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Josh Turek

Josh Turek

Senate Iowa U.S. Senate
Josh Turek

This dossier is new, added because of the startling shift throughout Iowa: Democrats are now in reach of the Governor's office, a US Senate seat, and two US House races — all in a state Trump won by 14 points. Here is a comprehensive look at the Iowa Senate campaign from June 11 — start there. Cook Political Report has now moved the race to Toss Up — a year ago that would have sounded impossible.

And, frankly, this dossier is here because I couldn't resist the video of Barack Obama and Josh Turek shooting hoops — Josh doing so from his wheelchair.

The Obama Endorsement

See this brilliant visit between Josh and Barack Obama, and their basketball. What Obama told him after the video was in the can is classic Obama political insight:

"Make sure that you're going out to all 99 counties, every single rural community, small community, midsized community." — Barack Obama, to Josh Turek

What if all our candidates were listening? You'll find it in Jen Psaki's interview with Turek about the endorsement — see the interview here, plus an article about it.

The Race

Josh won the Iowa Democratic Senate primary to fill the seat of retiring Republican Joni Ernst, and put the case plainly: "We are not a red state, we are a commonsense state. When you hit the bottom, you are ready for change."

He is not running alone. Iowa's Democratic candidate for Governor, State Auditor Rob Sand, was unopposed in his primary and leads in the polls. State Democratic Chair Rita Hart lays out how the whole Iowa ballot is breaking our way. And Blue Boosters is already working the IA-01 House race, where Christina Bohannan is about to beat Mariannette Miller-Meeks with our help.

Hinson and Turek both showed up at the Iowa State Fair — she appeared with Pete Hegseth, while he was drumming up support for the Farm Bill. You be the judge of who read the room.

The Opponent

Rep. Ashley Hinson (R), the least bipartisan member of the Iowa legislature by Josh's own campaign's telling, and a reliable Trump advocate. New reporting digs into fresh weaknesses in Hinson's campaign: with the public feeling negative economics, she keeps going negative against her better instead — campaign malpractice galore, and it shows.

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Josh Turek beside the seated statue of Franklin Delano Roosevelt at the FDR Memorial
Two Democrats in chairs. The guy on the left is Josh Turek; the one on the right is FDR, as depicted at the FDR Memorial in Washington. If you have never seen it, by all means do.