Some Democrats are seeing state Sen. Josh Turek’s U.S. Senate bid as their best chance at success in the 2026 Iowa Senate race.
Several Iowa Democratic leaders said Turek will be backed by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, according to a NOTUS report, but no formal endorsements have yet been made. Democratic state Rep. J.D. Scholten dropped his campaign for Senate last month and backed Turek.
“From the very beginning, I thought a prairie populist athlete from western Iowa would be the best candidate to win in the general election,” Scholten said at the time. “I still do, but instead of me, I have complete confidence that Josh Turek can take this on. That’s why I am suspending my campaign and endorsing him. As his friend, I’m proud to support him.”
Scholten told NOTUS, “Give this a month or two and I think it’ll be clear, if it’s not already, that Turek is going to be the campaign that people get behind.”
Other Democratic candidates include Iowa state Sen. Zach Wahls, veteran Nathan Sage, and Des Moines School Board Chairwoman Jackie Norris. While strategists and some lawmakers have supported Turek, other candidates, however, have criticized Schumer’s reported support of Turek, as progressive members of the party have been increasingly critical of his leadership.
“I’ll speak for almost every Iowan right now that D.C. is not going to dictate this race,” Sage told NOTUS in an interview. “It’s going to be Iowans, it’s going to be conversations with Iowans. We all know that Chuck Schumer has lost elections over the past 10 years, and … we’ve seen a lot of anger about that at the town halls that I’ve gone to, where people are tired of D.C. leadership.”
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) announced she would not seek reelection last month. This is the first open Senate race in Iowa since 2014. Democrats are hoping not having a Republican incumbent in the race will aid their chances at winning the formerly purple state.
HOW IOWA’S VOTER REGISTRATIONS MAY REVEAL ITS SHIFT TO THE RIGHT
Iowa was once a swing state, even considered to be a blue-leaning one, but it has moved to the right in recent elections. Prior to President Donald Trump’s 2016 win, Iowa voted for the Democratic candidate in six of the previous seven elections. The exception was then-President George W. Bush’s narrow win in 2004.
Between the 2012 and 2020 elections, Iowa experienced the biggest percentage swing in party wins of any state in a presidential election. Then-President Barack Obama won the state by 6 percentage points in 2012, and Trump won it by 8 points in 2020.