(Radio Iowa) – U.S. Senate candidate Josh Turek of Council Bluffs says he’s battle tested and ready to go after submitting nearly 10-thousand signatures on nominating petitions to secure his spot on the Democratic Party’s 2026 Primary ballot. Turek is currently a member of the Iowa House, running against State Senator Zach Wahls, a Democrat from Coralville.

“I’m the only one in this race that has ever run against a Republican. I represent the reddest district,” Turek said. “Two communities that I represent in the Iowa legislature — Trump won Carter Lake by 18 points (and) won Council Bluffs, my hometown, by 10 points. I’ve been able to outperform by 50% more than any other Democrat in the state. I think that’s what this is about. It’s about electability.”

Turek says he got more votes within his Iowa House district in 2024 than Kamala Harris did.  “I said when I started this campaign that I wanted this to look and feel and sound different than your usual senate campaign,” Turek said, “and I knew some of that was going to be by the very nature of being 20 years younger than the average United States senator and also having a visible disability.”

Turek is a Paralympian who won four gold medals on Team U-S-A’s wheelchair basketball team. He’s seeking the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Joni Ernst, who announced six months ago she would not seek reelection. Turek says Iowa Democrats have a once in a lifetime change to win back the U.S. Senate seat Ernst won in 2014 when Democrat Tom Harkin retired.

“Traveling around the state the thing that I hear the most from people is that they are struggling, that they’re hurting and that they need change,” Turek said. “…I’m a common sense prairie populist like Senator Harkin was.” Turek says he’s focusing on things like a livable wage, affordable housing and health care, and boosting small businesses and small family farms. “We are winning rooms all over the state and I think that Iowans are hungry for genuineness and authenticity and also someone who can win this election,” Turek said. “…I’m battle tested and I’m ready to go.”

The June 2nd Primary is 81 days away and the winner of this Democratic Primary is likely to face Republican Ashley Hinson in the General Election. Federal candidates and candidates for state office have until 5 p.m. today (Friday) to submit enough petition signatures to qualify for the Republican and Democratic Party Primaries.