Greetings all. Excited to share a new recording from the live discussion I held earlier today with Josh Turek, our inspiring candidate in a very strong position to flip a Senate seat in Iowa this November.
This was an important and timely conversation for it’s clear that as the map has deteriorated for Senate Republicans they’ve decided to make a stand in Iowa. For as things are breaking right now I don’t think Republicans will be able to keep the Senate without winning Iowa. So as Josh tells us this morning the Senate GOP SuperPAC announced a massive new $20 million buy to augment their existing $33m buy - yikes! $53m is an enormous amount of money for a state as small as Iowa.
As you will see in the interview Josh is one of our very best candidates this cycle. He has a proven track record of winning in red places in Iowa; won his very competitive primary by more than 20 points; and leads in the last two independent polls in Iowa by 3 and 8 points. With adequate resources he can win here and help us flip the Senate, particularly as his opponent is a GOP House Member who has taken all the bad votes House members have taken this year - the tariffs, the war, barbaric cuts to health care, and huge tax cuts for billionaires.
From our conversation:
Honestly, I say that we're going through right now a corruption crisis that is leading to an affordability crisis. And it's working class families like mine that are ultimately paying the brunt of this.
You look at my opponent, Ashley Hinson. In six years, going up there to D.C., she has voted for cuts to health care, to food assistance, cuts to Social Security, just to give tax breaks to billionaires. Five times she's voted in favor of the tariffs. I think you can make the argument that the tariffs have hurt Iowa more than any other state. We lead the nation in farm foreclosures because, you know, the farmers need markets. They need fair trade. Farm suicide rates are skyrocketing.
And she has voted seven times in favor of this war in Iran, which is leading to Iowa's fuel rates going up more than almost any other state. Diesel being at an all-time high as our farmers are going into harvest time. And looking at fertilizer prices, input prices skyrocketing. She has just looked out for herself, not for Iowans.
Here’s a brand new ad the Turek campaign released this morning:
There are a few ways to support Josh today:
Contribute to him directly -
here.Contribute to our
Winning the Senatecampaign which supports these six pickup opportunities - Sherrod Brown (OH), Roy Cooper (NC), Troy Jackson (ME), Mary Peltola (AK), James Talarico (TX), and Josh.Contribute to our
Winning Iowafund which splits contributions evenly between Turek for Senate, Rob Sand for Governor, and the Iowa Democratic Party and its great Chair, Rita Hart.
You can learn more about Josh by visiting his website where you can also sign up to volunteer. I am proud to say that this community has already raised $170,000 for Josh and over $600,000 for the party and all our endorsed candidates in Iowa this cycle - it’s a lot of money peeps, but we aren’t finished yet!
For as we discuss Iowa has become one of the most important states of the cycle, as we have a chance to win the governorship, this Senate seat, and three House seat, all with dynamic and compelling next gen candidates. Here’s Josh on the opportunity in front of us in Iowa this year:
If all of the stars align Iowa is going to be at the center of the political universe. And as you just alluded to, it has happened. We’ve got three winnable congressional races, a governor’s race, certainly this Senate race. They are trying to buy off this election. They just announced today another $20 million getting dumped into my race. I believe they’re up to just $85 million on TV alone. That’s not even including mail or digital.
But Iowans are ready for change. And so with your help out there and folks’ help, we’re going to be able to do something really special come November. If we win this race in Iowa, we will not only make a generational change in the state of Iowa, we will be able to change the country.
Friends, spend time with this update from one of our very best candidates this cycle in one of the most important races. Hit like so more will see the interview, share it with others, consider giving to help Josh and his talented colleagues win, and keep working hard everyone. We have a country to save, and elections like this one in Iowa to win, together! - Simon
Josh 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 the state of Iowa. Born with spina bifida after his dad was exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam, Josh overcame 21 surgeries by the age of 12 to eventually represent the U.S. at four Paralympics.
After his basketball career ended with a gold medal in Tokyo in 2021, Josh ran to represent his hometown of Council Bluffs in the legislature. Running in a seat that Donald Trump had already won twice, Josh pushed his chair up hills and crawled up stairs to talk to Iowans of all political stripes, eventually winning by six votes. He was re-elected by a five point margin at the same time Trump was winning the seat by eight points, not only because of his work ethic but because he’s developed a reputation as a common-sense, bipartisan legislator.
Josh is committed to shaping economic policy decisions that benefit the middle class and workers rather than Wall Street and billionaire donors. Josh is committed to alleviating the economic pressures faced by increasingly cash-strapped Iowans and their families. He is a strong supporter of public education and has been a vocal opponent to school vouchers. He has been and continues to be a relentless advocate for major reform to Iowa’s broken health care system. He is a strong proponent of meaningful and effective environmental protection - especially the air, food, and water we all rely on.
While playing professional basketball, Josh began as the Volunteer Director for the Ryan Martin Foundation, an organization providing disabled children opportunities to play sports for free. He also worked with patients and doctors at a wheelchair and mobility assistance company, to provide mobility devices and complex rehab technology to people with disabilities. In this role, Josh recognized major shortfalls in our health care system - routinely failing the most vulnerable in our society.
Josh graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School in Council Bluffs. He continued his basketball career at Southwest Minnesota State University where he was the most prolific scorer in the program’s history. Josh graduated in 2002 and later earned an MBA. Josh has been inducted into the Athletic Halls of Fame at Abraham Lincoln and Southwest Minnesota State University, as well as the National Wheelchair Basketball Association Hall of Fame.
Josh lives in Council Bluffs with his wife Jarolin, who is an immigrant and now a U.S. citizen, working in health care.
Learn more about Rep. Turek and his campaign for U.S. Senate here.
