Written by :
Published on :
Iowa state Rep. Josh Turek won the state’s Democratic primary for U.S. Senate on Tuesday, setting up a competitive general election against Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson for a seat Democrats are hoping to flip in November.
The oddsmakers at BetOnline still had the GOP candidate favored at -150 but those odds were getting much tighter.
Turek, who played professional wheelchair basketball in Europe and competed for the U.S. in four Paralympics, won his state House seat in 2022 would pay out $110 for every $100 bet as of June 4.
“This is what we need in D.C., fighters for the people. And that is what I will be in the United States Senate,” he said to cheers following his primary win Tuesday night. He also criticized Hinson, saying “she does not represent Iowa and does not represent our values.”
Turek, who defeated state Sen. Zach Wahls for his party’s nomination, now faces a full-throttled Republican defense of the retiring two-term Sen. Joni Ernst’s seat, which the GOP considers pivotal to keeping its Senate majority.
Hinson, endorsed by U.S. President Donald Trump and Republican leaders, prevailed over former state Sen. Jim Carlin to secure the GOP’s nomination for Senate.
Hinson takes an early advantage in a state that Trump carried by 13 points in 2024 and one that has not elected a Democrat since 2008.
The Cook Political Report late Tuesday shifted its rating of the Iowa Senate race toward Democrats, moving the needle from “likely Republican” to “lean Republican.”
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.
- T.C. Jackson, Gambling911.com
