Iowa’s Dem. Senate candidates talk economic struggles, healthcare at candidate forum

US Senate hopefuls Nathan Sage, Josh Turek, and Zach Wahls each hope to replace Sen. Joni Ernst, who is not running for a third term.

Affordability and health care dominated the conversation at a candidate forum featuring Iowa’s Democratic US Senate hopefuls hosted by the Iowa Democratic Black Caucus and US Iowa on Saturday at Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Cedar Rapids.

Democratic candidates Nathan Sage, Josh Turek, and Zach Wahls each took turns telling the crowd of about 60 people about themselves and shared speeches they wrote that each highlighted a different stanza from “Lift Every Voice and Sing” to commemorate the song’s 125th anniversary.

All three men hope to replace US Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), who is not running for a third term. Sage is a newcomer to politics and serves as the executive director of the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce. Turek is a two-term state representative from Council Bluffs, and Wahls is a two-term state senator from Coralville.

One of the three men will face off against the winner of the Republican Senate primary headlined by US Rep. Ashley Hinson of Marion, who has already been endorsed by President Donald Trump. 

Former state Sen. Jim Carlin of Sioux City is running against Hinson in the Republican primary, while Green County County Attorney Raymond Laehn of Jefferson is running as a Libertarian. 

Josh Turek 

Speaking on affordability, Turek noted that a majority of residents in his Iowa House District—he represents Iowa House District 20, covering northwest Council Bluffs and all of Carter Lake—live at or below the poverty line.

Because of his upbringing, in which he described wearing second-hand clothing from his siblings, regardless of gender, and being a beneficiary of the free and reduced lunch program, Turek said he can relate to people who face economic insecurity.

During his time in the Iowa Legislature, Turek has focused extensively on healthcare and tried to get bipartisan legislation passed that would allow Iowans with disabilities to work more hours without losing their Medicaid benefits.

Those causes are personal for Turek, who was born with spina bifida—a birth defect that occurs when the spine and spinal cord don’t form properly—and has used a wheelchair for most of his life.

“I fundamentally believe that health care is a human right and that one shouldn’t have to go through unnecessary struggle, difficulty, divorce their spouses, or declare bankruptcy just to have access to basic health care,” he said.

Turek thinks 2026 can be a year when Democrats can regain some measure of control in Iowa—Republicans hold all six Congressional offices, five out of six state offices, and control both chambers of the state Legislature—and that he can be part of that theoretical “Blue Wave.”

“I know that here in Iowa, for the last 10 years, we have been getting beaten up, and it feels like those of us on the progressive side, Democrats can’t win, but this really is a generational opportunity,” Turek said. 

“We can win this race, and I know that I am the candidate that can do this,” he continued, noting that he won in a district that heavily favored Trump at the top of the ticket. “I’m the only one in this race that’s even run against a Republican; we can do this.”  

Zach Wahls

Wahls recounted his political origin story in which the then 19-year-old testified at the Iowa Legislature to show support for his two moms and oppose legislation that would have outlawed same-sex marriage in Iowa. It had been made legal two years earlier via a ruling from the Iowa Supreme Court.

Wahls’ speech, which he gave in opposition to a proposed constitutional amendment that would have made the marriage of his mothers illegal, went viral. 

However, at Saturday’s event, Wahls noted there was a part of his story that he hadn’t talked about much. While defending his mothers’ marriage, he said his family was always fighting to “keep our heads above water.”

“My mom, Terry, has multiple sclerosis, and my mom, Jackie, a union nurse, was laid off during the Great Recession in 2009,” he said. “If it hadn’t been for Jackie’s union contract, we would have had to choose between medical bills and mortgage payments.

“I learned too young what it feels like when bad things happen to good people, and hard-working Iowans are failed by a government that is supposed to protect us,” he continued.

Wahls noted the campaign will be tough and that in the Senate, he would fight corruption, try to lower the cost of living for everyday people, and protect Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare.

“Because the truth is, Iowans are not asking for a miracle; we are asking for fairness,” he said. “Fair wages for hard day’s work, fair housing and access to credit, fair treatment in our hospitals and clinics, fair prices at the pharmacy and the gas pump. That is not too much to ask of the richest nation on Earth.”

Nathan Sage

Sage acknowledged the elephant in the room by telling the crowd he is not a traditional politician. He described himself as a fat guy with tattoos who grew up in a Mason City trailer park and served three tours in Iraq during his time in the military.

“I am just one of those other people, one of those working-class people,” Sage said. “It doesn’t matter for me the gender, the ethnicity, the color of our skin, we’re all in this world trying to find a better path together.”

Sage said he’s sick of the powerful and wealthy doing everything they can to divide working-class people and marginalized groups, and he’s running for office to change that.

“We should be pointing to the top to the people who have their thumb on the scale and control everything that we see and do every day,” he said. “The rich, the billionaires, the 1%.”

Sage noted he logged 10,000 miles on his car to complete a 99-county tour that included 140 events, which allowed him to hear from Iowans from every corner of the state and all walks of life.

“What I took from that 99-county tour: We all want to be brought together again,” he said. “We want to fight together again, we want to actually believe in an opportunity for each other again. 

“We want to be able to come together as a people and not be divided over an R or a D in front of our name,” he continued. “At the end of the day, we are all in the struggle together, and the people that are putting us in the struggle don’t care about us, so we need real leadership in Washington, DC.”