MEET THE CANDIDATE: Josh Turek
Josh Turek was born with spina bifida after his father was exposed to Agent Orange during his service in Vietnam. Josh underwent 21 surgeries before he turned 12. His family was working class — he remembers getting clothes from Goodwill and relying on free summer lunch programs growing up in Council Bluffs. None of that stopped him from becoming one of the most decorated athletes in Iowa history: a two-time Paralympic gold medalist for Team USA in wheelchair basketball, competing in four Paralympic Games.
Josh graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School in Council Bluffs and went on to Southwest Minnesota State University, where he became the most prolific scorer in the wheelchair basketball program's history, graduating in 2002 and later earning an MBA. He's been inducted into the Athletic Halls of Fame at both Abraham Lincoln High School and Southwest Minnesota State, as well as the National Wheelchair Basketball Association Hall of Fame.
After his basketball career ended with a gold medal in Tokyo in 2021, Josh came home to run for the Iowa House to represent Council Bluffs — in a district that Donald Trump had already carried twice. Pushing his wheelchair up hills and pulling it up stairs to knock doors himself, Josh won by six votes. Two years later he was reelected by a five-point margin in the very same election where Trump carried the district by eight points — a testament to the reputation he's built as a common-sense, bipartisan legislator willing to work with anyone to get results for his district.
Before running for office, Josh worked as the volunteer director for the Ryan Martin Foundation, which gives disabled children the chance to play sports for free, and worked helping fit disabled Iowans with mobility devices. That work showed him firsthand how often Iowa's health care system fails the people who need it most — an experience that now anchors his campaign for the U.S. Senate.
Fun facts: Josh represents the reddest legislative seat won by a Democrat in 2024. He's a two-time Paralympic gold medalist and the first physically disabled member of the Iowa legislature.
CANDIDATE PLATFORM: Josh Turek
Josh Turek calls his platform a prairie populist's plan to rebuild the American Dream — built around the belief that Washington's problem isn't complexity, it's corruption, and that the most effective legislators are the ones who've actually lived the struggles they're fighting to fix.
Affording the basics. Josh has sponsored legislation in the Iowa House to cut taxes for first-time homebuyers and limit private equity firms from buying up Iowa homes. In the Senate, he'll fight to cut taxes for working families, ban Wall Street firms from buying up single-family homes and farmland, raise the minimum wage with inflation-indexed increases going forward, and pass the PRO Act to strengthen unions and collective bargaining.
Health care as a human right. Born with spina bifida and having relied on Shriners Children's Hospital and his father's military-service health benefits, Josh has sponsored bills to cap insulin at $25 a month, expand Medicaid dental coverage, and eliminate waiting lists for home and community-based Medicaid waivers. He also wrote and sponsored a bill to repeal Iowa's near-total abortion ban. In the Senate, he'll fight to restore Medicaid funding cut by the Big Beautiful Bill, protect the Affordable Care Act, and introduce a public health insurance option.
Stopping corruption. Josh isn't taking corporate PAC money. He's sponsored legislation capping how much money can flow to individual campaigns and political committees in Iowa. In the Senate, he wants to ban members of Congress and their spouses from owning and trading stock, ban corporate PAC money nationally, and pass a constitutional amendment to reverse Citizens United.
Iowa's farmers. Josh has championed a Right to Repair law so farmers can fix their own equipment, mandatory country-of-origin labeling, and legislation to break up agribusiness monopolies driving up input costs. In the Senate, he wants to pass a federal Right to Repair law, end the tariffs he says are pushing farms toward a 1980s-style farm crisis, crack down on meatpacking consolidation, and pass a provision that says Congress can't recess without passing a Farm Bill.
Cancer and water quality. Josh is currently supporting his sister through treatment for Stage 2 breast cancer — a diagnosis that shapes his campaign, after her private insurer refused to cover a PET scan. He's sponsored legislation funding cancer research and water quality sensors in Iowa. In the Senate, he will fight for affordable and accessible health care for every Iowan and work to address Iowa's water quality crisis.
Veterans and disability rights. As the son of a veteran and the first physically disabled member of the Iowa legislature, Josh helped pass legislation strengthening the veterans homestead tax credit and protecting Iowans' right to keep service animals when renting. In the Senate, he wants to end subminimum wages for disabled workers, protect the Americans with Disabilities Act, and expand VA health care access.
JOSH TUREK & BENEFIT TO BLACK HAWK COUNTY
Josh Turek's campaign for U.S. Senate is one of the marquee races of the 2026 midterms nationally — and it carries real weight for Black Hawk County Democrats building out their own slate this cycle.
A proof-of-concept candidate for tough terrain. Josh has already shown he can win and hold a red seat in a district Donald Trump carried twice. For Black Hawk County Democrats making the case that Democrats can compete in a state that's trended red, Josh's track record of outperforming the top of the ticket is a powerful organizing tool.
A contrast built for working families. Josh's platform — no corporate PAC money, a record of bipartisan legislating, and a personal story rooted in disability and working-class struggle — gives local Democrats a message that resonates in a union-heavy, John Deere-adjacent county like Black Hawk. His opponent, multi-millionaire Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, has represented parts of the district that includes Black Hawk County in Congress, giving local voters a direct point of comparison on the ballot.
Anchoring a competitive statewide ticket. With Rob Sand running a very competitive race for governor and Lindsay James doing the same for the open 2nd Congressional District seat that covers Waterloo, Josh's Senate campaign is part of a genuinely competitive top of the ballot in 2026 — the kind of environment that can lift turnout for county and legislative Democrats further down the ticket.
A campaign built on grassroots energy. Josh is campaigning across the state, working to meet Iowans where they are. He is focused on in-person engagement and reaching as many Iowans as possible — a model that gives local county parties like Black Hawk County Democrats a meaningful role to play in the campaign's field organizing.
JOSH TUREK VS. ASHLEY HINSON — HOW THEY COMPARE
Josh Turek's opponent for Iowa's open U.S. Senate seat is Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, who is giving up her House seat representing Iowa's 2nd Congressional District to run for the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Joni Ernst.
Background. Josh is a two-time Paralympic gold medalist who represents Council Bluffs in the Iowa House and is the first physically disabled member of the state legislature. Hinson has served in Congress since 2021 after previously serving in the Iowa House, and built her political career as a television news anchor before entering politics.
Money and accountability. Josh's campaign has made a point of refusing corporate PAC money and has centered its message on the idea that Washington politicians enrich themselves at the expense of the people they represent. Josh's campaign has specifically pointed to reporting that Hinson's net worth has grown by up to 10 times since she arrived in Washington, even as Iowa's economy and personal income growth have lagged the rest of the country.
Health care. Josh has built his legislative career around expanding access to care — capping insulin costs, protecting Medicaid, and writing the bill to repeal Iowa's near-total abortion ban. Hinson voted for the Big Beautiful Bill Act, which Josh's campaign says puts more than 110,000 Iowans' Medicaid coverage at risk and threatens the ACA subsidies that 119,000 Iowans rely on.
Trade and agriculture. Josh has sponsored Right to Repair and mandatory country-of-origin labeling legislation for Iowa farmers and wants to end what he calls the chaotic tariff policy hurting Iowa agriculture. His campaign has criticized Hinson's support for tariff policies that have squeezed Iowa farmers with rising input costs and unpredictable export markets.
The bottom line for Black Hawk County voters: this is a race between a working legislator with a record of bipartisan wins on kitchen-table issues in one of the state's most competitive districts, and a sitting member of Congress whose record reflects the same corrupt insider politics that increasingly frustrates Iowans.