Josh Turek launched his statewide Senate campaign tour in Cedar Rapids and told supporters he will fight corruption in government. The state representative from Council Bluffs said he was opening his “Team Iowa” tour with a message aimed at voters across party lines.
He spoke at the IBEW Local 405 union hall before about 30 Iowans and said he wants to reach as many of the 3.2 million Iowans as possible. Turek tied that pitch to his own campaign trail experience, saying, “When I dragged my wheelchair upstairs to knock on neighbors’ doors, I found that Republicans, independents and Democrats all see that our health care system is broken, that costs are way too high and that we have to put an end to the corruption that we’re seeing at all levels of government.”
Cedar Rapids and Team Iowa
Turek said winning his western Iowa House seat as a Democrat showed him that people agree more than they disagree. He said Republicans, independents and Democrats all see that health care costs are too high and that corruption must end at all levels of government.
He also said, “I welcome all Iowans — Democrats, Republicans and independents alike — to join our team,” and added, “Because if we can come together and recognize that we are all getting screwed by the same system, we can end the corruption that is just lining the pockets of the 1% and we can once again have an economy that works for all of us.”
Josh Turek and campaign finance
After the event, Turek said his plan includes major changes to campaign finance law and ethics rules for members of Congress. He said, “In the United States Senate I’m going to fight to overturn Citizens United, to pass the DISCLOSE Act, to make sure that every dollar that is donated, whether to a PAC, a super PAC or directly to a campaign is accounted for,” and he called for a ban on members of Congress and their families from owning or trading stocks, term limits, and annual town halls.
Those proposals would place disclosure and ownership rules at the center of his Senate campaign. If enacted, they would require more tracking of political money and would bar a specific form of financial involvement by members of Congress and their families.
Ashley Hinson and the poll
Turek’s launch came one day after A New York Times/Siena poll of 600 likely Iowa voters showed Ashley Hinson leading him 48% to 46%, a 2 percentage point edge. The poll was conducted June 15-27 and was the first independent public poll of the general election race in Iowa’s United States Senate contest.
Turek said Iowa voters deserve someone better than Hinson. He said, “She has looked out for the billionaires and the large corporations, all while cutting our health care, voting to drive up insurance premiums and giving tax cuts to the 1%.” Byron Tabor, speaking at the event, said, “MAGA has ruined the Republican Party and Ashley Hinson has helped this downfall by voting over and over again to cut taxes on billionaires while raising the national debt, hiking costs on Iowans.”
The launch gave Turek a first statewide stage to define his campaign around corruption, health care costs and campaign finance rules while he trails in the only public poll cited so far. The next question is whether those proposals can turn that narrow gap into broader support beyond the Cedar Rapids kickoff crowd.
