Iowa's June 2 Democratic Senate primary is shaping up as a live test of the argument that's consumed the party since 2016: run left and energize the base, or run to the middle and peel off Republican leaners. The Dispatch reports state Sen. Zach Wahls and state Rep. Josh Turek are making opposite bets against presumptive GOP nominee Rep. Ashley Hinson in the first open Iowa Senate seat in 12 years.
The money tells the story: Turek has $5.5 million from a Chuck Schumer-affiliated super PAC, VoteVets, and the endorsement of 86-year-old Tom Harkin. Wahls is running against that money as the argument itself. Said Democratic state Rep. Jennifer Konfrst, backing Turek: "We're desperate. We gotta win."
Turek's electability case has receipts: he won his 2024 state House race by 5 points in a district Trump carried. Wahls has never faced a Republican. The primary outcome won't just set a nominee — it'll signal whether Iowa Democrats have diagnosed why they lost all three 2018 House pickups by 2023.