Democrat Josh Turek won Iowa’s U.S. Senate election Tuesday, defeating Republican Ashley Hinson and capturing a seat long held by the GOP.
Josh Turek prevailed in Iowa’s rare open Senate contest during Tuesday’s midterm elections, flipping a Republican-held seat and becoming the first Democrat since Barack Obama to win a federal election statewide.
Turek defeated Ashley Hinson to replace retiring Republican Sen. Joni Ernst, who had served two terms. The race attracted hundreds of millions of dollars in advertising spending.
Iowa was widely viewed as a dependable Republican state in recent election cycles, but high fuel costs, a struggling agricultural economy and an overseas war helped turn it into a battleground. With Ernst and Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds both retiring, neither incumbent sought one of the state’s top-ticket offices for the first time since 1968. That opened a new opportunity for Democrats seeking to overcome years of electoral setbacks.
Democrats identified Iowa as a key target in their effort to win Senate control, particularly as controversies complicated races elsewhere. Entering Tuesday, Democrats needed to gain at least four seats to secure a majority, or at least five if they failed to hold the Michigan seat.
Pressure on Republicans reached Iowa
Republicans across the country faced difficult political choices this cycle, but Hinson’s challenge was especially delicate. Since Trump returned to the White House, Iowa has experienced manufacturing losses, healthcare clinic closures and declining farm profits. Concerns about contaminated water and increasing cancer rates also generated widespread anger and became central issues in campaigns across the state.
When Hinson began her campaign the previous year, she pledged to become Trump’s “top ally” in the Senate. Nearly a year later, she recast her campaign around a promise to be “Iowa’s best bipartisan fighter.”
After House members were sent home in September, Hinson said Iowans “shouldn’t have to foot the bill” for the war.
However, she did not join fellow Iowa Republicans Zach Nunn and Mariannette Miller-Meeks, who represent battleground districts, in voting with Democrats earlier that month for a resolution aimed at limiting Trump’s authority to continue military action without congressional approval.
READ MORE: Former Detroit health chief Abdul El-Sayed clashes with British reporter
Hinson argued that the resolution was not the right way to help Trump bring the war to an immediate and successful conclusion.
Although Hinson sharply criticized the president on certain issues during the final months of the campaign, she appeared alongside him during both of his visits to Iowa in the last two weeks before Election Day.
Democrats sought to restore Iowa’s bipartisan tradition
Obama was the last Democrat to win a statewide federal election in Iowa, securing reelection in 2012. State Auditor Rob Sand remains the only Democrat holding statewide elected office.
For 30 years, Iowa sent a bipartisan duo to the Senate. That tradition included Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley and Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin, who retired after deciding not to seek reelection in 2014. Ernst won the seat Harkin left open.
Turek, a state representative and former Paralympian, sought to continue Harkin’s legacy. Born with spina bifida, which is believed to have resulted from his father’s exposure to chemicals during the Vietnam War, Turek has credited Harkin’s role in passing the Americans with Disabilities Act with helping make his own accomplishments possible.
Obama endorsed Turek after his victory in the Democratic primary.
Turek frequently portrayed Hinson as a rubber stamp for Trump, but he also sought to reassure voters that he could work with the president on issues such as immigration enforcement and border security.
Copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
