Democratic state Rep. Josh Turek won Iowa’s U.S. Senate race Tuesday, defeating Rep. Ashley Hinson for the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Joni Ernst and flipping a Republican-held seat in a state President Donald Trump carried by 13 points in 2024.
The Associated Press declared Turek the winner at 10:35 p.m. Tuesday. With an estimated 91 percent of votes counted, Turek had received 50.8 percent of the vote, or 643,244 votes, compared with Hinson’s 46.1 percent, or 583,403 votes. Libertarian Thomas Laehn received 3.1 percent, or 38,759 votes.
Between January 12 and May 3, Turek missed 261 Iowa House votes — approximately 60 percent of the chamber’s votes during that period — including measures involving rural health, medical licensing, and education. The Iowa House chief clerk confirmed that Turek collected $20,100 in legislative per diem payments, with the maximum daily tax-free allowance set at $201. During an October Senate debate, Hinson demanded that Turek return the money, telling him, “You took the per diem; you stole from taxpayers. You should refund that money.”
Breitbart News previously reported that Turek supported taxpayer funding for initiatives relating to welfare benefits for illegal aliens, despite his campaign maintaining that he “opposes benefits for illegal immigrants.” Turek also voted to restrict cooperation between Iowa law enforcement and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), missed votes involving citizenship requirements for public assistance and voter registration, and called for “an easier pathway to citizenship” for illegal immigrants. His official legislative newsletter included a section titled “Know Your Rights as an Immigrant.” During an October debate, Hinson accused Turek of advising illegal immigrants on avoiding deportation and immigration enforcement, prompting him to respond, “That is a lie.”
During an October Senate debate, Hinson criticized Turek’s immigration position, pointing to the death of 21-year-old Sarah Root in 2016. “I would say tell that to the mother of Sarah Root, Michelle Root, who lost her daughter to an illegal immigrant who killed Sarah Root because he was here illegally and he was driving drunk,” Hinson said. Turek later told NBC News anchor Tom Llamas that illegal immigrants should not face “an immediate deportation” and incorrectly linked Republican Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Randy Feenstra to the DIGNIDAD (Dignity) Act, although neither cosponsored the legislation.
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