Paralympian Zach Turek wins Iowa Senate primary, faces Ashley Hinson

Josh Turek won the Democratic primary for Iowa’s open U.S. Senate seat on June 2, defeating state Sen. Zach Wahls and setting up a November clash with Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson. The race is drawing national attention because it is one of Democrats’ best chances to gain ground in the Senate, while the Republican-aligned Senate Leadership Fund plans to spend $29 million on the contest. No Democrat has won a U.S. Senate race in Iowa since 2008.

Turek, 47, is a member of the Iowa House of Representatives from District 20 in Council Bluffs, where he took office on Jan. 1, 2023. He is the first member of the Iowa legislature with a permanent disability, and his biography reaches well beyond state politics: he is a four-time Paralympian in wheelchair basketball, with gold medals from the 2016 and 2020 Games and a bronze medal as well. Before his legislative career, he worked at a wheelchair and mobility assistance company.

That personal record is central to how Turek has presented himself to voters. He has described his politics as a “common-sense moderate” and a “prairie populist,” a mix Democrats hope can appeal in a state where their Senate fortunes have been bleak for nearly two decades. Former Sen. Tom Harkin has backed Turek, giving him an endorsement from one of the party’s most recognizable Iowa figures.

For Democrats, the appeal is not only ideological. Turek’s profile gives the party a candidate who can speak to disability, service and resilience while also claiming a centrist identity in a state that has trended away from Democrats in federal races. His campaign says he is running for the Senate to give Iowans the representation they deserve, and party strategists are betting that his story can broaden the coalition beyond the usual partisan lines.

The challenge now is whether that blend of biography and moderation can hold up against Hinson in a race that will be fought with heavy spending and little margin for error. In a difficult Senate map, Turek’s candidacy is becoming a test of whether Democrats can remake themselves in more culturally accessible terms without losing their core political identity.