Ames, Iowa — Iowa Democrats said they want to vote in Tuesday’s U.S. Senate primary for the nominee who gives the party its due Best chance of heart A seat held by Republicans in November.
Some have not yet decided which state legislators in the race fit the bill.
“I’m having a lot of problems,” said Mike Lazear, a 65-year-old Democrat who always votes on Election Day.
State Rep. Josh Turek and State Sen. Zach Walz are seeking the nomination for the seat they hold Retired Senator Joni Ernst In a state where Republicans have an advantage, however Democrats think they can stand a chance.
That means the primary choice is too risky for Democratic voters in Iowa, who haven’t had many recent examples of successful statewide candidates to help guide their decision. the The last Democrat wins President Barack Obama held state-level federal office in 2012. All six members of the federal delegation are Republicans, and the GOP has had a tri-state House for nearly a decade. Iowa’s most recent Democratic U.S. Senator, Tom Harkin, was elected in 2008 and retired from office six years later.
US Rep Ashley Henson Trump is running for the Republican nomination, and a Republican-aligned political group has already pledged $29 million to defend the seat.
Turek and Walz say the differences between them are clear, but voters still weighing their options disagree.
“They both have strong legislative records. They both have compelling stories. I think they share my values,” Lazear said Thursday outside the Ames Public Library, where Story County Democrats held their monthly meeting.
“Since they are so close, I only want the candidate who is most likely to get a shot,” he said. “It’s an uphill battle, probably, in Iowa.”
At a farmers market in Des Moines last weekend, as the two candidates waded through the crowds, Sundi Robert shouted her vote of support for Turek as he passed by her tent, saying he got her vote.
Robert described the race as an “embarrassment of riches,” something that has become rare recently. She said the two represent “almost everything the same,” so for her, it’s a matter of who can win crossover support to cross the finish line in November.
Turek, a four-time wheelchair basketball Paralympian born with spina bifida, says his story of overcoming adversity and his policies appeal to independent and moderate Republican voters. He represents a state House district that supported President Donald Trump.
Turek said he is very focused on securing a livable wage, access to health care and safe water, and not on culture war issues that he said Republicans are using to distract voters from the fundamental problems they face.
“I’m not going to get sucked into the rabbit hole of worrying about these distraction issues,” Turek said in an interview.
“I think if we were to win again in a state like Iowa, it would be an economic populist message,” he said. “It will be that we as a Democratic Party stand up for the workers and the middle class. That is the way forward.”
Robert said she believes voters in the general election are likely to vote for Turek, even if they “have to hold their noses.”
“We have to get the independents,” she said. “I think Josh in the red zone has better gravity than Wallace.”
About 37 miles (60 kilometers) north in Ames on Thursday, Shelly Orengard said she heard that reasoning and didn’t believe it.
Both are good people and strong candidates, Orengard said, but Waltz sees her as “someone with real character behind his convictions.”
“I think whether you’re a Democrat, Republican or independent, you value authenticity and true values,” Orengard said. “I think Zach Walz seems to have the personality that I feel like he’s the person I want to put my voice behind.”
Walls says he is the candidate ready to challenge leadership in both parties, and criticized Turek for not rejecting Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer as caucus leader.
He says his anti-establishment message is winning back working-class voters, especially in eastern Iowa, who supported Obama before turning to Trump.
“Not only are we talking about building a coalition that can win in November, we are already doing it,” he said. “These are voters who are not hardcore MAGA Trump Republicans. A lot of them are very disenchanted with both parties, they don’t trust Washington, they don’t trust the establishment.”
“And what we hear from people all the time is: Even if we don’t agree on every issue, if you’re willing to confront it, you have my vote,” Wahls said.
Iowa has changed dramatically since Obama’s victory in 2012, having voted for Trump in the last three presidential elections. Democrats trail Republicans by about 200,000 registered voters statewide.
Rob Sand, the state auditor and gubernatorial candidate, was the only Democrat to win statewide in 2022.
Nearly 30,000 Democrats have already cast ballots as of Friday, according to data from the Secretary of State’s Office. However, in Elston on Wednesday, many of the two dozen southwestern Iowa Democrats who had been waiting to hear from Turek said they would rely on gut feeling.
“As far as I’m concerned, Ashley Henson has got to beat,” said Lynn Wallace, 67, of Mount Airy. The powerful Democrat said she would support either candidate in the general election, and is already eager to make calls and knock on doors, but added that she has “shaky faith” that any of the Democrats can make it happen.
Lois Rose, 77, and her husband, John, 79, said at a farmers market in Des Moines that they might not vote in the primary at all because, so far, they haven’t been able to decide whether one candidate is stronger than the other.
She suggested that the pair also coordinate their votes, each casting a vote for one of them. John loved the idea.
“They’re very qualified,” said Lewis Rose of West Des Moines. “Both are very real, and that’s where the difficulty lies.”