A look at the Democratic contenders considering a run against US Sen. Joni Ernst

The road to 2026 couldn’t have higher stakes. The Democrats considering a run are among Iowa’s heaviest-hitting (pun intended) members of the Iowa Legislature. Here’s a look at what they’re bringing to the table.

As Iowa’s political landscape takes shape ahead of the 2026 election cycle, prominent Democratic legislators have emerged as potential challengers to Republican incumbent Joni Ernst. This week on Iowa Starting Line’s podcast Cornhole Champions, they outlined their perspectives on the state’s challenges and their vision for addressing them.

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State Senator Zach Wahls: Trust in Government Must Be Restored

State Sen. Zach Wahls of Coralville, who rose to national prominence through his viral testimony defending his two moms during Iowa’s same-sex marriage debate, said there’s an “absence of leadership” in Iowa and a new generation has to do something about it. 

“Look at the problems that are facing our state,” Wahls said. “Iowa at this moment is 48th in personal income, 49th in GDP, number one in fastest growing cancer rates. When you think about where does that absence of leadership come from, right? Why aren’t leaders stepping in to solve those problems and tackle those problems?” Wahls said.

Wahls points to money in politics as a root cause of government dysfunction, saying legislators often receive bills written by lobbyists, a practice that influences the agenda for Iowa lawmakers. He speaks from seven years of experience in the Iowa Senate, where he has witnessed firsthand how concentrated power and partisan dynamics impede problem-solving.

“There’s this focus on a kind of partisanship that is getting in the way of actually solving problems,” Wahls said. “And I think that is itself like an enormous part of the frustration that a lot of Democrats feel.”

State Representative J.D. Scholten: Taking on Corporate Monopolies

State Rep. J.D. Scholten of Sioux City, who gained national attention when he nearly unseated Congressman Steve King in 2018, centers his political identity around fighting corporate consolidation and agricultural monopolies.

“Iowa is agriculture. And for decades, we’ve been in an agriculture crisis,” Scholten said. “We have a few multinational corporations controlling what’s happening on farms. You have the input side, you have fertilizer and seed prices, only a handful of corporations control those. And then on the other side, you have markets, which again, only a few multinational corporations control those.”

Scholten divides his time between lawmaking and pitching professionally for the Sioux City Explorers. Living in Western Iowa informs his approach to legislating, and he said he’s trying to push the party to take agricultural issues and rural voters more seriously in hopes of undoing the rightward trend seen across the state in recent elections.

“I firmly believe that what we’re seeing right now is similar to 2018. If you go out there and create a grassroots movement, I think you can do something special in this state,” he said.

State Representative Josh Turek: Healthcare Access as a Human Right

State Rep. Josh Turek of Council Bluffs brings a unique perspective as a two-time Paralympic gold medalist who was born with spina bifida and underwent 21 surgeries by age 12. He narrowly won his first race by just six votes in 2022 and has since outperformed expectations in his Republican-leaning district.

“We’re living through a second Gilded Age, and the American dream, which is through home ownership, is slowly drifting,” Turek said. “We’ve hollowed out the center, the lack of manufacturing jobs, the lack of the middle class, the reduction of purchasing power.”

For Turek, healthcare access represents the most meaningful policy change he could achieve in office. His personal experiences with disability inform his policy positions.

“If I could do one thing in my life, it would be to increase access and affordability for healthcare for every single American,” he said. “We are the only Westernized country at this point that doesn’t [have universal healthcare]. And it is fundamentally wrong to me.”

Nathan Sage: A Working-Class Voice from Knoxville

A political newcomer, Nathan Sage, is the first to make his candidacy official. The Knoxville Chamber of Commerce Executive Director brings a distinctly working-class perspective shaped by his upbringing in an Iowa trailer park and service as both a Marine and Army veteran.

“I want to give people a reason to, an actual reason to join the Democratic Party, and I want somebody to fight for them,” Sage explained. “I feel like the Democratic Party does fight for a lot of people, but I think they’ve gotten away from really fighting for the working class and worrying more about other issues as opposed to fighting for the working class.”

Sage’s personal connection to Iowa’s health challenges runs deep, having lost both parents to cancer. He ties these experiences directly to his political vision: “I think Iowa, we just found out, is the second leading state in the country for cancer, right. Both my parents died of cancer. Both of them,” Sage told Iowa Starting Line. “And I think that’s a good starting point to understand what corporations have kind of done and rich people — rich billionaires — have done to our state.”

During the interview, Sage was cagey about which policies he’s interested in, but he did say he’s interested in exploring how working class budgets could be boosted by minimum wage increases and how programs like “Medicare for All” could guarantee access to health insurance. 

As the field continues to take shape ahead of 2026, these four potential candidates represent different approaches to reclaiming Democratic influence in an increasingly Republican state. Iowa voters will have a range of perspectives to consider as they evaluate who might be best positioned to challenge Senator Ernst.