Democrat Josh Turek flips Senate seat in Iowa

Democrat Josh Turek is projected to win the Iowa Senate race as his party closes in on a Senate majority, according to a projection by Decision Desk HQ.

Turek defeated Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson in a close race to flip the seat vacated by retiring Sen. Joni Ernst (R). He notched just more than 51 percent of the vote over Hinson’s 45 percent with 78 percent of the vote tallied at 11:20 p.m. EST.

The race had become quite competitive after Turek, a Paralympian gold medalist who pitched himself as a moderate Democrat, won the June primary . The national GOP and Democratic Party also poured money into the race as voters soured on President Trump and the war in Iran .

All the same, winning Iowa had seemed like a reach for Democrats throughout much of the year. It’s a state won relatively easily by Trump in three consecutive presidential elections, though the Hawkeye State was also won twice by former President Obama.

Turek’s victory follows stunning wins for Democrats in Texas and South Carolina, continuing a nightlong trend of his party’s Senate candidates winning big in red states.

Turek attacked Hinson over allegations that she increased her wealth while in Congress and emphasized her backing from Trump. The Hinson campaign targeted her opponent’s record of missing votes as a state legislator and tried to tie him to more progressive Democrats.

Hinson mostly leaned into her record supporting the president but highlighted times she had worked across the aisle in Congress. She was seen as a strong candidate in the race, in contrast to other GOP Senate candidates, such as Ken Paxton in Texas and Darline Graham in South Carolina, who had been seen as much more vulnerable.

That makes the win by Turek all the more impressive, while underscoring problems for GOP candidates in farm country hammered by high prices and tariffs.

Turek, 47, was born with spina bifida after his father was exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam. He was a professional wheelchair basketball player in Europe and eventually competed on Team USA for four Paralympics.

He briefly worked for a company that provided mobility equipment and decided to run for the state House in 2022, winning by six votes a seat that had swung heavily for Trump two years earlier.

The moderate worked on healthcare and disability advocacy issues in the Iowa House and served on committees related to the environment and veterans’ affairs.

DDHQ rated the race as leaning in Republican’s favor ahead of Election Day.