turek, independent elections analysts at Sabato's Crystal Ball shifted their rating of the race from a "likely Republican" victory to the more competitive "leans Republican."He is set to face Republican Ashley Hinson, a 42-year-old three-term congresswoman and former news anchor backed by Trump and Ernst. She opposed legislation that ultimately codified the right to same-sex marriage and has campaigned on her support for Trump's 2025 tax-cut and spending bill.Contributing: Reuters
