Democrat Josh Turek wins election to the US Senate from Iowa as Democrats win US Senate

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Josh Turek won Iowa’s rare open U.S. Senate race in Tuesday’s midterm elections, flipping a Republican-held seat and helping Democrats end GOP dominance in Washington.

Turek’s victory over Republican Ashley Hinson made him the first Democrat since Barack Obama to win a statewide federal race in Iowa. Turek will be one of four Democratic members of Iowa’s federal delegation after years of exclusively Republican representation in Washington.

Iowa reemerged as a political battleground this year as Democrats seized on high fuel prices, tariffs and a war overseas that caused turmoil in the state’s dominant agricultural industry. The retirements of Republican Sen. Joni Ernst and Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds made for the first cycle without incumbents seeking the top-of-the-ticket seats since 1968, breathing new life into Democrats’ efforts to reverse years of electoral failure in the state.

Turek told supporters Tuesday that his underdog race seemed far-fetched in a state that elected Trump by double digits just two years ago.

“They told me it was impossible to win this Senate race, but tonight, Iowa, we have once again proved that the impossible is possible,” he said.

Iowa became one of Democrats’ targets as they looked to take over majority control of the Senate, and the campaign drew hundreds of millions of dollars.

Hinson thanked her staff and supporters Tuesday, saying she will “continue to fight for common sense.”

“I think we ran an absolutely fabulous campaign across the state,” she said. “Lots of late nights and lots of miles.”

Pressure on Republicans reached Iowa

Although many Republicans walked a political tightrope this cycle, Hinson had a more challenging balancing act than most. Iowa has faced manufacturing job losses, healthcare clinic closures and shrunken farm profits since Trump returned to the White House. There was loud unrest over poor water quality and rising cancer rates.

Hinson launched her campaign last year promising to be Trump’s “top ally” in the Senate. Almost a year later, she instead focused her message on being “Iowa’s best bipartisan fighter.”

In September, after House members were sent home, Hinson said Iowans “shouldn’t have to foot the bill” for the Iran war.

She did not, however, join two fellow Iowa Republicans in battleground districts — U.S. Reps. Zach Nunn and Mariannette Miller-Meeks — in voting with Democrats earlier in September on a resolution intended to halt Trump’s ability to continue military action without lawmakers’ approval.

Hinson said the resolution was not the way to allow Trump to bring the war to an immediate and successful end.

While Hinson pointedly critiqued the president on specific issues in the final months of the race, she still appeared beside him when he made two visits to Iowa in the last two weeks of the campaign.

A majority of Iowa voters saw Hinson as “too supportive” of Trump, according to The AP Voter Poll, an expansive survey of the electorate.

Nunn also lost Tuesday to Democratic state Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott, and Miller-Meeks lost to Democrat Christina Bohannan, a former state representative. The congressional seat that Hinson left open when she ran for Senate also flipped to Democrat Lindsay James.

Turek taps into desire for change

About 3 in 10 Iowa voters said the quality that most mattered for their vote was that their chosen candidate would “bring needed change,” and Turek overwhelmingly won those voters.

Turek said he heard stories of people hurting as he crisscrossed the state.

About 7 in 10 Iowa Senate voters said they are “angry” or “dissatisfied” with the way things are going in the country, according to The AP Voter Poll.

Iowa Senate voters were more likely to say government corruption was “crucial” for their vote for Congress than the cost of living, although both rose above other issues. About half of Iowa voters said government corruption was “crucial” for their vote, while about 4 in 10 said this about the cost of living.

And while Hinson cast Turek as “too liberal” for Iowa, less than half of Iowa voters said Turek’s views were “too extreme.”

Like many other Republican candidates across the country, Hinson lost significant ground among young voters, compared to Trump in 2024. Hinson also appeared to have lost ground among white women, a group that Trump narrowly won in 2024.

Hinson did outperform Turek among white voters without a college degree, winning about half of these voters, but she fell short of Trump’s 2024 performance.

Democrats were eager to revive Iowa’s bipartisan tradition

Then-President Obama was the last Democrat to win a statewide federal election in Iowa with his reelection victory in 2012. State Auditor Rob Sand was the lone Democrat in statewide elected office over the last four years. He won the governor’s race on Tuesday.

For three decades, Iowans sent a bipartisan pair to the Senate. That included current Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley and former Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin, who decided not to seek reelection in 2014. Ernst won Harkin’s seat.

Turek, a state representative and former Paralympian, wanted to follow in Harkin’s path. Born with spina bifida, believed to be from his father’s exposure to chemicals during the Vietnam War, Turek credits Harkin’s work to enact the Americans with Disabilities Act for his own achievements.

Turek called Harkin up to join him on stage Tuesday, saying Harkin gave him and so many other Americans “an on-ramp” to society.

“One senator’s ability to work across the aisle and pass good public policy changed my life,” Turek said. “He fought for the little guy, the same people I’m fighting for.”

Hannah Fingerhut, The Associated Press