Letters from Iowans
This campaign is built by the people who support it.
I’m deeply grateful for the support and generosity of Iowans who believe that Iowa’s best days are ahead of us, and who aren’t afraid to fight to make it a reality.
Thank you.
Together we’ve built a movement that has spread across all 99 counties and we’ve laid out a clear vision for tackling corruption, unrigging our economy and lowering healthcare costs, and investing in small town and rural Iowa.
Thousands have stepped up to volunteer their time and resources to make this happen. We’ve included notes and letters from a few below. It takes courage to speak up for what you believe, especially when we’re going up against an establishment that wants things to stay just the way they are. I’m proud to be in this fight with all of you.
Onward,
ZW
Sophia Joseph, Cedar Rapids, IA
When endorsing, We are CR looks for candidates with progressive stances, integrity, authenticity, and a willingness to stand for what is right, regardless of opposition.
I met Turek at my door. His strength was nothing short of admirable. He is the definition of a fighter. But when I asked the hard questions about progressive values and the need for change, he went into a stump speech, before tiddily wrapping up the conversation and moving along. Turek aligns with, is supported by, and operates like the Old Guard. The Democratic party has played defense full-time, while operating without an offensive plan. We saw the defensive strategy play out in Josh’s vote for a virulently anti-immigrant bill SF 2340. It is time for a new tide.
I talked to Wahls. He’s down-to-earth, approachable, smart, and not afraid to call it like it is. For over an hour, he dug into the weeds with me on policies, votes, and issues. He spoke of women’s health, maternity rates, healthcare, and jobs. I brought up immigration, Palestine, and racial disparities. He was willing to really dig into hot-button issues and stay in the conversation even when we didn’t align.
In my conversation with Wahls, it was clear that he understood the gravity of the fight and who he is fighting for. I believe he has the fortitude and strength of character needed to maintain his integrity. This moment calls for a leader and we believe that leader is Zach Wahls.
I’m supporting Zach Wahls in the Primary, here’s why: Opinion Piece By Heather Staton, Reinbeck, IA
I know this race is contentious. I also know there have been some less than favorable moves from both candidate camps. So, let’s talk about the mudslinging.
Wahls Claims against Turek:
Dark Money/Establishment Pick:
Zach has stated multiple times that Josh Turek is being funded by a dark money Schumer PAC. Is VoteVets a Schumer PAC? I don’t know, not officially. Is it a dark money group, yes.
https://www.opensecrets.org/dark-money/basics
Women’s Rights & Healthcare:
Zach Wahls has called out Josh Turek’s lack of votes for women’s rights. As someone who spends a whole lot of time breaking down legislation, I noticed this early on, it is absolutely true. So true, in fact, that we had the privilege of chatting with Josh Turek via zoom very early on in his campaign: So we asked him about it. His response was that he had appointments due to his Spina Bifida. That would make total sense, if he hadn’t missed every vote on women’s rights and healthcare over multiple sessions. This is of course aside from a single vote regarding women’s healthcare- funding for predatory crisis pregnancy centers. These are fake women’s health clinics with no medical training who intentionally misrepresent themselves as medical providers to persuade and shame women out of choosing abortion, regardless of the reasoning.
Wahls has said that Turek had not proposed any legislation regarding women’s rights and from all of our research, this is also true. Josh Turek first proposed a bill on women’s rights this most recent session, after he had launched his campaign.
Lastly, in January I attended a fundraising event for a local county party. This was soon after the voting record had been brought up. All three senate candidates were in attendance, but Josh’s team appeared in matching Planned Parenthood shirts, which came off as being grossly performative to many attendees and one particular senate candidate who is no longer in the race.
https://iowaabortionaccessfund.org/2023/01/04/crisis-pregnancy-centers-cpcs-exposed/
ICE & Immigration:
Zach Wahls has called out Josh Turek’s vote in favor of a 2024 Biden-Era Immigration bill that allows Iowa law enforcement to charge people with a misdemeanor if they are in the country after being denied admission or have been deported, even if they are currently in the United States legally. Turek was one of three democrats to vote with republicans on passing the bill into law. The bill was run alongside SF2340, which was passed and signed into law April 10th, 2024.
Some argue that this was a pre-trump bill, so ICE was not the same organization that it is now under Donald Trump. I disagree with this. ICE was formed in 2003, and has always been problematic, in my opinion. Back in 2018, I was a dedicated Grey’s Anatomy watcher. In April of 2018, there is an episode called “Beautiful Dreamer” that tells the story of a Dreamer and resident doctor who breaks a traffic law and loses her Dreamer status for breaking the law. Now, clearly this is not reality, and not a real life example- however it does show that even back in 2018, ICE was a concern- and that exact scenario is the kind of action this type of bill perpetuates.
Original Bill: https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/BillBook?ba=HF%202567&ga=90
Grey’s Episode: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7044320/
Turek’s Claims:
Shady Crypto Donation:
During Zach Wahls time as Senate Minority Leader, he and the Iowa Democratic Party accepted a contribution of $250,000 from FTX, a now bankrupt crypto exchange company. When FTX went under, IDP was legally required to return $200,000 of that donation. Wahls maintains that he and IDP fell victim to fraudsters and has vowed to not own, trade, or accept any contributions from crypto.
In my opinion, the responsibility of this situation does not live with Zach Wahls, it lives with the Iowa Democratic Party. Regardless of who procured the contribution, the Iowa Democratic Party holds the responsibility of making sure that they abide by campaign finance laws. The contribution was made to IDP, not Zach Wahls.
Flew First Class:
This claim originated from a right wing news publication, Washington Examiner published on April 1st of this year, I first saw the article shared by Iowa Senator Molly Donahue on her Facebook page. The article claims Zach Wahls was reimbursed for nearly $30,000 in expenses over the span of three years from 2020 to 2023, noting that amount is significantly higher than other minority leaders of the past. Included in the reimbursements were multiple flights and travel expenses across the country.
During Zach Wahls time as Senate Minority Leader, he assisted the Iowa Democratic Party in raising almost $800,000. That kind of money doesn’t typically come from in-state donations. So while I agree that $30k in travel expenses seems crazy, raising roughly $800k is also a huge task. The article sources 1278 pages of Federal Filings.
I feel pretty strongly about campaign finance and getting money out of politics. That being said, it is the world we live in. We can’t get money out of politics until we elect the right people to get the job done- and you can’t do that without money until we get money out of politics. You have to play the game before you can win it. That is reality. A HUGE part of campaigning, and politics in general to be very honest, is fundraising. And while I don’t necessarily think anyone should be living the high life on donated dollars, there is not a lot of information provided in federal filings. There is nothing that says Wahls specifically flew first class, just that he paid Delta $2472. We don’t know if it was a last minute flight, we don’t know if it was the only flight available. We don’t know.
What we do know is that this claim didn’t see the light of day until April 1st of this year, although Zach was Senate Minority Leader from 2020 to 2023. So for the last three years, no one had an issue with these expenses, but suddenly it’s an issue? That smells like political games to me.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/4511340/zach-wahls-iowa-expenses-travel-records/
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1988900955169354
Ethics Complaint:
An Ethics complaint was filed by Kathy Ulrich of Cedar Rapids claiming Zach Wahls violated state Senate ethics rules by working for the Next 50 Network, LLC. The Next 50 based in New York focused on “investing in next-generation candidates” for the Democratic Party.
Elected officials are not permitted to work for Political Action Committees (PAC), 501(c)(4) or 501(c)(6) organizations. However, prior to accepting the position, Zach Wahls sought guidance from Secretary of Senate, Charlie Smithson.
The complaint was dismissed bipartisanly and unanimously by the Iowa Senate Ethics Committee.
https://cbs2iowa.com/news/local/iowa-senate-ethics-complaint-filed-against-zach-wahls
Represents Coralville, a “blue” city:
Turek has implied that Zach Wahls was elected by “blue” voters while he was elected in a Trump led district.
I have a hard time with this. While western Iowa is known as being more “red” than eastern Iowa, Josh Turek represents a city. Council Bluffs is a populated city, whereas Zach Wahls district is quite rural. Zach may represent eastern Iowa, however he also represents parts of rural Iowa.
Both Wahls and Turek can do the job. They both have similar platforms and similar talking points. They both have experience as elected representatives. They both have incredible origin stories. They’re both kind and easy to converse with, and they both seem to care a great deal about the state of Iowa and the people who reside here.
The electability argument:
I believe VOTERS determine who is electable. In my opinion, electability is a term used to peer pressure voters. That may be an unpopular opinion, but it is mine. Considering the wave of change in recent races, I think it is easy to see that electability is not the end all be all of elections. We have a 34 time felon in the White House, did he have electability? What about Mamdami? Was he considered electable? The list goes on. The more of us (voters) who stop listening to the electability argument, the more we can change what that term means and how it is used.
This argument can be solved simply: Define electability. If you can’t define the word, or find a list of attributes that make someone electable, then it really doesn’t exist, does it? It’s just another unnecessary social construct to make voters feel as if there are only certain types of people who are equipped to run for office.
In this case, BOTH of the people running for this seat have electability- being they both serve in elected positions, they’ve clearly both been elected at some point in their careers which makes them electable, no?
So, why am I voting for Zach:
We need a fighter:
I believe that Zach Wahls is a fighter. He’s had no issue standing up to people in his years of being a representative and beyond, and I believe he will continue to do the same in the US Senate. I believe we need someone who isn’t afraid to challenge the bad decision making in D.C. and will take on the people who threaten our democracy. He has shown that he is not afraid to take a hard stance, and stay there.
Women’s Reproductive Rights:
Zach has a proven history of protecting women’s reproductive rights. While I don’t believe Josh Turek is necessarily anti-abortion or pro-life, I also don’t believe women’s reproductive rights have been a priority for him during his time as a state representative. I think women’s reproductive rights are one of the most important issues facing America today and I want someone who will consistently show up to protect and restore the rights of women in the United States.
The Chuck Schumer of it all.
Zach Wahls has called for Chuck Schumer to step down from leadership multiple times, and has repeatedly stated he will not vote to keep Schumer in place, and I think that is the first step toward a democratic party that actually operates for the people.
What anti-establishment means to me:
To me, being “anti-establishment” is being willing to go against the grain, even when it differs from your own party. It means calling out shitty behaviors, regardless of party affiliation. No corporate PAC money, no million dollar ad buys on your behalf, no commitment to vote party lines. I want someone who votes for the people, not for the party. We need someone in D.C. who is unafraid of the slander campaigns, the do-nothing leadership, and the current President. I believe Zach Wahls is that person. Zach isn’t just fighting for a Senate seat, he is fighting to improve the democratic party and push for the progress that should have been happening for years.
Iowa is in need of a big change, we’ve seen it over many years of GOP leadership. Zach has shown where he stands with his voting history in the Iowa Senate. I cannot in good conscience say the same about Josh Turek. For me, voting history was the deciding factor. I don’t want a representative that votes with republicans on bad immigration bills, or misses votes on important women’s reproductive rights.
No matter who wins the primary election, I will congratulate them and support their campaign. Because as a CD-2 resident, I know either of them will be far better than Ashley Hinson.
But, I am casting my primary vote for Zach Wahls in the hopes that he will go on to face Ashley Hinson in the general election, because he is what I want to see in D.C. A champion for Unions, a fighter for women, and a progressive representative willing to stand ten toes down on issues that matter most.
J.P. Claussen, Coralville, IA
I’ve been a Johnson County Democrat for a long time. In the Iowa caucuses I’ve supported Bill Bradley, Howard Dean and Barack Obama, candidates who shared genuine intelligence, a pragmatic way of governing and an independence from wherever the party mainstream was at the time. Democratic Senate candidate Zach Wahls reminds me of those candidates.
There’s a lot being said in this primary about polish and poise — that Wahls is a career politician, that he’s too smooth, too prepared. I’d push back on that. There’s a difference between someone who performs politics well and someone who actually has the skills the job requires. Wahls listens to understand, not to perform. He knows the issues deeply and can explain them clearly. He has spent years in a Republican-majority legislature putting Iowans over outside interests and learning how to move things. That’s not a liability. That’s exactly what you need in Washington.
And then there’s Ashley Hinson. She has a machine, she has money, and she will run a merciless campaign against whoever Democrats nominate. The question isn’t just who has the better platform, it’s who can keep a clear head under that pressure and make the case for Iowans with force and precision.
Watch the debate. I mean that literally, watch Zach Wahls debate. He is the clearest, most forceful advocate in this race. When the attacks come, you want someone who will fight back and who will take the fight to Washington, D.C.
Thanks for engaging with readers here, Zach!