Josh Turek says Kamala Harris should not campaign for him

Iowa Democratic Senate candidate Josh Turek on Wednesday shot down the idea of former Vice President Kamala Harris campaigning for him.

When pressed by a reporter at a Wednesday event in Cedar Rapids, Iowa about the topic of working with Harris during his campaign, Turek — a state representative and two-time Paralympic basketball gold medalist with a history of winning in conservative areas — simply responded, “No.”

Turek, who clinched his Senate nomination in early June, is the latest to join other red-state candidates who have attempted to distance themselves from the former vice president

His fellow Iowa Democrat, gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand, also pushed back against the idea of Harris campaigning for him — adding that he believes she shouldn’t pursue a presidential run in 2028.

“Let’s move on,” Sand said Wednesday. “We need some new leadership.”

Another red-state Democrat running for Senate, former Rep. Mary Peltola (D-Alaska), also recently separated herself from Harris.

The former vice president threw her support behind the Alaska Democrat in a fundraising email earlier this month, pressing supporters to send their funds to Peltola’s campaign. According to a New York Times report, however, Petola’s campaign claimed it did not request the endorsement from Harris and was not aware of the fundraising email before it was sent.

“Mary isn’t seeking endorsements from anyone from the Lower 48 — her focus is and always will be Alaska,” Peltola’s campaign said after Harris’s email.

Harris’s loss in the 2024 presidential race, along with Democrats’ failure to secure either chamber of Congress in that year’s elections, resulted in widespread platform division within the party. Democratic infighting about the party’s direction has lasted to this day, now primarily between progressive and establishment members.

But last month, former President Obama endorsed Turek. In a video from the Turek campaign , the Iowa candidate battled the former president in a game of “ IOWA” — a spin on the basketball game , “ HORSE.”