Josh Turek wins Democratic primary in battleground Iowa Senate race

BREAKING NEWSJun. 3, 2026, 1:29 AM UTC2026 Election2026 ElectionJosh Turek wins Democratic primary in battleground Iowa Senate raceTurek, a state representative and Paralympic gold medalist, beat state Sen. Zach Wahls, NBC News projects, as Democrats try to compete for retiring U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst’s seat this fall.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Democratic Senate candidate Josh Turek during a campaign event in Westside, Iowa on May 29.Scott Olson / Getty ImagesShareAdd NBC News to GoogleBy Henry J. GomezIowa state Rep. Josh Turek has won the Democratic nomination for his state’s open U.S. Senate seat, NBC News projects, advancing from a combative primary to a potentially competitive general election in a state that has favored Republicans in recent elections.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Turek defeated state Sen. Zach Wahls and will face Rep. Ashley Hinson, the winner of Tuesday’s GOP primary, in the general election.Republican Senate candidate Rep. Ashley Hinson in Marion, Iowa on Tuesday.Stephen Maturen / Getty ImagesThe seat is up for grabs after Republican Sen. Joni Ernst decided not to seek re-election this year. And despite a run of comfortable, double-digit wins for Republicans in Iowa over the last decade-plus, the race has emerged as a sleeper in the battle for partisan control of the Senate. The Republican-aligned Senate Leadership Fund plans to spend $29 million on the battle.Turek, 47, is a former Paralympic gold medalist in basketball and is backed by former Sen. Tom Harkin, whose “prairie populism” was a staple of Iowa politics until his retirement in 2014 led to Ernst’s election.“Iowans feel like they’re pushing uphill, and I know exactly what that feels like, because it’s working-class families like mine paying the price for Trump’s war and Washington’s corruption,” Turek said in a campaign ad that featured him pushing his wheelchair up an incline. “In the Sena...