VoteVets Backs Democrat Josh Turek in Iowa Senate Race

VoteVets launched an $825,000 television ad buy backing Iowa state Rep. Josh Turek, becoming the first outside group to spend money in the state's Democratic U.S. Senate primary, a race party leaders are watching as a potential pickup opportunity in November.

The spending, set to run in the coming week, dwarfs what Turek's own campaign had on hand. Turek, a wheelchair basketball player who competed at the Summer Paralympics four times, winning gold in 2016 and 2020, had just under $400,000 in campaign cash at the start of 2026. The VoteVets buy is also larger than what his chief primary rival, state Sen. Zach Wahls, held in reserve. Wahls had $733,480 in the bank at the end of 2025.

The financial gap highlights the significance of VoteVets' entry. Though $825,000 might register as modest against the multimillion-dollar ad buys that now define major Senate races, Iowa's lower advertising costs amplify the impact considerably, making the one-week investment a genuine escalation in a primary that had, until now, proceeded without any outside group intervention.

Turek is a two-time Paralympic gold medalist for Team USA and a state legislator who represents the reddest seat held by a Democrat in Iowa. He was born with spina bifida after his father was exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam, and he is the Iowa legislature's first permanently disabled member. Senate Democratic leadership views him as their preferred candidate, with Democrats hoping the Iowa seat can be competitive against a Republican field that no longer includes incumbent Sen. Joni Ernst. Ernst announced in September that she would not seek a third term, citing a desire to spend more time with family.

The Democratic primary field also includes Des Moines School Board Chairwoman Jackie Norris and military veteran Nathan Sage, a former chamber of commerce president. The contest narrowed earlier when state Rep. J.D. Scholten exited the race and endorsed Turek. Scholten told NBC News that he did not face pressure to end his campaign, a contrast to 2020 when he weighed a primary challenge to eventual Democratic nominee Theresa Greenfield, who had secured a DSCC endorsement.

Turek was joined by fellow House Democrats as he submitted petition signatures at the Iowa Secretary of State's office on March 12, 2026, qualifying his campaign for the primary ballot. His campaign submitted more than 10,000 signatures from all 99 counties.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has not endorsed in any competitive Senate primaries so far. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, who chairs the committee, has not ruled out doing so. Iowa is one of several states where contested Democratic primaries are developing in 2026, alongside Texas, in races that could factor into control of the Senate.

Two-term Republican Sen. Joni Ernst, who was re-elected in 2020 with 51.8% of the vote, declined to seek a third term. GOP Rep. Ashley Hinson, widely seen as a rising star in Republican politics, launched her Senate campaign on the day of Ernst's retirement announcement. Democrats point to a special election result from last August as reason for optimism: Catelin Drey flipped an Iowa Senate District 1 seat on August 26, 2025, defeating Republican Christopher Prosch to fill the unexpired term of Republican Sen. Rocky De Witt, who died in June after battling pancreatic cancer. Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart called that result "a real wake-up call to the fact that Iowans are not happy," adding that it gave Democrats "every opportunity to win that Senate seat and put it in the Democratic column."

The Iowa primary will occur on June 2, 2026, with the general election to follow in November.