{"id":661890,"date":"2026-10-22T08:36:21","date_gmt":"2026-10-22T08:36:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/661890\/"},"modified":"2026-10-22T08:36:21","modified_gmt":"2026-10-22T08:36:21","slug":"the-paralympic-gold-medallist-behind-a-possible-major-upset-in-a-trump-stronghold-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/661890\/","title":{"rendered":"The Paralympic gold medallist behind a possible major upset in a Trump stronghold \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

The late, great David Lynch titled his filmic ode to Iowa The Straight Story, and the local joke is that the terrain is so flat here that you can watch your dog run away for three days. But Josh Turek likes to point out that it was his good luck to be born in the Loess Hills, the gruff hills that straddle the ragged western edges of Iowa and the Nebraska border. The hills in his home city of Council Bluffs made for a gruelling workout as he ferried himself around in his wheelchair looking for votes to join Iowa\u2019s state legislature.<\/p>\n

John Turek has occasionally described his son as \u201ca casualty of the Vietnam War\u201d, because the family strongly believes that the spina bifida with which Josh Turek was born in 1978 originated from his father\u2019s exposure to Agent Orange during the 22 months he spent fighting that war. As a fledgling politician, Turek used the wheelchair, and his athletic prowess, as a weapon, physically hauling himself up porch steps, dragging the chair behind him, and then seating himself before ringing the doorbell. The effort at least earned him an open conversation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only way I was able to win was going out and dragging my wheelchairs upstairs and having conversations with Republicans<\/a> and Independents,\u201d he said of that initial foray into politics. <\/p>\n

Now, he is on the cusp of winning a senate seat. Sioux County is a Republican stronghold, but Turek billboards and yard signs have begun to bloom. President Donald Trump <\/a>is due in Sioux City to campaign for the Republican candidate, Ashley Hinson, on Thursday afternoon, as a series of polls suggest the race is deadlocked.<\/p>\n

Turek has termed himself \u201cthe prairie populist\u201d, advocating a return to the Democratic Party<\/a> virtues of John Kennedy and Roosevelt and his personal touchstone Tom Harkin, who served as senator to Iowa for a full 30 years from 1985. Harkin was the lead sponsor of the landmark Americans With Disabilities Act in 1990. In a fitting symmetry, Harkin, now 86, campaigned for Turek in that first election campaign for House district 20, which he won by just six votes out of the 6,800 cast.<\/p>\n

\"USUS Representative Ashley Hinson, a Republican of Iowa and candidate for the US Senate, speaks to a supporter during a campaign stop in Davenport, Iowa, on October 15th, 2026. Hinson is running to replace retiring US Senator Joni Ernst. Photograph: Kamil Krzaczynski\/AFP\/Getty \"TheThe campaign bus for US Republican representative Ashley Hinson arrives in Davenport, Iowa on October 15th, 2026. Photograph: Kamil Krzaczynski\/AFP\/Getty <\/p>\n

\u201cWe went to the west part of Council Bluffs knocking on doors, and I couldn\u2019t believe it \u2013 this guy dragging that wheelchair up and down stairs,\u201d Harkin said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow that impressed me that he was willing to do that. But what also impressed me was the way he connected with people. It wasn\u2019t just a quick handshake and I\u2019m moving on.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Monday night, the upstairs room in Morningside College is full by the time Turek wheels himself in, to loud cheers. He is wearing denims, a black polo top and his customary black Hawkeyes baseball cap, and he apologises for his appearance: he\u2019d been out on farmlands all day. If Turek is to win Iowa, then a mutiny by the state\u2019s farming class will be the essence of the story.<\/p>\n

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Over an hour-long question-and-answer session, and on the campaign trail, he offers a deft but bleak series of statistics that depict the ways in which life has gone wrong for Iowans. These are that the state lags in 48th place in income growth; is one of only three US<\/a> states to have its economy contract; that it closed some 842 healthcare facilities in the last six years; that it is second in the national cancer rate only to Kentucky (due, he says, to a combination of nitrates in the water caused by pesticide run-offs and the fact that it is a state with an ageing population dealing with \u201chealthcare deserts\u201d requiring trips to the bigger cities for treatments); that it scores too highly on social problems such as binge-drinking and smoking; and that 70 of its 99 counties are losing population.<\/p>\n

\"IowaIowa State Representative Josh Turek, Democratic nominee for the US Senate, speaks to supporters in Des Moines after winning the primary election on June 2nd last. Photograph: KC McGinnis\/The New York Times<\/p>\n

It\u2019s difficult to reconcile this vision of Iowa with what you see on the four-hour drive from Kansas City to Sioux City, which runs through the Loess Hills and is a rolling vista of impeccably neat corn fields and tidy, silent towns. It feels like a place that would promote health and abundance. But the cycle of emptying small towns is the backdrop to the acute stresses visited on Iowa farmers, whose corn and soybean produce are highly vulnerable to the Trump tariff policy, as well as the obvious hike in fuel prices.<\/p>\n

Turek has the common touch and speaks in the low confiding tones of a Midwest late night radio show. But his candidacy has seen a sharp rise in his profile<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have arrived at a second farm crisis,\u201d Turek tells the audience. \u201cWe had the first one around 40 years ago when we lost half of our small family farms. <\/p>\n

\u201cOur farmers need open markets and free trade more than any other group. You are looking at commodities prices tanking, at a complete loss of markets for them. I had a farmer tell me today: \u2018the difference between diesel prices this year and last year is $100,000. That is the difference between me making a profit and having to sell land.\u2019 It really is a farmageddon. Our farmers do not want handouts. They do not want subsidies. They want stable markets.\u201d<\/p>\n

John Gray, a Sioux City resident, has come along with his friend Greg Peterson. When they attended their first Turek rally, before the primary, just 12 people showed up.<\/p>\n

We talk for a while about the transformation of life in Iowa over the past three decades. Gray grew up in Rockwell City, a town of about 2,000 people an hour north of Des Moines.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike many of our towns based on agriculture, many people who grew up there have left for college and moved on to big cities,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s been going on for a long time, but it has accelerated as the farms have gotten bigger. There is more of an emphasis on \u2018big ag\u2019. And then the retail stores suffer. And then there is often a consolidation of the schools. And when a town loses its school, that is kind of the end of the town. In Sioux County, a lot of the towns are still successful but the towns in the centre and south and west of the state, not so much.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"DemocraticDemocratic US Senate candidate Josh Turek speaks to supporters during a campaign stop at the Dubuque Farmers’ Market in Dubuque, Iowa, on October 17th, 2026. Photograph: Kamil Krzaczynski\/AFP\/Getty \"DemocraticDemocratic US Senate candidate Josh Turek speaks to a supporter during a campaign stop at the Dubuque Farmers’ Market in Dubuque, Iowa. Photograph: Kamil Krzaczynski\/AFP\/Getty <\/p>\n

The genesis of the Iowa senate election is compelling in its own right. The exiting senator, Joni Ernst, in staunchly defending the Trump administration\u2019s decision to remove some 1.4 million immigrants from receiving benefits at a public event in Parkersburg, was challenged by an audience member who said the policy would cause people to die.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, we are all going to die,\u201d Ernst retorted. <\/p>\n

It was one of those soundbites that lit up the information channels and was held up as an example of the heartlessness of the policy. Ernst (56) announced she would not run again that September, leaving an open contest to join Chuck Grassley, the 93-year-old Iowan institution who has held the senior senate seat for the Republican Party since 1980.<\/p>\n

Turek brought four years of Iowa state house experience along with an extraordinary and classically Midwestern story. His condition meant a hospital-defined childhood: he went through 21 surgeries before the age of 12, involving painful and solitary recuperations. The family came from what he calls \u201cmodest\u201d circumstances. In the hall, he told of a childhood defined by clothing from the Goodwill charity and free summer lunch programmes. <\/p>\n

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Like many Iowan kids, he was a basketball obsessive. He found a wheelchair team and excelled, spending eight to 10 hours a day on his way to becoming a two-time gold medallist with USA Paralympian teams before playing professionally in Europe. The wheelchair at once limited his range of movement and was his passage around the world. In Spain, in particular, he took note of the health and social systems.<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand your struggle right now,\u201d Turek tells the smattering of college kids in the room. \u201cI come from humble beginnings economically. I say that my story is uniquely the American dream. In no other country on Earth could someone from my economic background, health background, ultimately win gold medals, represent their community in high legislature, or certainly run for the US Senate<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\"IowaIowa Democratic candidate for the US Senate Josh Turek greets people as he participates in the University of Northern Iowa homecoming parade on October 10th, 2026, in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Photograph: Scott Olson\/Getty <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I understand that for young people you may be the first generation who may not have the same standard of living as your parents. I understand apathy because you have looked at whether Republican or Democrat is not going to make any difference to your life. My promise and my pledge to every one of you is, I am fighting for this American dream. My north star is what is best for the people, and ensuring this American dream continues for the next generation of Americans.\u201d<\/p>\n

Turek has the common touch and speaks in the low confiding tones of a Midwest late night radio show. But his candidacy has seen a sharp rise in his profile: Barack Obama<\/a> has campaigned with him, and the pair shot hoops. (Turek points out that he won). <\/p>\n

Republican attack ads have branded him \u201cAmerica\u2019s favourite liberal\u201d who skipped 58 per cent of Iowa state legislature votes this year while he \u201cschmoozed with wealthy coastal elites in Los Angeles and Washington, DC\u201d.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s clear that if Turek is to go to Washington, he will have convinced a significant percentage of Iowan farmers to break with tradition<\/p>\n

\u201cDespite missing hundreds of votes, Turek still collected over $20,000 in taxpayer-funded benefits,\u201d one ad states. <\/p>\n

Trump, probably not then fully aware of Turek\u2019s extraordinary life story, branded him as \u201clazy\u201d; he is likely to choose a different attack line on Thursday.<\/p>\n

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The presidential rally will come with the usual security and media carnival. But Turek\u2019s sitdown on Monday night illustrated the berserk way in which donor money has distorted US politics. At one stage Turek remarked, in genuine wonder, that he had stopped on his way to buy a small carton of fresh fruit to keep him going. \u201cIt cost eight dollars,\u201d he said, to a low murmur of recognition. <\/p>\n

\"IowaIowa Democratic candidate Josh Turek poses for a picture with his team after they participated in the University of Northern Iowa homecoming parade in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Photograph: Scott Olson\/Getty <\/p>\n

The Turek town hall had the look and feel of a particularly enthusiastic book club: a gathering of pleasant locals. But the Des Moines Register this week reported that $137 million (\u20ac122 million) has been spent on trying to influence Iowans in this senate race. The bulk of that figure has been spent on adverts attacking both candidates.<\/p>\n

The Iowa Farm Bureau, representing more than 150,000 Iowan farming families, has endorsed Ashley Hinson, a former local television reporter who has represented Iowa in the US House for the past six years. The smaller Iowa Farmers Union has backed Turek. It\u2019s clear that if Turek is to go to Washington, he will have convinced a significant percentage of Iowan farmers to break with tradition.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, he\u2019s going to need to do that, yes,\u201d Shiela Thompson, a retired union worker, tells me when the event finishes and Turek eases into a meet-and-greet.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur farmers are traditional Republicans. I have knocked doors for 20 years, so I know. And I think that it is down to, they do what their parents did. Our farmers are very important. And our children are so important. I think we need to go in the right direction and stand up for Iowans. We have been in dire straits.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The late, great David Lynch titled his filmic ode to Iowa The Straight Story, and the local joke…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":661891,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[5456,14843,969,42,43,16621,40,38,41,39,90,33174],"class_list":["post-661890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-barack-obama","tag-democratic-party","tag-donald-trump","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-republican-party","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-us","tag-us-senate"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/661890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=661890"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/661890\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/661891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=661890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=661890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=661890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}