WorldUS midterms
Paralympian Josh Turek beats Ashley Hinson to flip Iowa's Senate seat
The Democratic state representative wins the open seat left by Joni Ernst in a state Trump carried by 13 points, Iowa's first Democratic Senate win since 2008.
Key points
- Democrat Josh Turek defeated Ashley Hinson, CBS News projected.
- Iowa had not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 2008.
- The seat fell open when Joni Ernst chose not to run again.
Democrat Josh Turek has won Iowa’s Senate seat, CBS News projected on Wednesday morning India time, beating Republican Representative Ashley Hinson in a race that began as a long shot and ended as one of the night’s clearest signs of Republican trouble in the Midwest.
The seat was open after Republican Senator Joni Ernst decided not to seek re-election. Iowa had not sent a Democrat to the Senate since 2008, and President Donald Trump won the state by 13 points in 2024.
Turek, 47, is a state representative and a former Paralympic wheelchair basketball player. He campaigned on working across party lines and gained ground as polls tightened and both sides poured money into the race.
Hinson, 43, a former local television news anchor who has represented Iowa in the House since 2021, had first promised to be Trump’s “top ally” in the Senate. As the campaign wore on she moved some distance from the president, calling for the war with Iran to be brought to a “successful and immediate end” and pledging in an October debate to “push back on him”.
Iowa was one of seven Republican-held Senate seats Democrats won on the night, along with North Carolina, South Carolina, Kansas, Texas, Ohio and Maine. Turek will take his seat when the new Congress meets in January.