June 9th , 2026 Len’s Political Note #817 Josh Turek Iowa US Senate
2026 General Election
Josh Turek won the primary by nearly a 2-1 margin. A few months before, he had been trailing Zach Wahls, also a state legislator, also a fine candidate, and a previous subject of a Len’s Political Note.
Money turned the race around. A flood of positive advertisements about Josh Turek’s promise as a United States Senator turned the race around. The money and the advertisements came from the PAC created by VoteVets.
Josh Turek has never served in the military. Their commitment of resources had to do with John Turek, Josh’s dad. VoteVets and others are convinced that Josh Turek’s spina bifida is a result of John’s exposure to Agent Orange while he was in Vietnam.
Agent Orange was an herbicide and a defoliant developed for and used by the United States military to prevent North Vietnamese guerrillas from using trees and other vegetation for cover for their movements. Since the Vietnam War, the United States has acknowledged that exposure to Agent Orange has caused cancers and caused spina bifida among the children of those exposed and cognitive loss among the children of women who were exposed.
One hospital defines spina bifida as: “a birth defect in which an area of the spinal column doesn’t form properly, leaving a section of the spinal cord and spinal nerves exposed through an opening in the back.” Depending on the severity and location of the condition, someone with spina bifida may have incontinence (bowel or bladder or both), sexual dysfunction, weakness and/or loss of sensation below the spinal condition, paralysis of the legs, orthopedic malfunctions ranging from club feet to knee problems to hip problems, and some cognitive impairments.
Josh Turek was born in Council Bluffs Iowa in 1979. After the War, his dad became a vocational school administrator. His mom was a social worker and also taught at a community college. To function as well as he does, Josh Turek had 21 operations by time he was 12. He left his public school district after sixth grade, disheartened by the bullying he was subject to.
Josh Turek says that in seventh grade, wheelchair basketball saved his life. It gave him a purpose, a social network, and, because he excelled, self-esteem. He played youth, wheelchair basketball until he graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School in Council Bluffs. Like many successful high school basketball players, he played college ball.
Josh Turek played wheelchair basketball at Southwest Minnesota State. The university is a member of the National Intercollegiate Wheelchair Basketball Association. Josh Turek played on the 2000-2001 team that had a 33-8 record and finished third in the National Intercollegiate Wheelchair Basketball Tournament. These days the team has a schedule that can take them to City University in New York, University of Michigan, and the University of Texas at Arlington.
After he graduated in 2002, Josh Turek played basketball professionally. There is no professional wheelchair basketball in the United States. To play professionally, Josh Turek had to go to Europe. He played for teams in Spain, Italy, and France. He also played on the US Paralympic Team in 2004 (7th place), 2012 (bronze), 2016 (gold), and 2020 (gold).
Josh Turek was not going to play basketball forever. He had met and married Jarolin in Spain. They would settle down in Iowa. He got an MBA from DeVry University (probably an online course of study from this New York school) and in 2019 became an account manager for Numotion, a national firm based in New York that provided equipment for people with mobility issues. In 2021, he went to work for himself working on creating accessible interiors and speaking about practical solutions for those with mobility problems. In 2022, he ran for state rep from the 20th district, a district that had voted Republican in every presidential election since 1968. He won that election by 5 votes. He won the next by a little more than 555 votes. In the legislature, he worked on disability-related issues, but also a right to repair bill addressing farm equipment and on general issues of health policy.
He comes to the general election with the support of VoteVets and the Democratic establishment. From the beginning of the campaign, he was Chuck Schumer’s preference, though Schumer did not make an endorsement. He may have been particularly impressed with Josh Turek’s grit and determination. Confronted by a a need to climb up to a podium or a porch for door knocking campaigning that was not wheelchair accessible, Josh Turek would sometimes get out of his wheelchair and crawl up the stairs dragging his wheel chair to achieve his objective.
Josh Turek will need grit and resources to defeat Congresswoman Ashley Hinson in the general election. Representing Iowa 02 in the northeastern quarter of the state, she had been a television news anchor before she ran for public office. They are competing for the Senate seat that Joni Ernst is retiring from, a retirement forced by her “Well, we are all going to die” remark at a town hall meeting about health care.
Ashley Hinson has no such damning signature remark. She does, however, have a record of consistently voting with President Trump. Despite her claims that she has worked to lower health insurance costs, supported veterans, and would ban stock trading in Congress, she has accepted corporate funds especially from the health insurance industry and the pharmaceutical industries. She voted against authorizing negotiating lower prescription drug prices for Medicare, for the tax cuts for the wealthy, and for health care reductions that were the principal feature of the Big Beautiful Bill. Her mandatory disclosures show that she has bought and sold thousands of dollars worth of stocks. Ashley Hinson has a lot to defend; Josh Turek has plenty to expose.
Help Josh Turek win this general election. Help flip a Senate Seat that will be part of the Democratic success in flipping the United States Senate. Josh Turek needs the help. As of May 13, he had $700,000 to Hinson’s $6 million available. He has the capacity to win this election. In March, a Democratically funded poll showed Hinson leading him by 4 points. In April, an internet industry funded poll showed Josh Turek leading Hinson by a single point. DONATE to Josh Turek’s campaign.
Give Josh Turek some company. Give him a team of Iowa Democrats to work with in Washington
Iowa 01. Christina Bohannan, University of Iowa Law School Professor and former state rep who grew up in a Florida trailer, is one of the Cook Reports 18 Toss ups, though Len suggests the race tilts Democratic. On May 13, Christina Bohannan had the slightest cash financial edge against the incumbent Marionette Miller-Meeks. The edge was $4.3 million to $4.2 million. DONATE. Turn that financial edge into votes. See Len’s Political Note #737.
Iowa 03. Sarah Trone Garriott. ordained Lutheran Pastor. State Senator, and former coordinator of interfaith engagement for the Des Moines Area Religious Council, she is another Cook Toss up who Len suggests is in a district that could tilt Democratic. The incumbent Zach Nunn spent much of 2025 looking for a way out of his job. He considered a run for governor. He considered funning for Iowa 04, the only safe Republican Iowa district. The Republican establishment told him to stay where he is. This time, though, if you help his opponent, Nunn will not win. On May 13, Sarah Trone Garriott was reasonably well prepared financially – trailing Nunn $2.7 million to $3.2 million. DONATE. Help her move ahead of Nunn financially and politically. See Len’s Political Note #789.
Iowa 02 Lindsay James, presbyterian minister, State Rep, and the former director of the Dubuque-based Loras College Peace Institute is running for this district which Cook reports as Likely Republican. An open seat from which Ashley Hinson is retiring, Lindsay James’ opponent is Joe Mitchell. He is the son of orthopedics appliance manufacturers and was elected to the Iowa House of Representatives before he graduated from Drake University. He was a member of Donald Trump’s 2024 transition team,and worked as chief of staff for the controversial proposed Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte s at the Federal Housing Finance Agency . Lindsay James has some financial catching up to do. On May 13, the FEC report Mitchell as having $900,000 to Lindsay James $200,000. DONATE to Lindsay James’ campaign. She has material to work with. Defeating Bill Pulte’s former chief of staff would be a blow to Donald Trump.
Give the State of Iowa a Democratic administration. Democrats have a serious slate of candidates. Help transform Iowa’s politics.
Governor Rob Sand has served 2 terms as State Auditor and is currently the only serving Democrat elected state-wide in Iowa. He has raised $9.5 million for the Governor race and will need every dime of that and more to compete against the independently wealthy Republican nominee Zach Lahn. DONATE to Rob Sand’s campaign. See Len’s Political Note #746.
State Auditor Taylor Wattach is a trade and national security attorney. He will oppose the recently appointed Lt. Governor Chris Cournoyer whose state senate seat loss in a January 2025 special election after his appointment was the beginning of the string of Democratic special election wins. DONATE to Taylor Wattach’s campaign.
Attorney General. Nate Willems has spent his legal career representing workers whose employers have stolen their wages or otherwise cheated them. Help him defeat incumbent Brenna Bird who, foreseeing Republican losses, chose to skip the Governor race and the Senate race. DONATE to Nate Willems campaign.
Secretary of State. Ryan Peterman is a Naval Academy graduate who returned to Iowa after a career as a Naval Aviator. He worked on national security for the US Senate and was a presence at the Naval Academy which intended to promote a culture of ethics. Help him defeat Incumbent Paul Pate who appears to have avoided the paranoia of so many Republican Secretaries of State and does not support Trump’s beliefs about the 2020 election. DONATE to Ryan Peterman.
State Treasurer. John Norwood is a business consultant and small business coach. His opponent is Roby Smith, a former state senator and banker who is completing his first term in office. John Norwood argues that his experience is distinctively appropriate for working with state officials. DONATE to his campaign.
