ICYMI: The Gazette’s Editorial Board: Iowa should send Josh Turek to the U.S. Senate

ICYMI: The Gazette’s Editorial Board: Iowa should send Josh Turek to the U.S. Senate

“Turek hasn’t had to reinvent himself to become a contender. The contest, currently, is agonizingly close. We urge Iowans to help Turek make that climb.”

Des Moines, IA— New this morning, Josh Turek earned the endorsement of The Gazette’s Editorial Board. In reading the endorsement, Iowans woke up to a clear message: “Iowa should send Josh Turek to the U.S. Senate.”

In the piece, the Editorial Board writes that Josh “is an inspiring candidate to say the least,” highlighting that “Turek’s story helps him better understand the needs of struggling Iowans.” The Board also condemns Ashley Hinson’s deployment of “lazy GOP attack[s]” and “distortion[s] of his voting record,” and in summarizing the harm that Hinson has done to Iowa, they write “It’s unfortunate Turek couldn’t get to Washington and start voting sooner.” 

The takeaway: “Turek hasn’t had to reinvent himself to become a contender. The contest, currently, is agonizingly close. We urge Iowans to help Turek make that climb.” 

Missed it? See below for the highlights.

The Gazette’s Editorial Board: Iowa should send Josh Turek to the U.S. Senate

• Iowa voters have the opportunity to send a new voice to the U.S. Senate this fall, filling an open seat for the first time since 2014. We believe that the new Senate voice should be Turek’s.
• Turek, who lives in Council Bluffs, is an inspiring candidate to say the least. He was born with spina bifida, a congenital birth defect related to his father’s exposure to the chemical defoliant Agent Orange while he served in Vietnam.
• Turek had 21 surgeries to address his condition before age 12. He grew up in a large family that struggled at times to make ends meet. He was bullied by kids at school due to his disability. But in seventh grade, Turek started playing wheelchair basketball. The sport would lead him to a brilliant career at Southwestern Minnesota University, where he was the team’s top scorer and was a four-year All-American.
• He came back to the U.S. and became a member of the U.S. National Team, which won a bronze medal in the 2012 Paralympics and won two gold medals at the games in Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo.
• Turek decided to compete for an Iowa House seat, which meant crawling up steps carrying his wheelchair to knock doors at voters’ homes. He initially won by just six votes, but won by 5 percentage points in 2024 while President Donald Trump won the district by 8 points…He’s still crawling up steps to meet voters in his Senate campaign.
• “I’ve got to tell you, Josh Turek has real grit,” said former U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, according to the Iowa Capital Dispatch, as he campaigned Sunday with Turek. “He’ll outwork you. He’ll outwork any candidate. He’ll out-campaign you. And all of the time, keeping his sense of who he is and what he believes in and what he supports.”
• A Turek win would return the balance we once had with GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley and Harkin representing Iowa.
• Turek’s story helps him better understand the needs of struggling Iowans, kids who face bullying because of who they are, disabled people who depend on Medicaid and other safety net programs, and immigrants who come to the U.S. hoping to become Americans.
• It’s unfortunate Turek couldn’t get to Washington and start voting sooner. Turek wouldn’t have voted in favor of the Big Beautiful Bill Act, which cut Medicaid by $1 trillion, including a $900 million annual reduction in Iowa funding that could lead anywhere from 60,000 to 100,000 Iowans to lose coverage. Other provisions could leave 24,000 Iowans without food assistance. Hinson enthusiastically voted yes.
• Turek would have voted to extend subsidies to help cover the cost of rising premiums. Hinson did not support the extension, and 21,000 Iowans have lost coverage.
• Hinson entered the Senate race proclaiming her desire to become Trump’s strongest ally in the Senate … and has supported some of his most destructive policies, including tariffs and the war in Iran, which have spawned dire economic consequences.
• Now that Trump’s popularity has hit new lows, Hinson has sought to distance herself from the president’s harmful actions. But after years of loyalty to Trump, it’s too late.
• Turek would seek to roll back Medicaid cuts and expand subsidies for Affordable Care Act premiums. He also would expand Medicare’s ability to negotiate for lower prescription drug prices and cap drug costs. He would prohibit health insurers from denying medically necessary care for cancer patients.
• Hinson has claimed Turek wants to give taxpayer-funded benefits to undocumented immigrants, which is already illegal under federal law. She also contends Turek supports “sex changes for kids,” which is a distortion of his voting record.
• Turek hasn’t had to reinvent himself to become a contender. The contest, currently, is agonizingly close. We urge Iowans to help Turek make that climb.