Iowa Republicans Might Have a Favorite in the State’s Democratic Senate Primary

Republicans say that officially, they don’t know which of the two Democratic candidates running for Senate in Iowa they prefer to face in a general election.

Their actions suggest otherwise.

In interviews, social media posts and even polls of the other party’s primary, Republicans in Iowa and Washington have attempted to elevate the candidacy of state Sen. Zach Wahls, who is running in the Democratic primary against state Rep. Josh Turek. They’ve compared him to liberal favorites like Zohran Mamdani and touted his campaign’s momentum, suggesting that the senator is poised to become the party’s nominee even amid polls that show a close race.

“Let’s just say, I think Zach Wahls seems to be running away with it right now,” Rep. Ashley Hinson, the GOP’s presumed nominee for Senate, told reporters earlier this month. “He’s raising the money. He seems to have the momentum.”

The focus on Wahls appears — even to some Iowa Republicans — to be a not-so-subtle effort to influence the Democratic primary, boosting Wahls’ visibility and leveling criticism that might actually endear the candidate to liberal voters. It wouldn’t be the first time GOP officials have tried to influence a Democratic primary this election cycle, either, after the party took credit for goading Rep. Jasmine Crockett into the Democratic primary for Senate in Texas.

Crockett, like Wahls, was perceived by some Republicans to be a weak general election candidate.

“I’ve talked to several people close to Hinson, and their preference would be to run against Zach Wahls,” said a longtime Iowa Republican operative, granted anonymity to speak candidly about internal party thinking. “They know November is going to be a challenge.”

Another party strategist said the continued emphasis on Wahls over Turek has become a running joke among politicos in the state because it is so unsubtle.

“If you only read the Hinson campaign press releases, you wouldn’t know Josh Turek was even a candidate in this race,” said the second Republican operative, granted anonymity to speak candidly.

A spokesperson for Hinson’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment. A national Republican strategist, also granted anonymity, said that neither Wahls nor Turek posed a threat to Hinson in a general election because they both have taken “radical positions.”

But the national strategist reiterated that they thought Wahls had the momentum in the race, owing to grassroots energy and his declaration that he wouldn’t vote for Sen. Chuck Schumer to continue as the Senate Democrats’ leader, an issue that has gained traction among many liberal activists.

In an interview, Wahls adviser Bill Neidhardt said Republicans were focusing on Wahls in their messaging because they know he’s the front-runner for the Democratic nomination.

“They have to figure him out,” he said. “Clearly they’re going to have to deal with him. That’s what’s happening here.”

Neidhardt cited polling data from Turek’s campaign finding both Democratic candidates performing roughly equally well against Hinson. He argued that the polling contradicts anyone who thinks Turek is more electable than Wahls.

The belief that Wahls — who rose to prominence in Iowa and nationally last decade after giving a speech as a teenager defending the right for his two mothers to marry — would fare worse in a general election than Turek, Neidhardt added, is rooted in a biased and condescending view of Iowa voters.

“Both Republicans in D.C. and in Iowa and establishment Democrats in Washington think that Iowans are too ignorant and judgmental to elect Zach Wahls. They think because Zach Wahls has two moms that he is unelectable.”

“They are wrong,” Neidhardt continued. “This is a state that elected Barack Obama before any other state. This is the state that led the way on marriage equality. Those who think that culture issues are going to matter more than economic issues are kidding themselves.”

A spokesperson for Turek’s campaign declined to comment.

The contest between Wahls and Turek hasn’t received as much attention as Democratic primaries in Maine or Michigan, and it’s not openly a priority for Democratic leaders in Washington. But the primary for what could be a winnable seat is another competitive flash point between the party’s establishment and activist factions. Turek, a Paralympian and state lawmaker from a red-leaning district near the state’s border with Nebraska, is widely believed to be Schumer’s preferred candidate and had a recent fundraiser promoted by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Turek, Wahls and Hinson are each vying to replace retiring Republican Sen. Joni Ernst, in a state that hasn’t voted for a Democratic senator since 2008. But some Iowa Republicans say they worry this year’s election might be their toughest in a generation, in part because of the disproportionate impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs on the agriculture-heavy state.

Democrats also appear on the verge of nominating a well-funded gubernatorial candidate, Iowa Auditor Rob Sand, in the state’s open governor’s race, in addition to fielding three credible candidates in a trio of competitive House races.

“There’s a concern that it’s going to be a good Democratic year,” said the longtime Republican operative in the state. “I think Hinson absolutely beats [Wahls], and Hinson probably beats Turek, but it’ll be tougher.”

National Democrats consider Iowa a second-tier Senate opportunity this fall, behind states like North Carolina, Maine, Ohio and Alaska. But some of them think that, like Texas, Iowa could become competitive with the right candidates and a strong enough political environment.

Polls of the Democratic primary in Iowa have been few and far between: An internal survey from the Wahls campaign in February found him leading Turek by 18 percentage points, 42% to 24%.

One of the few other surveys of the race released this year was done by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which found Wahls up 7 percentage points, 30% to 23%.

The Wahls campaign highlighted the NRSC poll in a fundraising email to donors, calling it a “massive sign of momentum in our people-powered campaign.”

The survey from the NRSC, the political arm of Senate Republicans, was conspicuous, because committees do not often release polls of the opposing party’s primaries. But the NRSC and its chair, Sen. Tim Scott, have repeatedly singled out Wahls in press releases and on social media.

Last year, Scott wrote a memo to donors labeling Wahls one of a handful of Senate Democratic candidates who shared an agenda with Mamdani, the democratic socialist and newly elected mayor of New York City.

Earlier this week, Hinson herself highlighted Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s endorsement of Wahls in a post on X. Hinson called Wahls the “soon-to-be Democrat nominee.”