Josh Turek Defeats Ashley Hinson in Iowa Senate Race
Democrat Josh Turek won Iowa's open U.S. Senate seat on Tuesday, defeating Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson in a race that gave Democrats the 51st seat they needed for a Senate majority.
Newsnibs Staff
- 2026-11-04
- Updated 12:27 PM UTC
(Iowa, United States)
Democrat Josh Turek won Iowa's open U.S. Senate seat on Tuesday, defeating Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson. The race was called late Tuesday night with more than 90% of ballots counted. Turek led by roughly 51% to 46%, and the exact shares differed slightly between tallies. His win gave Democrats the 51st seat they needed for a Senate majority.
It is the first Democratic Senate victory in Iowa since 2008, when Tom Harkin won the seat he held. The seat opened up when Sen. Joni Ernst, a Republican and ally of President Trump, announced in January that she would not seek re-election. She endorsed Hinson on January 10, and Trump backed Hinson as well. Forecasters had rated the race a toss-up, and one set of October polls had Hinson ahead 47% to 45%.
Turek, 47, is a state representative who was elected to the Iowa legislature in 2022 and was the state's first permanently disabled lawmaker. He is a Paralympic basketball gold medalist and was born with spina bifida, which he attributes to his father's exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam. Hinson is 43. Turek launched his campaign in August 2025 and described himself as a "prairie populist."
His platform centered on rural voters, healthcare, public education and economic worries, including the effect of tariffs on farmers. Rising gasoline and diesel prices tied to the war in Iran, along with the loss of foreign markets for agricultural exports, weighed on Iowans' view of Trump's second term. Turek said he was willing to work with Trump on border security and on ending taxes on tips and overtime, while also working to appear distinct from national Democrats. Hinson, for her part, tried to put distance between herself and the White House. She criticized Trump's deal with Russia to import diesel and pushed for fewer restrictions on ethanol production.
Farm groups split. The Iowa Farm Bureau and the Iowa Corn Growers Association endorsed Hinson. The Iowa Farmers Union backed Turek, citing his promises to fight agricultural consolidation and expand rural healthcare, and gave him its "Friend of the Family Farmer" designation. Former President Barack Obama endorsed Turek in late July, and Harkin canvassed for him in Le Mars on November 2.
The campaign had its own friction on the left. One Iowa Action, other LGBTQ+ groups and Democratic state Rep. Aime Wichtendahl criticized a Turek advertisement on transgender issues.
Trump carried Iowa by more than 13 percentage points in 2024.
Photo by Smithsonian on Unsplash
