Democratic state Rep. Josh Turek is asking Iowa voters to weigh an affordability agenda and a cross-party pitch as he challenges Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson for a Senate seat in a state Donald Trump carried in 2024.
A commentary by The Economist, republished by Hindustan Times, presents Turek’s campaign as an example of Democrats pairing economic proposals with a less combative style. Polls show a competitive race, but they do not establish whether that message is shaping voters’ choices. Iowa’s official 2024 canvass recorded 55.73% of ballots for Trump and JD Vance.
Iowa’s certified June 2 primary results named both candidates as their parties’ nominees. Turek received 120,287 votes, beating Zach Wahls with 71,663. Hinson won with 153,059 votes to Jim Carlin’s 53,196.
Turek’s platform proposes raising the federal minimum wage and linking increases to inflation, banning food price gouging, closing tax loopholes for billionaires and large corporations, and creating a public health-insurance option. It does not estimate the proposals’ fiscal or business costs. In a Sept. 7 post, Turek wrote, “We have got to get back to a country-over-party mentality.”
The polls give no consistent indication of who is ahead. Marist’s Oct. 8-11 survey put Turek at 48% and Hinson at 45% among likely voters, with a 6.6-percentage-point margin of error. A co/efficient poll fielded Oct. 28 showed Hinson leading 48% to 46%, with a 3.05-point margin of error.
Both candidates are making a case for bipartisan appeal. The Associated Press reported that Hinson has called herself “Iowa’s best bipartisan fighter.” Turek’s campaign says he voted with a majority of Republicans more than 700 times, KCRG reported. KCRG’s review of 167 recorded votes in the 2026 legislative session found Turek voted with at least 50 Republican lawmakers on 120; the station noted many were noncontroversial matters.
Former Sen. Tom Harkin, who authored the Americans with Disabilities Act and served as its chief Senate sponsor, endorsed Turek in May, according to the campaign. The Senate passed the ADA 91-6 in 1990, and President George H.W. Bush signed it July 26 that year.
The Associated Press said Iowa polls close at 8 p.m. Central time, or 9 p.m. ET, on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
