Democrat Josh Turek wins election to the US Senate from Iowa as Democrats win US Senate

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Josh Turek won Iowa’s rare open U.S. Senate race in Tuesday’s midterm elections, flipping a Republican-held seat and helping Democrats end GOP dominance in Washington.

Turek's victory over Republican Ashley Hinson made him the first Democrat since Barack Obama to win a statewide federal race in Iowa. Turek will be one of four Democratic members of Iowa's federal delegation after years of exclusively Republican representation in Washington.

Iowa reemerged as a political battleground this year as Democrats seized on high fuel prices, tariffs and a war overseas that caused turmoil in the state's dominant agricultural industry. The retirements of Republican Sen. Joni Ernst and Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds made for the first cycle without incumbents seeking the top-of-the-ticket seats since 1968, breathing new life into Democrats’ efforts to reverse years of electoral failure in the state.

Turek told supporters Tuesday that his underdog race seemed far-fetched in a state that elected Trump by double digits just two years ago.

“They told me it was impossible to win this Senate race, but tonight, Iowa, we have once again proved that the impossible is possible,” he said.

Iowa became one of Democrats’ targets as they looked to take over majority control of the Senate, and the campaign drew hundreds of millions of dollars.

Hinson thanked her staff and supporters Tuesday, saying she will “continue to fight for common sense.”

“I think we ran an absolutely fabulous campaign across the state,” she said. “Lots of late nights and lots of miles.”

Although many Republicans walked a political tightrope this cycle, Hinson had a more challenging balancing act than most. Iowa has faced manufacturing job losses, healthcare clinic closures and shrunken farm profits since Trump returned to the White House. There was loud unrest over poor water quality and rising cancer rates.

Hinson launched her campaign last year promising to be Trump’s “top ally” in the Senate. Almost a year later, she instead focused her message on being “Iowa’s best bipartisan fighter.”

In September, after House members were sent home, Hinson said Iowans “shouldn’t have to foot the bill” for the Iran war.

She did not, however, join two fellow Iowa Republicans in battleground districts — U.S. Reps. Zach Nunn and Mariannette Miller-Meeks — in voting with Democrats earlier in September on a resolution intended to halt Trump’s ability to continue military action without lawmakers’ approval.

Hinson said the resolution was not the way to allow Trump to bring the war to an immediate and successful end.

While Hinson pointedly critiqued the president on specific issues in the final months of the race, she still appeared beside him when he made two visits to Iowa in the last two weeks of the campaign.

A majority of Iowa voters saw Hinson as “too supportive” of Trump, according to The AP Voter Poll, an expansive survey of the electorate.

Nunn also lost Tuesday to Democratic state Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott, and Miller-Meeks lost to Democrat Christina Bohannan, a former state representative. The congressional seat that Hinson left open when she ran for Senate also flipped to Democrat Lindsay James.

About 3 in 10 Iowa voters said the quality that most mattered for their vote was that their chosen candidate would “bring needed change,” and Turek overwhelmingly won those voters.

Turek said he heard stories of people hurting as he crisscrossed the state.

About 7 in 10 Iowa Senate voters said they are “angry” or “dissatisfied” with the way things are going in the country, according to The AP Voter Poll.

Iowa Senate voters were more likely to say government corruption was “crucial” for their vote for Congress than the cost of living, although both rose above other issues. About half of Iowa voters said government corruption was “crucial” for their vote, while about 4 in 10 said this about the cost of living.

And while Hinson cast Turek as “too liberal” for Iowa, less than half of Iowa voters said Turek’s views were “too extreme.”

Like many other Republican candidates across the country, Hinson lost significant ground among young voters, compared to Trump in 2024. Hinson also appeared to have lost ground among white women, a group that Trump narrowly won in 2024.

Hinson did outperform Turek among white voters without a college degree, winning about half of these voters, but she fell short of Trump’s 2024 performance.

Then-President Obama was the last Democrat to win a statewide federal election in Iowa with his reelection victory in 2012. State Auditor Rob Sand was the lone Democrat in statewide elected office over the last four years. He won the governor's race on Tuesday.

For three decades, Iowans sent a bipartisan pair to the Senate. That included current Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley and former Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin, who decided not to seek reelection in 2014. Ernst won Harkin’s seat.

Turek, a state representative and former Paralympian, wanted to follow in Harkin’s path. Born with spina bifida, believed to be from his father’s exposure to chemicals during the Vietnam War, Turek credits Harkin’s work to enact the Americans with Disabilities Act for his own achievements.

Turek called Harkin up to join him on stage Tuesday, saying Harkin gave him and so many other Americans “an on-ramp” to society.

“One senator’s ability to work across the aisle and pass good public policy changed my life,” Turek said. “He fought for the little guy, the same people I'm fighting for.”

Republican Senate candidate Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, speaks at an election night event, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Republican Senate candidate Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, speaks at an election night event as her family stands behind her, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Democratic Senate candidate Iowa state Rep. Josh Turek pumps his fist during an election night event Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)

Democratic Senate candidate Iowa state Rep. Josh Turek prepares to speak during an election night event Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)

Democratic Senate candidate Iowa state Rep. Josh Turek waves during an election night event Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)

Voters cast their ballots at Raccoon River Park Nature Lodge on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026 in West Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Rep. Josh Turek, right, speaks with Donna Crum, of Mills County, Iowa, during a campaign rally, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, in Council Bluffs, Iowa. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Rep. Josh Turek speaks during a union rally, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026, in Ankeny, Iowa. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)

U.S. Senate candidate Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, speaks during a campaign stop at Jethro's BBQ, Friday, Oct. 30, 2026, in Ames, Iowa. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Rep. Josh Turek speaks during a campaign rally, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, in Council Bluffs, Iowa. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)

Senate candidate Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, speaks during a campaign rally at the Five Flags Event Center, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, in Dubuque, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Xavier Becerra, a Democrat who ran on his decades of experience in public office, will take over from California Gov. Gavin Newsom as the next governor of the nation’s most populous state.

The victory by Becerra, a former state attorney general and Biden administration official, ensures California and the White House will remain adversaries for the final two years of President Donald Trump’s second term. Becerra repeatedly tied his opponent, Republican Steve Hilton, to the president and promised to defend California against Trump’s policies on everything from immigration to voting rights.

“If anyone wants to come after California or any one Californian, they better be ready for a fight,” Becerra said Tuesday night in front of a crowd near Sacramento.

Becerra argued he was best positioned for the job after serving more than 35 years in state and federal office, including as a congressman and health secretary in President Joe Biden’s administration. Hilton, a former Fox News host and adviser to former U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron, has never held elected office.

Becerra will be California’s first Latino governor since the late 19th century.

He sustained Democrats’ 16-year winning streak in statewide California elections, which Hilton tried to break by arguing one-party rule was to blame for the state’s high cost of living and homelessness crisis. He argued Becerra would prolong his party’s failure to adequately address homelessness.

“This is what you get with one-party rule,” Hilton said at a news conference before Election Day. “You get a bunch of people in charge who think that they can get away with anything.”

He said after losing to Becerra that “the change we hoped for may be delayed, but the change is coming.”

The state Democratic leadership is likely to face greater scrutiny if Newsom, who was barred from seeking a third term, embarks on a bid for the presidency.

The two candidates emerged from a large primary field with half a dozen prominent Democrats and two notable Republicans.

Becerra wasn’t considered a top contender for the first months of his campaign. He admitted at a recent rally that his campaign was “an afterthought, maybe even a punchline” at the time.

That changed when former Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell, who had been viewed as a front-runner, dropped out of the race and resigned from Congress following allegations he sexually assaulted several women. He’s denied the accusations. His departure caused the party establishment and voters to look for a more reliable alternative, and they found one in Becerra.

He sought to take advantage of Trump’s deep unpopularity in the state by tying Hilton to Trump, noting the president has endorsed the Republican. Becerra’s campaign launched a website that lists quotes of Hilton expressing support for the president and his policies. The site includes illustrations of the two Republicans standing side by side.

Most voters who said the economy was the top issue facing the country supported Becerra, who also won the vast majority of voters who said the state of democracy was the top issue facing the country, according to The AP Voter Poll.

Becerra also won a majority of voters who said the cost of living was “crucial” for their vote for Congress or said government corruption was “crucial.”

Hilton tried to break through by releasing splashy ads, sometimes with AI-generated content, to encourage voters who typically choose Democrats to try something new. He also tried to appeal to the public by making ambitious promises, including pledging to abolish the DMV and cut gas prices to $3 a gallon, a rate the state hasn’t seen in years.

Becerra was born in Sacramento to a mother from Mexico and a father who was born in California and raised in Mexico. He’s made appealing to Latino voters a key part of his campaign strategy, including by releasing ads and social media posts in Spanish.

“I’m running to be what the haters fear most: a proud son of immigrants with a law degree and a union card governing America’s most diverse and successful state,” Becerra said at a recent rally.

California Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton speaks during an election night event on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, in Garden Grove, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)

California Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton, left, is interviewed during an election night event on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, in Garden Grove, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)

Attendees celebrate at an election night event for California Democratic gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

California Democratic gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra holds a t-shirt at an election night event Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

California Democratic gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra smiles after addressing supporters at an election night event Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

California Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton responds to car registration prices during a campaign event at Cal Expo on Friday, Oct. 30, 2026, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Villegas)

California Democratic gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra speaks during a campaign event on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jill Connelly)

California Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton speaks with supporters during a campaign event on Monday, Nov. 2, 2026, in Compton, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)

California Democratic gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra reacts at a campaign event, Monday, Nov. 2, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)