RECAP: Josh Turek Talks Rising Costs, Corruption at Ankeny Roundtable with Working Class Iowans

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 31, 2026

RECAP: Josh Turek Talks Rising Costs, Corruption at Ankeny Roundtable with Working Class Iowans

Josh is laser-focused on lowering costs for Iowans, while Ashley Hinson has repeatedly sold out Iowans to enrich herself and her donors

Des Moines, IA – Today, Josh Turek hosted a roundtable with small business owners, community leaders, and working class Iowans at an Ankeny pizza shop to discuss rising costs and corruptionas part of his ongoing “Team Iowa Tour.”

“Hinson’s not working for us. She’s not working for Iowans. She’s not working for people that are struggling every day,” said Nathan Sage, former U.S. Senate candidate. “She’s working for herself and people that are making her rich. That’s the bottom line every single time, and that’s the thing that needs to end.”

“I feel like there’s an imbalance. I’m a small pizza shop. I’m trying to pay these people as best as I can and still not close down,” said Evan Davis, owner/CEO of Dough Co. Pizza “Then to see mega corporations pay the same wage, and all the CEOs, you know, live their nice lifestyle.”

“You know, Ashley Hinson gets a chance every time she votes to get her job right. She doesn’t do it right ever,” said Rep. Jennifer Konfrst, Fmr. Iowa House Minority Leader, “Ashley Hinson believes that affordability is a buzzword, and one she needs to talk about because it’s what voters care about, and so I think she sees it as a political game. I think to have proper representation in Washington, D.C., we have to have somebody that knows what the struggle is.”

“I filled my tank up the other day. I even sent a picture of the pump to my husband because it was like $75. And my thought, as I got back in my car, was: a person making minimum wage would have to work 10 hours over a day just to fill up their car,” said Molly Buck, teacher, parent. “Then I thought, well, if you have to work a day to fill up your car, how much do you have to work to buy a cartload of groceries? And that’s why people are working two and three jobs.”

“From an educational standpoint, per child, on average, parents spend $150 for school supplies every year. That’s not counting clothes,” said Abbie Jones, teacher, new parent. “That’s not counting snacks that they have to send to their child. If you have a family of five, like Josh [Baxter] does, that’s just not feasible for a lot of families, especially working-class families.”

“In bioagriculture for the last 50 years, it’s been ‘Get Big or Get Out.’ And it’s just that the big keep getting bigger. We’ve got outside investors that come up and jack up land prices,” said Tony Thompson, fourth generation farmer.

“During these economic downturns, the big corporations are the ones that survive and push through them. The small tire shop goes out of business. The small pharmacy goes out of business. It’s just one thing after another. The little guys don’t make it, and the big ones take over, and then the prices go back up,” said Peter Hird, Secretary Treasurer with the Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO.

“Washington is broken because people like Ashley Hinson are using their position to enrich themselves and their donors, not to fight for Iowans. I know it’s working class families like mine, and like yours, that pay the price for Washington’s corruption,” said Josh Turek. “The bottom line is that I know costs are too damn high, and as your next Senator, I am going to bring them down. I will take on corruption in both parties to lower costs and make an economy that works for all of us, not just for the billionaires and the big corporations.”

While Iowans face rising costs on everything from healthcare and housing to gas and groceries, Ashley Hinson has repeatedly sold out Iowans to make herself richer. She has voted to make healthcare more expensive, continue a war that is driving up the price of gas, and support tariffs that are hurting Iowa farmers and making everything more expensive – all while increasing her wealth by up to ten times since she got to Washington.

The Team Iowa Tour is a statewide summer tour that includes dozens of stops from river to river as Josh continues the “go everywhere” strategy that he has become known for. Josh will meet Iowans where they are to hear directly from folks about how corrupt politicians like Ashley Hinson have failed them and their communities.

###