# Democrats flip Senate as Josh Turek dunks Ashley Hinson in Iowa race

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/democrats-flip-senate-as-josh-turek-dunks-ashley-hinson-in-iowa-race/
- Published: 2026-11-04T04:48:04+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-06T05:37:55+00:00
- Original publisher: New York Post (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://nypost.com/2026/11/03/us-news/josh-turek-dunks-gop-rep-ashley-hinson-to-give-democrats-senate-control/
- Topics: Government, Politics, World

## Key points

- Josh Turek won Iowa’s open Senate seat for the Democrats.
- The result gives Democrats control of the Senate for at least two years.
- Turek is Iowa’s first Democratic senator since Tom Harkin.

## Summary

Iowa state Rep. Josh Turek defeated Republican Ashley Hinson in the race for retiring Senator Joni Ernst’s seat, handing Democrats control of the Senate for at least two years. The result is notable because Iowa backed Donald Trump by 13 percentage points in 2024, yet voters chose a Democrat who campaigned as a centrist focused on the cost of living.

Turek, 47, will be Iowa’s first Democratic senator since Tom Harkin left office in 2009. He won Paralympic gold medals in wheelchair basketball in 2016 and 2020, and entered the state legislature in 2022 by just six votes. Hinson, 43, had served in the House since 2021; her campaign faced voter concerns over inflation, rising fuel prices and tariffs that hurt farmers, despite an $8 billion federal harvest relief fund announced in October. Turek will join 93-year-old Chuck Grassley when the new Congress convenes in January.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.