By Stephen Gruber-Miller, Brianne Pfannenstiel, Des Moines Register
Iowa’s once-sprawling Democratic primary field for the U.S. Senate has narrowed to a two-man contest, focusing the choice facing Iowa voters in June as Zach Wahls and Josh Turek jockey for frontrunner status.
Wahls, a state senator from Coralville who rose to viral fame defending gay marriage and his two moms, is seen as the liberal candidate. He argues that a union-supported progressive with a working-class message can cut through the noise and energize the Democratic base.
Turek, a state representative from Council Bluffs, is one of the few Iowa Democrats to win in a district also carried by Republican President Donald Trump. A former Paralympian, Turek casts a more moderate image that his supporters believe will appeal to independents and disaffected Republicans.
It’s a dynamic playing out in primary contests across the country as Democrats grapple with how to best position themselves going into a competitive midterm year.
“I think this is sort of the fundamental question that Democrats are wrestling with,” said for the Cook Political Report‘s Senate and Governors Editor Jessica Taylor, “Do you need to energize your base more to get them to turn out, or do you need to win over the middle?”
So far, neither candidate has emerged as a clear frontrunner. And as the race narrows, the fight to claim that status has become more heated.
Turek appears to have the unofficial backing of national Democrats who think he would be more competitive in a general election — a choice Wahls has homed in on as he attacks Turek for being too closely aligned with the political establishment.
But Republicans are shining a brighter spotlight on Wahls, elevating a poll commissioned by the National Republican Senatorial Committee that found he leads the Democratic primary. It’s a move Turek argues is intended to boost the weaker candidate who Republicans would rather face in a general election.
All of it sets the stage for a dynamic primary race still taking shape and could have profound implications for Democrats’ chances in November.
“Iowa is one of those reach states for Democrats, and it’s one that I think has some unique factors that could put this race more in play if the environment continues to sour for Republicans,” Taylor said.
The seat is open after Republican U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst announced she would not seek reelection. The winner of the Democratic primary is expected to face Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson in the general election.
Cook rates Iowa’s U.S. Senate race as one that is a “likely Republican” victory.
Iowa has swung to the right in recent years, and registered Republican voters dramatically outpace registered Democrats.
But Democrats face a narrow path back to a U.S. Senate majority, and putting Iowa into competition could help expand their opportunities for victory. They have also gathered momentum from several special election victories.
“If the environment continues to deteriorate for Republicans, I could see (Iowa) moving into a more competitive category,” Taylor said. “But at this point, I also think that Turek would have probably the better shot. But again, if the environment is bad enough for Republicans, I wouldn’t rule out Wahls being competitive as well.”
Zach Wahls criticizes national Democrats for appearing to favor Josh Turek
With national interest on the race, both Wahls and Turek are claiming Democrats and Republicans in Washington, D.C., are seeking to influence the outcome.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the national campaign arm of Senate Democrats which is aligned with U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, has not officially weighed in on behalf of Turek.
But Turek’s opponents have suggested the DSCC warned companies against working with them. And the DSCC invited prospective donors to a virtual meet and greet with Turek on Feb. 19, underscoring the alleged alignment.
“National Democrats definitely feel more enthused by Josh Turek’s resume and approach, given the fact that he’s won a Trump district before,” Taylor said. “I think they like his personal story, and there are concerns that Wahls is too liberal for the state and it would be harder to put that race into play if he were nominated.”
Wahls has been highly critical of Schumer during his campaign.
He has said he would not vote for Schumer for leader, and he called for Schumer to step down from his leadership role in November after Senate Democrats failed to secure an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies following a protracted shutdown fight.
Turek has declined to say if he would vote for Schumer as leader, and he has not publicly acknowledged any support from him.
Taylor said although Schumer’s support likely would come with helpful resources, associating with him during a primary could be a drag on candidates.
“I think that it could be a hindrance just because there is sort of a frustration I think with the establishment in a way within the Democratic party and a feeling that Schumer has capitulated on some things,” she said.
Josh Turek argues GOP is meddling as Ashley Hinson picks fights with Zach Wahls
Turek’s campaign has argued the reverse for Wahls, sounding the alarm that national Republicans are meddling in Iowa’s race to try to get their preferred candidate on the ballot in November.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee on Feb. 17 released a poll it commissioned that found Wahls leading Turek 30% to 23% in a head-to-head race, with 5% opting for someone else and 42% undecided.
Although the numbers suggest a strong primary position for Wahls, Turek has urged observers to be wary of the source.
Taylor said Republicans are following a similar playbook in the Democratic U.S. Senate primary in Texas by propping up progressive firebrand Jasmine Crockett over the more moderate James Talarico.
“(Republicans) put out polling showing that Jasmine Crockett was winning the primary and really kind of trolled her into the race almost, just because they would rather run against her in Texas,” Taylor said. “And I think the same dynamic is playing out in Iowa there as well, because certainly Republicans would rather run against the more liberal candidate in a red state.”
Turek’s campaign manager, Brendan Koch, emphasized the point, saying “national Republicans in D.C. are lining up to support his opponent.”
Within the state, Hinson and other Republicans have also trained much of their fire on Wahls.
In her official campaign launch event on Sept. 15, Hinson called out Wahls as a “far-left Democrat” trying to “masquerade as a moderate.”
It’s a theme she has continued.
“Zach Wahls wouldn’t have the guts to stand up to his party and for American citizens,” Hinson wrote in a Feb. 26 post on social media. “He’d fit in perfectly with Democrats in Congress — and that’s why we’re going to stop him this November.”
Wahls has welcomed the fight with Hinson, claiming Republicans see him as a threat.
“I’ve got no problem standing up to Chuck Schumer, because he’s failed Iowans,” Wahls responded. “What I have a problem with is you … taking millions from corporate PACs while you vote to close rural hospitals, jack up our costs at the grocery store and gut social security.”
Is Josh Turek more electable than Zach Wahls in red-state Iowa?
Turek has said the race will come down to which candidate is more electable in a general election, when registered voters skew Republican.
He’s touted his two Iowa House victories in Council Bluffs in 2022 and 2024.
In 2022, Turek beat a Republican by just six votes. In 2024, he won by more than five percentage points, even as Trump carried the district.
“The real differentiation in this is that I’m the only person in this race that has run against a Republican…,” Turek said in January. “And that I represent the reddest district that is represented by a Democrat. I’ve outperformed the top of the ticket by 50% more than any other Democrat in the state.”
Iowa Democrats have fared poorly in statewide elections in recent years.
State Auditor Rob Sand, who is running for governor, is the only Democrat to hold statewide office in Iowa. The last Democrat to win a race for governor or U.S. Senate was Tom Harkin in 2008.
“We’re going to need someone that is going to resonate with independents and with moderate Republicans,” Turek said. “But more than anything be authentic and be genuine because that’s what Iowans want. And they want someone that’s going to go up there and in a bipartisan way, fight for solutions to their problems.”
Turek, who was born with spina bifida and uses a wheelchair, launched his campaign with a video that featured him dragging himself up stairs to knock on voters’ doors. And he’s emphasized bipartisan work he has done in the Iowa Legislature to support people with disabilities.
On Feb. 27, he announced a 10-part “Pushing for Change” policy agenda, accompanied by a tour of events around the state. The wide-ranging platform includes reversing Medicaid and Affordable Care Act cuts, raising the minimum wage and banning price gouging on food.
A January poll from Change Research, conducted before Nathan Sage dropped out of the race, found Republican frontrunner Ashley Hinson leading both Turek and Wahls by the same margin — 44% to 41% — in an initial head-to-head matchup. It’s not clear who commissioned the poll.
After the pollster read a short biography describing each of the candidates, the poll found Turek tied with Hinson at 46%, while Hinson led Wahls 48% to 46%. The pollster did not publicize the bios used to describe the candidates.
But Wahls surprised political observers with a strong fundraising haul during the most recent reporting period, outpacing Turek.
Wahls brought in $742,000 to Turek’s $678,000. And Wahls has more cash on hand, with $733,000 compared to $398,000 for Turek.
“I think it does show us that there is energy on the left, that Wahls does have,” Taylor said. “So that’s why I certainly wouldn’t count him out in the primary by any means.”
But she said in a red state, national Democrats prefer a candidate who will be better positioned to win over middle-of-the-road voters over one that simply energizes base voters.
“I still think if you’re talking about more of a swing state, I could certainly see the argument that energizing the base works,” she said. “But if you’re looking at a red state like Iowa or Texas, I still think you’ve got to win over independents and some Republicans in order to just make the math work.”
Wahls hasn’t ceded the electability argument.
His campaign released an internal poll on Feb. 25 conducted by GQR, which found him leading Turek 42% to 24% in an initial head-to-head question on the Democratic primary, with 33% undecided.
After a bio, Wahls led Turek 57% to 31% with 12% undecided. The Wahls campaign did not disclose the information the pollster used to describe each candidate.
The poll also found Wahls is better-known than Turek, with 45% of respondents viewing him favorably and 6% unfavorably compared with 31% favorable and 2% unfavorable for Turek.
Zach Wahls says union support ‘can make all the difference’ in a Democratic primary
Wahls has argued his campaign is energizing working-class supporters who will help boost his chances, pointing to widespread support from organized labor.
Nineteen local unions have backed Wahls’ campaign, compared with two supporting Turek. And in February, he visited the headquarters of Ironworkers Local 67 in Des Moines to be sworn in as a dues-paying member of the union.
Joe Durby, the union’s business manager, said Wahls is the first elected official they’ve invited to join the union.
“Zach’s stood with us this whole time. He’s always been with us,” Durby said. “And it was an easy decision for us to ask him if he wanted to join the Ironworkers and be a full dues-paying member.”
Wahls often talks on the campaign trail about how he grew up in a union household. His mom, Jackie, was a member of the SEIU and is a current member of AFGE.
“When Joe and Ben (Nizzi, the union’s president) reached out about joining the Ironworkers, it was an honor.” Wahls said. “And it was a really easy decision, because, like I said, I just have firsthand experience about how much of a difference it makes to so many people.”
Wahls said support from organized labor “can make all the difference” in a head-to-head primary race.
“I’ve always thought of our partnership as a partnership,” he said. “And this is something to me that’s been very important for my entire career. When I first ran for the state legislature back in 2018, workers’ rights was one of my very top issues.”
Wahls’ campaign posted a video following the event featuring one of the ironworkers shouting, “first round’s on Zach!” following his swearing in.
“That’s right,” Wahls says as the video cuts to him raising a pint of beer with several ironworkers at Big Dogs Billiards. “We’ve got time before the next event, don’t we? All right. Big Dogs, let’s go.”
But Wahls has seen attacks on his working-class credibility from Sage, who dropped out of the race Feb. 15 and endorsed Turek the next day.
“I don’t trust him,” Sage said of Wahls on Feb. 16, speaking in a joint interview with Turek. “He comes off as not genuine, not authentic. He comes off as fake. He comes off as somebody that just thinks he’s supposed to be there.”
Wahls said Feb. 18 he was “obviously disappointed” in the attacks.
“I think it tells you something that we’ve been attacked by both the Turek campaign and by Ashley Hinson this week,” he said.
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