Some of this year’s most progressive Democratic Senate candidates make no effort to hide their radical policies. Others are playing a game of smoke and mirrors, hoping voters won’t notice their records.
Iowa state Rep. Josh Turek, former Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, former Alaska Rep. Mary Peltola, and Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH) are campaigning on populism, bipartisanship, and moderation. But their records on immigration, transgender issues, government spending, and other policies tell a different story.
Turek portrays himself as a paralympic prairie populist, when really he’s just another shill for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and radical Democratic policies. Schumer-aligned Super PACs have dumped more than $10 million into his campaign, while his voting record shows he has consistently sided with the radical Left — when he’s been present to vote, anyway.
A review of Turek’s 2026 record found he missed roughly 58% of House votes between Jan. 12 and May 3, while collecting $20,100 in taxpayer-funded per diem payments. On one occasion, Turek attended a happy hour with a Schumer-backed Super PAC rather than voting on funding for Iowa veterans’ homes and veteran housing assistance.
Turek’s problem isn’t just that he frequently missed votes. When he did vote, his record often looked far more progressive than the centrist image he now sells Iowans. Turek put the safety of Iowa children in jeopardy, voting to allow men into girls’ bathrooms and locker rooms throughout Iowa schools. He has also supported sex change surgeries for children and voted to allow school faculty to lie to parents about their child’s gender identity.
Turek presents himself as a candidate who supports a secure border and the deportation of “those who come here illegally and commit crimes.” Yet, he has routinely supported mass amnesty for illegal immigrants, saying the U.S. “needs an easier path to citizenship.” He also has repeatedly said he would not vote for any Department of Homeland Security funding, and as a state legislator, he voted against a bill that would punish law enforcement officers who refuse to work with immigration officials.
Brown, meanwhile, is campaigning to return to the Senate after two years on the sidelines, asking voters to view his 32-year Washington record as centrist when it’s really anything but.
Brown voted for Biden-era spending that spiked inflation and caused the economy to spiral. He also backed policies that made it easier for illegal immigrants to receive taxpayer-funded healthcare, Social Security benefits, and COVID-19 relief checks. Brown voted 10 times in support of sanctuary cities, ensuring taxpayer dollars would protect illegal immigrants from deportation.
Brown also supports the mutilation of children in the name of “gender affirming care,” and in a 2019 interview, encouraged children to go through with the procedure regardless of “politics.” And like Turek, Brown is in favor of allowing men to compete in women’s sports even though 80% of the public — and 76% of Democrats — are opposed.
His shift on immigration may be the clearest example. After years of opposing Republican-backed enforcement measures, Brown now campaigns on closing the border and deporting illegal immigrants who commit crimes.
Mary Peltola also wants to return to Washington after losing her House seat in 2024, despite a record that undercuts the independent, Alaska-first image she’s cultivated.
On several consequential issues in Alaska, Peltola repeatedly sided with national Democrats. She voted to put the Alaskan economy in danger when she sided with the Biden administration as it increased regulations on Alaska’s energy production. She also voted against keeping men out of women’s sports and opposed the historic tax cuts that gave Alaskans up to $11,000 more in take-home pay.
In 2024, Peltola asked for an endorsement from MoveOn Political Action, an organization funded by George Soros that advocates defunding the police and supports abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In May 2023, she voted against the Secure the Border Act, legislation that would have resumed construction of the border wall, increased Border Patrol staffing, and tightened asylum rules.
Despite never passing any bill of her own into law, Peltola is asking voters to return her to Washington on a centrist agenda that conflicts with her radical record.
Pappas has similarly crafted his Senate campaign around an image of moderation and independence, but his Washington record has closely tracked with the Democratic establishment. Pappas voted with then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) 222 out of 223 times, even when it put Granite Staters in jeopardy.
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That alignment extended to some of the party’s most radical issues. Pappas sponsored the Equality Act that would force schools to allow boys to compete in girls sports, opposed legislation that included billions in funding for rural healthcare, and backed policies that extended taxpayer-funded healthcare benefits to illegal immigrants.
Turek, Brown, Peltola, and Pappas may fly under the radar compared with the loudest progressive Democrats, but their records don’t. Voters should see through the hocus pocus.
Tayte Christensen is an investigative journalist. Her work has been featured in the Daily Caller.