VoteVets Spends $5.8 Million Supporting Josh Turek in Iowa Democratic Senate Primary

VoteVets has spent $5 million on ad buys supporting Josh Turek, a Democrat serving in the Iowa House, in the state's Senate primary. The group poured an additional $800,000 into its already seven-figure advertisement blitz last week. Washington Examiner reported that the spending comes as Turek is widely seen as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s pick in battleground Iowa.

A veterans group that runs multimillion-dollar ad campaigns in support of Democratic candidates, typically retired service members, VoteVets is a political action committee. S. 2 million over the past decade according to Federal Election Commission filings.

Josh Turek is considered one of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s recruits for the 2026 midterm elections. S. ,” stating “Some politicians are for sale.

Josh Turek is for Iowa” and “Josh isn’t bought and paid for. ” Josh Turek is not a veteran, though his father served in Vietnam. Turek, a wheelchair-bound Paralympic gold medalist, says his spinal condition was caused by his father’s wartime exposure to Agent Orange.

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has directly linked Josh Turek’s disability to Agent Orange exposure. Turek required almost a dozen surgeries by the time he turned 12. 1 million in the first three months of 2026, with Turek slightly leading.

Turek’s competitor in the Democratic primary is Iowa state Sen. Zach Wahls. During a Democratic candidate forum last month, Zach Wahls said of the group supporting Turek, “This organization that is supporting my Democratic opponent, Rep.

Turek, is called VoteVets. ” On the debate stage Tuesday night, Zach Wahls said “Sen. ” Zach Wahls has called VoteVets a pass-through entity working on behalf of Schumer. Polling released by Turek for Iowa a day after the debate shows Turek leading Wahls 53% to 27% among Democratic primary voters.

Josh Turek is endorsed by Senator Tom Harkin and over 80 Iowa leaders. O. box in Portland, Oregon. VoteVets co-founder Jon Soltz served two tours in Iraq. VoteVets senior adviser Paul Eaton said, “For more than twenty years, VoteVets has effectively worked to elect veterans, national security professionals, and military family members.

Josh Turek said during the debate on Tuesday, “In my lifetime, I’ve seen us spend $1 trillion over in Iraq, another $1 trillion in Afghanistan. For what? In my father’s conflict, 50,000 men and women [didn’t] come from Vietnam.