MOUNT VERNON, Iowa — State Sen. Zach Wahls is spending the closing stretch of the Iowa Senate Democratic primary railing against the $10 million-plus spent by VoteVets to boost his opponent, state Rep. Josh Turek, on the airwaves.
The avalanche of TV ad spending, which Wahls labeled “unprecedented,” has catapulted Turek into the driver’s seat in the June 2 primary. Turek argues his history of winning a GOP-leaning state house seat means he’s best positioned to defeat Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa) in the fall.
Wahls, an anti-establishment progressive who has vowed to oppose Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, sees it differently.
“If you think it is going to be easier to beat Ashley Hinson with a candidate who needed $10 million of outside help just to win the nomination, I got a bridge to sell you,” Wahls told supporters last week.
Iowa Democrats we spoke with during a swing through the state expressed disappointment that the primary had become so fractious. For the first time in multiple cycles, Democrats believe they have a real shot at winning the state’s Senate seat.
At a Sioux City, Iowa, event on Thursday, Turek didn’t mention Wahls at all during his stump speech.
“I’m not a big fan of the Democrat-on-Democrat crime, and I think far too often we eat our own,” Turek told us after. “We got to beat Ashley Hinson. This was never about me versus Wahls. This is about a once-in-a-generation opportunity to be able to win [Democratic] Sen. [Tom] Harkin’s seat back.”
Both parties are gearing up for an expensive battle in November. SLF, the GOP super PAC, has reserved $29 million in ads, while SMP — the Democratic counterpart — has reserved $13 million.
Hinson is touting President Donald Trump’s endorsement and told us she views Turek and Wahls as equally flawed.
“I will beat whichever of them comes out of the primary,” Hinson said. “They both support raising taxes on working families, they have continued to prioritize illegal immigrants over Americans and they both support allowing gender transition surgeries on minors.”
Hinson said the GOP’s tax-cut package from last year is a major asset on the campaign trail, citing statistics that show Iowans “get to keep more of their own money” than residents of any other state.
Turek and Wahls are framing their entire campaigns railing against the One Big Beautiful Bill’s massive Medicaid cuts.
“Ashley Hinson is spending too much time in D.C. with her millionaire friends,” Turek said. “If she went to these rural communities and talked to these health care facilities, they would absolutely tell you that the lifeblood for these health care facilities is Medicaid.”
Even though Trump won Iowa by 13 points in 2024, Wahls said Hinson’s embrace of Trump is a liability in this election.
“If you gave Ashley Hinson a truth serum, she would probably tell you that it’s not popular to campaign with Donald Trump in a state like Iowa right now. But she can’t, because Donald Trump owns the Republican Party,” Wahls said.
