Democrats turn to Paralympian in bid to flip key GOP-held Senate seat

Democratic state Rep. Josh Turek of Iowa on Tuesday captured his party's Senate nomination in the race to succeed retiring GOP Sen. Joni Ernst.

Turek, a Paralympian, defeated state Sen. Zach Wahls in Iowa's Democratic Senate primary, The Associated Press reported, and will now face off against Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson, who cruised to the GOP nomination.

The Republican-controlled Senate seat in Iowa is a top target for Democrats, and the race is one of about a dozen crucial showdowns in this year's midterm elections that will determine whether Republicans successfully hold onto their slim majority in the chamber.

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Turek, a moderate Democrat who flipped a GOP-held Iowa House seat in 2022, was backed by former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and had the tacit support of longtime Democratic Senate Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chair Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. And VoteVets, an establishment-aligned outside group, has spent big bucks on behalf of Turek.

"Josh Turek is a two-time Paralympic gold medalist who has represented his country on the world stage and has built a reputation in the legislature for working across the aisle to get things done for Iowans," Schumer and Gillibrand said in a statement. "His nomination tonight puts the Iowa Senate seat firmly in play, and in November, Iowans will reject Ashley Hinson’s self-serving politics and send Josh Turek to the U.S. Senate."

But National Republican Senatorial Committee Regional Press Secretary Samantha Cantrell said that "Chuck Schumer spent $10 million dollars to coronate Josh Turek as his rubber stamp for Democrats' radical tax-and-spend agenda. In November, Iowans will reject him and elect Ashley Hinson to keep fighting for Iowa families, farmers, and workers."

Wahls, a progressive candidate who Republicans likened to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, was endorsed by liberal champion Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. The Democratic primary grabbed plenty of national attention and drew tons of outside money.

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Hinson, a former TV news anchor who is in her third term representing Iowa's 2nd Congressional District, defeated former state senator and former U.S. Senate candidate Jim Carlin in the GOP Senate primary, The Associated Press reported.

Hinson was backed by President Donald Trump; Senate Majority Leader John Thune; the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which is the campaign arm of the Senate GOP; and by Ernst as she cruised to her party's nomination. Hinson, who in 2020 flipped a Democratic-held seat, is seen as a rising star in the party.

Iowa was once a top battleground state that former President Barack Obama carried in his 2008 and 2012 White House victories. But the state has shifted to the right in recent election cycles with Trump carrying the state by nine points in 2016, eight points in 2020 and by 13 points in November 2024.

Republicans hold both of the state's Senate seats — Ernst and longtime Sen. Chuck Grassley — and all four of Iowa's congressional districts, as well as all statewide offices except state auditor.

But Democrats are energized heading into the midterms, when the GOP, as the party in power, will face traditional headwinds, a challenging political climate thanks to persistent inflation and sky-high gas prices due to what polls show is an unpopular war with Iran, as well as Trump's sinking approval ratings.

And Iowa Democrats, in particular, are energized after flipping two GOP-held state Senate seats in special elections in 2025.

The general election winner will succeed Ernst, a retired Army Reserve and Iowa National Guard officer who served in the Iraq War and was first elected to the Senate in 2014.

Ernst grabbed plenty of national attention in that campaign with her "make 'em squeal" ads as she won the high-profile Senate election to succeed retiring longtime Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin.

Fox News' Sally Persons contributed to this report.