Democrat Josh Turek said Friday he understands Iowans’ struggles with high costs of living more personally than his opponent for the U.S. Senate seat in November, U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson.
Turek, a Paralympian and current state representative, held a roundtable discussion with political leaders, teachers and small business owners at Dough Co. in Ankeny to discuss affordability — an issue he said was a top priority for his campaign and for most Iowans.
As a person who grew up in a working-class family, Turek said he understands the struggles that many Iowa families are facing as costs for housing, healthcare, insurance and other services rise while wages stagnate. He said “it’s working-class families like mine and a lot of yours that are paying the price for Washington corruption.”
He asaid Hinson was one of the politicians currently making life unaffordable for regular Iowans.
“Washington is broken because people like Ashley Hinson are using their position to enrich themselves and their donors, not to fight for Iowans,” Turek said. “Since she got to Washington, D.C., Ashley Hinson has become up to 10 times more wealthy. … She’s voted four times in favor of the tariffs that are absolutely decimating our rural communities and our farmers. Six times voted in favor of this war, and to continue the war in Iran, which is leading to increased cost of gas, diesel, and fertilizer. The bottom line is, I know that costs are way too damn high, and as your next senator, I am absolutely committed, laser-focused on bringing costs down.”
The Council Bluffs Democrat’s platform includes policies like raising the minimum wage, implementing a federal ban on price gouging for food, and reversing cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), made through Republicans’ 2025 tax and spending law, which Hinson and other members of Iowa’s all-GOP federal delegation voted to support.
One of the participants at the roundtable, Nathan Sage, had campaigned to become the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate seat, before ending his campaign and endorsing Turek. Sage said Hinson and others in D.C. are out of touch with the Iowans they represent, pointing to Hinson’s support for laws like the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” Act as well as her decision not to oppose the Iran war, as actions she has taken in the U.S. House that have directly led to higher healthcare costs and gas costs for Iowans.
“You keep seeing our leaders tell us, ‘a little bit of pain, for a little bit of pleasure, basically,” Sage said. “Like, we just got to deal with it. Well, it’s easy to do when you’re seated in power. It’s easy to do when you’re looking down at people and you don’t have to be on the ground with them. … But for people who are just trying to figure out how they’re going to pay their rent, how they’re going to pay for food on the table, how they’re going to buy school supplies, or how they’re just going to be able to live their life, extremely, it’s a major slap in the face.”
Evan Davis, co-owner of Dough Co. Pizza, said businesses are also struggling under the recent impacts of tariffs and rising costs. In addition to facing higher costs to run a business, Davis said affordability struggles are also hurting businesses like his because there are fewer people who have the resources to eat out at restaurants.
Others at the table said these are not issues Hinson understands, pointing to a Daily Mail report that found she spends $50,000 on a luxury apartment in Washington, D.C., and reports that her wealth has increased during her time serving in Congress in part because her husband did not divest from stock in his former company.
State Rep. Jennifer Konfrst, the former House minority leader, said Hinson’s campaign ads were “offensive,” as she was falsely presenting herself as a working-class Iowan, and as a candidate who opposes members of Congress from stock trading while in office.
“The affordability cosplay that Ashley Hinson is putting on in that commercial and others is offensive,” Konfrst said. “It is offensive, because — don’t pretend to get our lives. Don’t pretend to be coming back here and living this life when we know you aren’t.”
Hinson’s campaign did not reply Friday to a request for a response. But in previous discussions on affordability, Hinson has highlighted positive impacts of measures like cutting taxes on tips and overtime as part of the GOP 2025 tax and spending law, which she argued have lowered costs for Iowans. A spokesperson for her campaign has also said Hinson is “working across the aisle to lower costs by taking on Big Pharma and Big health insurance,” and to provide “millions in funding for healthcare access and cancer research.”
But Turek argued both his background and his policy positions show he will be a more effective voice for working class Iowans if elected in 2026.
“You couldn’t have more of a distinction: A multimillionaire that is just up there, looking out for herself, for billionaires, for large corporations, for donors and lobbyists,” Turek said. “I’m running for the people of Iowa because I felt the same struggle that they have felt, and they deserve somebody, to have somebody go up there to work in a bipartisan way to to solve people’s problems.”
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