Iowa Democratic Senate candidate Josh Turek declined to say whether he would support Chuck Schumer as Senate Democratic leader if elected. The response highlighted a central division in the party’s primary contest, with rival Zach Wahls arguing for new leadership and portraying Turek as aligned with the national Democratic establishment.

Turek said he would judge any leadership candidate by their plans for Iowans, the middle class, political corruption and his “prairie populist” agenda. Wahls criticised outside spending by VoteVets, which had reached at least $6.7 million, and linked it to Schumer; Turek rejected the implication that he was a Washington insider.