Josh Turek pitches "generational change" in tight Iowa Senate race

Democrat Josh Turek, a state lawmaker, is making a last-minute push in what he calls possibly the tightest U.S. Senate race anywhere, competing with Republican Ashley Hinson for the Iowa seat that Sen. Joni Ernst is vacating. On the final campaign Monday, he appeared with former Sen. Tom Harkin, who showed him the prediction market Kalshi putting him narrowly ahead, 52% to 48%, according to CBS News.

Turek presents himself as a 'common-sense prairie populist' in Harkin's mold and promises generational change. He told CBS News he would collaborate with President Trump as he has with Republicans in the Iowa legislature, citing shared support for ending taxes on tips, overtime and Social Security. Still, he faulted Hinson for not confronting the president over tariffs and the Iran war, which he blames for high fuel costs, and he stressed Iowa's cancer rates. He also borrowed a Ronald Reagan question about whether voters are better off.

Hinson casts herself as a minivan-driving mom fighting for Iowa and says Turek is too liberal. After first vowing to be Trump's top ally, she has shifted toward promising to push back when necessary, and she has urged an immediate end to the Iran war to lower energy costs.

Summarized by PolitiKool from CBS News’s reporting. Read the full story at CBS News →