Originally published at: Iowa Dems Mull ‘Electability,’ the ‘Establishment’ in Tuesday Primary as They Try to Pull Off the Unthinkable
Two young state lawmakers are competing in Tuesday’s primary for the chance to be Iowa’s next and long-awaited Democratic senator in a year where they might just have a chance. The two candidates, state Sen. Zach Wahls (D) and state Rep. Josh Turek (D), espouse similar ideologies but took different byways to national prominence. Wahls…
And trump is hurting Iowa a lot worse than most places. The agriculture sector is getting slammed with trade wars, plus fuel and fertilizer prices going through the roof thanks to the stupid Iran war (which has also killed members of the Iowa National Guard). The electoral mood is going to be very sour come November.
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Just need to address a point that has been falsely repeated and reported; Josh Turek did NOT flip an Iowa State House seat. He won a seat that was already held by a Democrat (who did not run), albeit in a district that Trump did win significantly.
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Turek’s predecessor in District 20 was Ray Sorensen, who is indeed a Republican. Sorensen ran for election in District 23 in 2022 after redistricting. So yeah, Turek replaced a Republican incumbent, but the boundaries of the district were different.
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Good luck to both candidates
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Wahls and Turek are both great candidates for Iowa, and both would have a real chance to win in November. I lean Wahls though because of his personal story and his longer political record.
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So far, the Bernie/AOC/DSA “progressives” successes have been confined, almost entirely, to winning in very Blue, safe Democratic areas … They have yet to show that they can actually win general elections against Republicans in competitive states and districts.
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Neither Wahls nor Turek are running from that wing of the party though. They’re both mainstream Dems, albeit with the caveat that these days the party and its voters have both become a lot more progressive in the last couple decades.
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Excellent recap, Kate : - )
The state currently has an all-Republican federal congressional delegation, and the GOP has reigned with a trifecta in the statehouse for almost 10 years.
How’s business? And farming? Making more money? Have plenty of help? Enough fuel? Prosperous or getting by so far?
Republican government has done no good for the people of Iowa. And the people of Iowa are better than Republicans. They’re arguably closest to Jefferson’s vision of America, communities close to the land, self-sufficient and sharing, naturally aware of the value of – and interdependence of – all life.
Ban diversity? Not in Iowa.
So why y’all voting for these Republicans then? You’re better than being scared of men who find fulfillment in other men, or women in other women. You are descendants of immigrants yourselves. You’ve got better things to worry about than somebody else’s business.
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Historically, Iowa has also had a very strong “good government” streak to its politics (until too many voters’ brains got melted by terminal FOXitis). Good schools. Roads that get plowed in the winter and repaired in the summer. That kind of retail-level makes-a-difference-to-everyday-life kind of stuff. I’m fervently hoping that this is the cycle that the state regains its sanity.
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I am not an Iowan, and don’t claim to have any particular insight into this primary race … but the Substack post below by Robert Leonard is a pretty devastating critique of Wahls:
I have lived in Iowa, and that is some absolute bullshit (to borrow a term from my native and current Texas).
I keep hearing from my cousin the farmer that although fuel and fertilizer are sky high she is still going to vote for the Republican because “trans.” The mighty wurlitzer still controls rural America.
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Right wing media is king in rural America. They don’t connect their lack of prospertiy with the Republicans. They don’t notice that most of their roads are dirt or gravel.
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So which parts are “bullshit”? … Is it bullshit that every single one of his 15 Democratic colleagues in the State Senate voted to remove him from his leadership position?
All of them. I cannot help if you’re a freak.
They do the culture war bullshit because it works, not because it’s so incredibly ignorant.
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No. Turek’s current District (20) used to be District 15. The District 15 seat was held by a Democrat (Charlie McConkey) who actually flipped the seat in 2014. McConkey held the seat in 2016, 2018 and 2020. McConkey did not run in 2022 and Turek held his seat, winning by only 7 votes and underperforming McConkeys previous winning margin against the same opponent (Republican Sarah Abdouch). So, again, Turek did not flip a seat.
Again, that’s just redistricting.