ICYMI: Josh Turek Kicks Off Team Iowa Tour in Cedar Rapids

ICYMI: Josh Turek Kicks Off Team Iowa Tour in Cedar Rapids

“When I dragged my wheelchair upstairs to knock on neighbors’ doors, I found that Republicans, independents and Democrats all see that our health care system is broken, that costs are way too high and that we have to put an end to the corruption that we’re seeing at all levels of government.”

Cedar Rapids, IA – Yesterday, Josh Turek launched his Team Iowa Tour in Cedar Rapids. Supporters from across Josh’s broad coalition called out Ashley Hinson for her record of selling out Iowans to benefit herself and her donors and underlined Josh’s commitment to being a U.S. Senator for all Iowans.

Missed it? See below for the highlights. 

The Gazette: Josh Turek launches ‘Team Iowa Tour’ in U.S. Senate race against Ashley Hinson

• “We’ve got 130 days to get out there, go to all 99 counties, go to every single one of these small communities, midsize communities, and I’m going to get in front of as many of the 3.2 million Iowans as I possibly can,” Turek told reporters Wednesday in Cedar Rapids at the start of his summer of visits to county fairs, camps, farms and pharmacies.
• A Tama County farmer, a union president, a retired teacher, a former U.S. attorney and veteran, and a registered Republican talked about the challenges they’ve faced and their belief in Turek to push for reform.
• “I’ve been a Republican most of my life because I believe that we must have a solid economy to be able to help those that need it,” Byron Tabor, of Cedar Rapids, said. “But MAGA has ruined the Republican Party, and Ashley Hinson has helped this downfall by voting over and over again to cut taxes on billionaires while raising the national debt, hiking costs on Iowans. That is simply not right.”
• “Hinson herself has gotten up to 10 times richer since she was elected, and I don’t think that is a coincidence,” Tabor said. “Don’t let the ‘R’ and ‘D’ labels define our choices. Regardless of where you sit on the political spectrum, Iowans need someone in the U.S. Senate who is looking out for us, not just for the billionaires and corporations.
• “When we’re going into rural communities and we’re talking to farmers, the word that we hear the most is betrayal,” he said. “You go into these rural communities, it legitimately looks like a vacuum has gone through them. These are places that have been hollowed out — where small businesses are struggling.
• “These are rural communities that have lost their grocery stores, their pharmacies, their health care clinics. We’ve closed 250 more health care clinics than we’ve opened. These Medicaid cuts. ACA cuts. They are really, really disproportionately hurting rural communities. And now they’re closing their schools.”
• “And I’m going out there and saying, ‘I’m going to be working for you.’”

The Des Moines Register: Josh Turek kicks off Senate campaign tour vowing to fight corruption

• Iowans of all political stripes want to see an end to corruption in government, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Josh Turek said as he kicked off a statewide campaign tour.
• Turek, a state representative from Council Bluffs, was joined by about 30 Iowans at the IBEW Local 405 union hall in Cedar Rapids to kick off his “Team Iowa” tour.
• The former Paralympian said winning his western Iowa House seat as a Democrat “has shown me firsthand just how much we actually agree on.”
• “When I dragged my wheelchair upstairs to knock on neighbors’ doors, I found that Republicans, independents and Democrats all see that our health care system is broken, that costs are way too high and that we have to put an end to the corruption that we’re seeing at all levels of government.” he said.
• “I welcome all Iowans — Democrats, Republicans and independents alike — to join our team,” he said. “Because if we can come together and recognize that we are all getting screwed by the same system, we can end the corruption that is just lining the pockets of the 1% and we can once again have an economy that works for all of us.”
• “Members of Congress should be accountable to their constituents, not just to the donors,” he said.
• He said Iowans “deserve someone better” than his Republican opponent, U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson.
• “She has looked out for the billionaires and the large corporations, all while cutting our health care, voting to drive up insurance premiums and giving tax cuts to the 1%,” he said.
• Several speakers joined Turek at the event, including Byron Tabor, a registered Republican who held up his voter registration card and encouraged Iowans to vote for Turek.

Ottumwa Radio: Josh Turek Launches Statewide “Team Iowa Tour” in Cedar Rapids

• Josh Turek officially launched his “Team Iowa Tour” in the heart of Ashley Hinson’s Congressional District, flanked by supporters who represent the wide spectrum of Iowans he will represent in the U.S. Senate.
• “Josh has already shown his commitment to fighting for rural Iowa,” said Berleen Wobeter, farmer from Tama. “He fought to pass Right to Repair to give farmers the power to fix our own equipment. He’s fought for Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling so Iowa’s beef producers can compete – something I’ve repeatedly asked Ashley Hinson about, but she’s never had an answer. Farmers need Josh Turek. He will always look out for us, he’s on our team.” 
• “We are in a state with a health care crisis, and for so many Iowans, health care access is what keeps us up at night. For my sister, Medicaid was not waste, fraud, and abuse, it was lifesaving. Josh understands that struggle better than most. He knows firsthand how important it is to have access to quality healthcare,” said Michele Steepleton, retired teacher and caretaker for her sister who relies on Medicaid.
• Josh reaffirmed his commitment to being a Senator for all Iowans, welcoming Democrats, Republicans, and Independents to join his campaign.