Des Moines Register Endorses Democrat Josh Turek in Iowa Senate Race

The editorial board of *The Des Moines Register* announced its endorsement of Democratic Senate candidate Josh Turek over Republican Ashley Hinson.

Newsweek

The Iowa Senate race is listed as a “toss-up” by the Cook Political Report. Iowa has voted Republican in Senate contests since 2008, yet the state has a history of alternating between parties in presidential elections. *The Register* has endorsed candidates since at least 1912 and, while it has backed both parties, recent decades show a swing toward Democrats. The paper endorsed Democratic presidential nominees Barack Obama (2008), Hilary Clinton (2016) and Joe Biden (2020), and supported Republican Mitt Romney in 2012.

Newsweek

In December 2024, Donald Trump filed a lawsuit alleging that *The Register* and pollster J. Ann Selzer misrepresented the 2024 presidential race, claiming the coverage violated Iowa’s consumer-fraud law. On a later hearing, Iowa District Judge Scott J. Beattie dismissed the case, holding that the poll and its coverage are constitutionally protected political speech, not a commercial product. Trump’s legal team indicated the president intends to appeal to the Iowa Supreme Court. Republican U.S. Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks and former state Senator Brad Zaun alleged the coverage harmed their reputations and campaign resources—an allegation not substantiated by the court’s ruling.

Newsweek

Early voting in Iowa began on October 14 and will remain open through November 2, the day before the state’s November 3 Election Day.

Newsweek

Hinson has called for an “immediate end” to the war in Iran, noting that Iowans are “being squeezed” by related fuel and food costs, though she voted against an immediate end to the war in Iran on four occasions this year.

Newsweek