Four Congressional candidates made cases on why people should vote for them while visiting Riverview Park on Friday night for the Iowa Democratic Party Regional Hall of Fame and Potluck gathering.

State Rep. Josh Turek (D-Council Bluffs) is running for one of Iowa’s two seats in the U.S. Senate. He hopes to replace Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa). who opted not to run again.

Turek told attendees he was raised in a working lower middle class family, and is the first permanently-disabled member of the Iowa Legislature, having been born with spina bifida. He said he was lucky to discover wheelchair basketball, which allowed him to earn a scholarship and attend college.

“I was fortunate enough to play wheelchair basketball all around the world,” Turek said. “I was able to represent the United States in four Paralympic Games and won two gold medals. Along the way, I got a bachelor’s degree in history and a bachelor’s degree in business administration.”

He has the political experience to take the seat and serve Iowans, having outperformed Republican candidates in a red district, he said. Kitchen table issues will be the focus of Turek’s agenda if he is elected to the Senate, such as a livable wage, affordable housing, accessible and affordable healthcare.

“I understand how broken and underfunded our healthcare system is,” he said. “Same thing with pharmaceuticals. I hear far too often as I knock on doors, ‘I cannot afford to take my medication . . . Do I pay my bills or take my pills?’ That is wrong in the richest nation on earth.”

Turek also wants to address the water quality crisis in Iowa, and the growing cancer rate.

“We can win,” Turek said. “The right candidate, the right message, the right work ethic, we can win. This is the year the pendulum swings back in our direction.”

In the primary election, he will face fellow Democrat candidates Iowa Sen. Zach Wahls of Coralville, Nathan Sage of Knoxville and Jackie Norris of Des Moines. After withdrawing his candidacy from the race, state Rep. J.D. Scholten (D-Sioux City) endorsed Turek.

If Turek wins the primary and progresses to the general election, he will run against one of the Republican candidates – Ashley Hinson of Marion, who currently serves as a U.S. Representative, Joshua Smith of Indianola or Jim Carlin of Sioux City.

House of Representatives

Running to be the Democrat candidate for United States House of Representatives District 4 are Dave Dawson of Lawton, Ashley WolfTornabane of Storm Lake and Stephanie Steiner of Sutherland. The seat is being vacated by Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-Hull), who is considering a run for governor.

WolfTornabane decided to step up to the plate after candidate Ryan Melton suspended his campaign. She said healthcare will be her highest priority if elected to the House, and people will probably get sick of hearing her speak about it. However, according to WolfTornabane, the happiest countries in the world have publicly-funded healthcare.

“We heard so much fear mongering about it, we need to be deprogrammed,” she said. “They always say the taxes are way too high and wait times are way too long, but eight of the 10 happiest countries on Earth have publicly-funded universal healthcare. All of the top 10 have healthcare for everyone, just two have a different system than universal. Meanwhile, we are not even in the top 20 happiest countries on Earth.”

Everyone knows stories of people who had issues, such as bankruptcy, because of medical bills, WolfTornabane said. People are afraid to go to the doctor because of the cost, she said.

“I recognize it is a giant mountain to climb – healthcare for all,” WolfTornabane said.

It is not the only issue, she said. Focus will also be placed on the economy, public education, healthy, sustainable agriculture practices, taking care of vulnerable people and clean water.

“We deserve a spot in the top 10 of happiest countries,” WolfTornabane said.

Dawson is the assistant county attorney for Woodbury County and stepped forward because he felt Iowans deserve a candidate with experience who knows how to get things done. He was elected to the Iowa Legislature in 2012 and 2014 in the state house, and one of his priorities was mental health access for children.

According to Dawson, public schools need to be better funded. During the last 30 years, the money has decreased, making it a political issue rather than a priority.

“We’ve lost schools across Iowa, and we’ve lost businesses because schools are not there and kids are leaving,” he said. “We need to do better in rural America.”

Even though the Fourth District is tough, Dawson said he has experience successfully crossing party lines to work with the other side.

Steiner said she worked as a nurse, including traveling and said this race is personal. She has two disabled parents who worked their whole lives, and a daughter with ulcerative colitis. Steiner addressed the healthcare issue, which previous candidates spoke on.

“Just recently they’re about to cut subsidies to the Affordable Care Act,” she said. “A lot of people don’t know it’s coming because I don’t think a lot of people heard about it. They’re going to get a shock when they get a bill in the mail.”

Steiner said when she moved to Iowa in 1996 at the age of 15, she was a pregnant drop out who relied on “entitlements.” Speaking from experience, she said taking those away from people struggling with poverty does not help them out of it. Rather, they sink further into it and despair.

“Then they will do whatever it is they have to do to feed their families and escape the despair they face day in and day out in their homes,” Steiner said.

On the economy, she said Iowa used to be bustling, but now many towns make her sad as many do not even have a gas station. People have moved because there was nothing there for them.

“We have a lot of work here in the Fourth District, in the state of Iowa and in this nation,” Steiner said. “I can tell you I’ve lived a very hard life, but one thing I learned is resilience. It’s carried me through every time, and Iowans have that. I don’t have the experience. I’m not a full-time politician. I think we need to get rid of a lot of those bought and paid for politicians in Washington, but I think I can earn your votes and fight for you every single day. Just like I did for my parents. Just like I do for my family, because Iowa and this district is my family.”

Whoever wins the Democratic primary will face the Republican candidate in the November 2026 general election. So far, three Republicans have thrown their hats in the ring – Iowa House Majority Leader Matt Windschitl of Missouri Valley, Siouxland Chamber of Commerce President Chris McGowan and Kyle Larsen of Humboldt.