Former Iowa Senator Tom Harkin is endorsing Josh Turek in his race to become the Iowa Democratic Party’s nominee for the U.S. Senate.
Harkin, who won five statewide elections, said he has “a pretty good idea of what it takes to win and then represent all Iowans, not just those who voted for you.” He cites Turek’s six vote win for a seat in the Iowa House and Turek’s re-election by six points in 2024 “in a very challenging area for Democrats.” Turek, a former paralymian, played wheelchair basketball for Team USA and won two gold medals. He’s s the first permanently disabled member of the Iowa legislature and has called Harkin his “political hero” for his work in passing the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Harkin won 94 of Iowa’s 99 counties in 2008, did not seek re-election in 2014, and Republican Joni Ernst won the seat. She is not seeking reelection.
Turek faces state Senator Zach Wahls in the June 2 Primary. Wahls endorsed Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren in 2019 when she was running for president and Warren will be in central Iowa on Sunday campaigning for Wahls.
