DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Democrats on Tuesday will settle one of the party’s last competitive U.S. Senate primaries, choosing between two state lawmakers who each say he is better poised to flip a retiring Republican’s seat.
LIVE RESULTS: Iowa midterm primaries
Either Josh Turek or Zach Wahls will go up against a full-throttled Republican defense of two-term Sen. Joni Ernst’s seat, which the GOP considers pivotal to keeping its Senate majority. It’s one of many competitive races in Iowa attracting national interest, including from the White House. President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance have both touched down in the state this year to shore up Republican enthusiasm.
U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson is seeking the GOP nomination and has the backing of Trump and Ernst. She is running against former state Sen. Jim Carlin.
Democrats feel hopeful that high prices, lost manufacturing jobs, shuttered healthcare facilities and a struggling agricultural economy will help the party dismantle the all-GOP federal delegation and Republican statehouse trifecta. Leading the ticket is State Auditor Rob Sand, the candidate for governor and the lone Democrat currently holding statewide office. Sand, who is unopposed in the Democratic primary, has been able to hone his moderate message, remind voters of his rural upbringing and amass an $18 million campaign fund.
Republicans, meanwhile, must close the door on a five-way primary Tuesday for the nominee to replace outgoing Gov. Kim Reynolds.
Tense Senate primary grappled with Democratic establishment and electability
As Democrats look to reclaim Senate control, the GOP Senate campaign arm has committed $29 million to help the party’s nominee in Iowa.
The Democratic Party’s ongoing debate over the party’s direction and strategy to win back disaffected voters is playing out in the state, albeit with different dynamics than it did in Maine or Texas.
Turek and Wahls are aligned on many Democratic positions, including a public health insurance option, higher minimum wage and more labor bargaining rights. They both talk about corruption in politics benefiting corporate interests and hurting working-class people.
But they campaigned on different visions for how to win statewide in November — and attracted distinct lines of attack from their Republican opponents.
Turek is a relative newcomer to elected office. He played professional wheelchair basketball in Europe, and he competed for the U.S. in four Paralympics, including as recently as 2021. He won his state House seat in 2022.
Wahls rose to national fame in 2011 as a 19-year-old who defended his two moms to lawmakers considering a resolution against same-sex marriage. He addressed the Democratic National Convention the following year. He won his first state Senate term in 2018 and was Senate Democrats’ leader for nearly three years.
Wahls said at the time that his “vision for change” was what led his Senate colleagues to oust him as minority leader. He emphasized in a debate last month that “we desperately need a new vision for small town and rural Iowa” and said his message is resonating with working-class voters frustrated with both parties.
Wahls’ opposition to U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer as party leader has been a defining tenet of his campaign. He has criticized a coastal playbook that doesn’t work in Iowa.
A flood of outside support has boosted Turek in the final stretch. Democratic political operation VoteVets has spent $10 million to blanket the airwaves, social media and mailboxes in support of Turek. Political organizations affiliated with Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, who chairs the Democratic Senate campaign arm, have recently contributed to Turek’s campaign committee.
Responding to Wahls’ criticism of the cash, Turek has said he’s not a “D.C. insider.” He has argued his success in a Trump-won district can translate statewide.
“I don’t have strong inclination that one of them is necessarily better than the other,” Anderson said.
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Kristen Anderson, 48, of Des Moines, said she voted for Wahls, whom she described as “not someone who’s going to shy away from his stance.”
“He just seems like a good guy, just generally,” she said.
John Smith, 56, said he voted for Turek. The Des Moines resident said the most important factor in his decision was choosing the candidate who would be “best positioned in the general.”
Turek also got Emily MacFarland’s vote for a similar reason. She said she’s hopeful the state will be more competitive for Democrats this year.
“I think that Donald Trump is helping out all of the Democrats,” MacFarland said. “This is our chance, honestly.”
GOP jostling over the governor’s seat
Five Republicans are in the primary to replace Reynolds, who opted out of a third bid. The nominee will face a well-funded Sand.
The candidates are U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, state Rep. Eddie Andrews, businessman and former conservative political director Zach Lahn, former state Rep. Brad Sherman and former director of the state Department of Administrative Services Adam Steen.
Trump endorsed Feenstra on Friday, saying that “Randy is MAGA all the way!”
If no candidate earns at least 35% of Republican primary voters, the nominee would be selected at a contested state party convention scheduled for June 13.
While Republicans celebrate years of progress under Reynolds, the primary has unearthed sticking points over economic development, tax policy and property rights, as well as the relationship between the state’s water quality, farm conservation practices and rising cancer rates.
Primaries in targeted congressional seats
Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, endorsed by Trump, again faces a 1st District challenge from businessman David Pautsch, who earned 44% of votes against the incumbent congresswoman in the 2024 primary. Three-time Democratic candidate Christina Bohannan, who came about 800 votes shy of unseating Miller-Meeks in the last election, has the Democratic congressional committee’s support but must first fend off her primary opponent, first-time candidate Travis Terrell.
In northeastern Iowa, former state Rep. Joe Mitchell, endorsed by Trump, and state Sen. Charlie McClintock are Republicans seeking Hinson’s open 2nd District seat. Three Democrats want the nomination: state Rep. Lindsay James, former nonprofit leader Clint Twedt-Ball and Kathy Dolter, a former dean of nursing at an Iowa community college.
Republican incumbent Rep. Zach Nunn and Democratic state Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott are both unopposed on the primary ballot in the competitive 3rd Congressional District.
