Iowa Press Debates: U.S. Senate Democratic Primary

[Kay Henderson] The Democratic field for U.S. Senate has been narrowed down to two candidates who will be on the ballot in November. Josh Turek and Zach Walz are here to make their case to primary voters in this special live Iowa Press debate.

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[Announcer] For decades, Iowa Press has brought you political leaders and newsmakers from across Iowa and beyond. Celebrating more than 50 years on statewide Iowa PBS live from Iowa, PBS Studios in Johnston. This is a special Iowa Press debate. The U.S. Senate Democratic primary. Here is moderator Kay Henderson.

[Kay Henderson] The June primary election is just four weeks away. Senator Joni Ernst is not seeking reelection, so there is an open race in Iowa for the U.S. Senate. Two Democrats are vying for their party's nomination. Over the next hour, we'll explore their views on a variety of topics. Let me introduce the candidates. Zach Wahls lives in Coralville. He's an author and until recently was vice president of community investment at Green State Credit Union. He's a member of the Iowa Senate, first elected in 2018 and reelected in 2022. Josh Turek lives in Council Bluffs. He played wheelchair basketball, participating in four Paralympics with team USA and winning two gold medals. He's in his second term in the Iowa House of Representatives. Candidates, welcome to the stage.

[Zach Wahls]Thank you. 

[Josh Turek] Thanks for having us.

[Kay Henderson] Joining me in the questioning tonight are Erin Murphy, Des Moines bureau chief for the Gazette in Cedar Rapids and Stephen Gruber-Miller Capitol bureau chief for the Des Moines Register.

[Stephen Gruber-Miller] Both of you are hoping to become the first Democrat to win a Senate race in Iowa since Tom Harkin in 2008. What makes you the best general election candidate in a state with a Republican voter registration advantage approaching 200 000 Josh Turek. We'll start with you.

[Josh Turek] Sure. Well, first, thank you for having me. I am the first permanently disabled member of the Iowa Legislature, and I am the Democrat that represents the reddest district that was won on Election Day. The two communities that I represent, Trump won by 18 points in Carter Lake and won by ten points in my hometown of Council Bluffs, and I was able to win my district by nearly six points. As you said, this really is this is a, this is a once in a generation opportunity for us to be able to win Senator Harkin seat back. My political hero. One of the main reasons why I'm running for the U.S. Senate is, is to be able to get Senator Harkin's seat back. I am only here because of the work that Senator Harkin did on the American with Disabilities Act, which provided myself and so many other disabled Americans an on ramp onto society to be successful. And this is our chance to be able to once again have a senator in Iowa that is fighting for the people and fighting for economic justice. I think on this issue in particular, there's really no comparison. I come from the reddest district that was won on Election Day. As I said, I outperformed the top of the ticket by Trump by 50%, more than any other Democrat in the state. And Zach comes from a Harris plus 38 district and has never even run against a Republican. I'm battle tested. I know what it takes to win. And there's something specific about my story, my background, my resume, and my politics. Focusing on prairie populism that has a unique ability to be able to resonate with independents and moderate Republicans. I think that this isn't the election that we, that we just leave up to chance. I Zach hopes he can win. I know I can win.

[Stephen Gruber-Miller] Zach Wahls how do you win in a state that is currently represented entirely by Republicans?

[Zach Wahls ]Well, thank you so much, Stephen. It's great to be here with evening, with all of you this evening. And thank you to everybody who's watching at home for tuning in tonight. My name is Zach Walz. I am a husband. I'm a father. I'm an Eagle Scout. I am the proud son of my two moms, Jackie and Terry. I'm a sixth generation Iowan, and I'm currently serving my second term in the Iowa State Senate. And when I was growing up, my mom, Terry, had to take care of her as she was battling multiple sclerosis. My mom, Jackie, was a union nurse and was laid off during the Great Recession. I learned at an early age what it's like when hard working Iowans are not looking out for by their government, and how important it is for Iowans to be able to negotiate a good contract. When I was in the eighth grade, I learned that politicians wanted to use parents like mine, families like mine as a wedge issue to divide us and to pit us against each other. And I will never forget how scary that felt, or the shame of staying silent. And when I was a young man, I found the courage to speak up, to fight back, to defend my family, and to win some very difficult fights. What I would tell you is that when we think about this election, in this campaign, I'm running for the United States Senate because we have an economy that has been rigged. We have a political system that has been corrupted, and we are facing a grave threat to our democracy. Our campaign is about putting Iowans over insiders. This election is not about the past. It has to be about the future and a new vision for the future of our state. And that message about taking on the corruption and building an economy that works for us, it is resonating with people across the political spectrum in big cities, small towns and rural communities. And that is why I am proud to have won the endorsement of 25 different labor unions from all over Iowa, and 150 community leaders, Democrats, independents, and even some Republicans. That is the coalition that we need to win. And it's resonating because Iowans understand that the toughest fights in Washington aren't always just about left versus right. They are about right versus wrong. And Iowans understand that it takes real courage sometimes to fight your own party. And in the Iowa Legislature, I've been willing to take on people in both parties to do what I think is right. That is the courage that we need to win. That is how we're going to defeat Ashley Hinson. My name is Zach Wahls, and I'm asking for your vote. If you're watching, because as your U.S. Senator, I will never back down.

[Erin Murphy] Let's talk about the economy. Affordability seems to be the word of the year in politics, and Iowans are hoping for relief right now. Zach Walz with a Republican president. What is the number one thing you would propose to reduce everyday costs for Iowans?

[Zach Walz ]You know, it's really important question. It comes up everywhere we go. I would tell you the number one thing that we are facing right now are the tariffs that Donald Trump has put into place, and that Ashley Hinson has voted for on four different occasions. We need to do everything that we can to end this tariff chaos and make sure that we actually have predictability and stability and bring these prices down. And Erin, as I'm sure you remember, I got an insight into how you see these big corporations rig the economy against everyday Iowans. My very first year in the Iowa Senate, this was 2019. We saw a large out of state corporations come into Iowa, start buying mobile home communities and trailer parks all over Iowa, jacking up the rent by outrageous amounts 50, 60, 70%. That was corporate greed, and it was hurting my constituents. So I went to work for them. I brought together a bipartisan group in the legislature. I told the stories of people like my constituent, Candi, a widow whose late husband had saved up to buy her a beautiful double wide trailer at a price that they could afford. But she was facing outrageous increases in her rent. That bipartisan group of legislators came together to actually pass legislation to protect them, but then it was killed in the House by then, state Representative Ashley Hinson. And that is the connection Erin, between the corruption of our politics and the outsized influence of these special interests and the affordability crisis that is gripping our state and is gripping our country. We need leaders who have the courage to take on these interests, who have experienced doing so. I've done that in the legislature, and I will absolutely do it in the United States Senate.

[Erin Murphy] Josh Turek would you be your top priority for lowering costs?

[Josh Turek] Absolutely. As I've been traveling this state for the last few months, I can tell you the thing that I have heard by far the most by Iowans. It doesn't matter in an urban area or rural area, an affluent community, a poor community, is it? Iowans are hurting. Iowans are struggling in a real way. We are dead last for economic growth. We are 48th for personal income growth. We are one of two states already in an economic decline. You're looking at what has happened with the Trump tariffs. We lead the nation now in farm foreclosures. What is leading to what I'm calling a farmageddon for our, for our farmers, a second farm crisis. You're looking at health care cuts, particularly in the rural communities that have absolutely decimated me. More than 100,000 Iowans losing their health care cuts because of the big beautiful bill and Ashley Hinson rubber stamp to Trump. The American, the ACA subsidies 119 thousand Iowans looking at health care premiums, doubling or tripling gas prices now going up dramatically due to this unnecessary illegal war in Iran. And it's families like mine, middle class families like mine that are bearing the brunt of these policies. And the problem is in DC is that we have millionaires just looking out for billionaires, and we don't have enough individuals that are out there actually looking out for Iowa and Iowans looking out for the middle class. That is why two things, I think that we need more individuals like myself from Council Bluffs, Iowa, with the lived experience, both on the economic and on the health care side, to actually go up there and fight for the people. We don't need any more millionaires like Zach, Wahls and like Ashley Hinson. But secondly, that's why this campaign is laser focused on kitchen table issues, affordability, cost and corruption. My campaign is about first and foremost, raising the minimum wage and about affordable and accessible health care, affordable housing, drinkable water, and addressing the corruption that we're seeing in D.C. To ensure that the American dream can continue for the next generations of Iowans in Americans. That's what I'll be fighting for in the US Senate, more fighters for the middle class.

[Erin Murphy] And just really quickly, because we've got a lot to get to. But to each of you in 30s or less, I didn't hear anything with a Republican president, because that's the reality of the next two years. Regardless of what happens in the Senate, is there any policy Josh first, that you can point to that could address affordability for Iowans that a Republican president would sign?

[Josh Turek ]  I think that first and foremost, I think we can take back the tariffs. This chaotic tariffs that is leading to this, this crisis, what we're seeing, where we are leading the nation in farm foreclosures. I also think if we're looking at being able to duplicate what we did in Trump's first midterm, where we win three of the four congressional races, and we're able to win this race here in Iowa. We're looking at taking back Congress and taking, taking back the U.S. Senate. And I think that gives us an amazing opportunity to be able to get a lot of these across the finish line, like a livable wage and affordable housing and affordable health care.

[Kay Henderson] Zach Wahls.

[Zach Wahls] So. Erin, I would just say there was at one point a brief conversation around cracking down on private equity owning homes in this country. That was something that did get bipartisan support. There's actually been legislation that has moved through the U.S. Senate that has, would address some of these issues. I was fortunate enough to win the endorsement of Senator Elizabeth Warren, who, when that bill was moving through the Senate, actually called me to tell me that there were two provisions in that bill specifically for mobile homes and trailer parks, that were the direct result of the work that we did together back in 2019 to raise awareness around this issue. So there are definitely things that we can do. We absolutely do need to go after the tariffs, as I said earlier, and I would tell you that I do think that is something that there is bipartisan support for. The problem is that you don't have enough people in Washington, D.C., with the courage to take on this administration. Ashley Hinson knows these tariffs are bad for Iowa. She has voted for them over and over and over and over. That is why we have to make sure that she never steps foot in the United States Senate.

[Kay Henderson] Josh Turek, you mentioned you support raising the minimum wage. To what level?

[Josh Turek] Yeah, absolutely. One of the primary tenets of my Prairie populist agenda is raising the minimum wage. I think that we need to raise it to a $15 minimum wage. But I also think we need to attach that to a cost of living adjustment to make sure that it is going up with inflation. Additionally, the very first bill that I will sponsor in the United States Senate is going to be a dignity and work bill. This is going to do three things. First, it is going to raise the minimum wage. Second, it is going to do away with 14 C certificates, which allow a for profit business to pay someone just due to a disability, a sub minimum wage. And thirdly, it is going to bring collective bargaining rights back to every single one of our neighbors because we can all recognize that 725 is not a livable wage. And right now, unfortunately, what we have up in DC, both in Congress and in the executive branch, is just millionaires that are looking out for billionaires.

[Kay Henderson] Zach Wahls to what level would you raise the minimum wage?

[Zach Wahls ] Well, Representative Turek and I agree on this $15 an hour and tie it to inflation. This is just one of the first steps to making sure that we have an economy that actually works for us. I'm going to be a day one co-sponsor of the Pro act. This will strengthen the ability of Iowans and all Americans to actually form a union so they can negotiate collectively across the table for management. Good wages, fair contract, good benefits, and be able to provide a solid, decent living for themselves and their families. As someone who grew up in a labor household, my mom, Jackie, was a union nurse. Like I said earlier, I learned at an early age the difference that that can make, and it's incredibly important. I would also tell you that taking on the corporate monopolies that have become so powerful in our, our state and our country is absolutely vital. We need to make sure that we are challenging these monopolies head on. We see these monopolies dominating in our agricultural sector. We see them dominating increasingly in health care. And we already discussed earlier is their presence in housing. Those are things that I believe, Kay. We can have strong bipartisan support for. If you have champions for some of those issues. But no, you have to know it is not going to be easy. These are tough fights, and you need somebody who has a track record of taking on these fights, fighting for people, no matter who they are. If they need a champion. That's what I've done in the Iowa Senate. That's what I'll do in the US Senate, and that is how we're going to beat Ashley Hinson.

[Stephen Gruber-Miller] One area where Iowans are concerned with affordability is in health care. Both of you support having the federal government provide a public option alternative to private insurance. Josh Turek is that a realistic goal to get done? After Congress just rolled back some Affordable Care Act subsidies and has made cuts to Medicaid?

[Josh Turek ] I am somebody that. Well, first, I'll say that we have a unique health care crisis happening here in this state. This is a state where we have closed in the last 15 years, 250 more health care clinics than we have opened. You're looking at, because of the cuts, the big beautiful bill. What Ashley Hinson supported 110 000 Iowans looking at losing their health care, thousands more, losing their basic food assistance, the ACA subsidies 119 000 Iowans looking at their health care premiums doubling and tripling. And as I have been traveling the state, I've run into individuals. Out in Greene County, I ran into an individual. His health care premium has gone from 100 to $900. It's a real health care clinic in. Additionally, in a state with a growing cancer rate, I know and understand this issue deeply and personally. I'm someone born with a disability. I've gone through a lot of health care adversity. Had my first surgery one day old, had 21 surgeries before I was 12. Almost all of these took place at Shriners Hospital in Minnesota, because it was the only way that my family could afford it. I'm someone that believes that health care is a human right. And so within that human right, I believe that we should provide a baseline level of coverage for every single Iowan and every single American. I think the best way to do that is through a public option. But additionally, what we need to do is we need to have a fully funded Medicare, Medicaid in the Iowa Legislature. I have been an absolute champion of this issue of making sure that we're putting caps on insulin and sponsored bills to make sure that we have dental care provided to, to our citizens, and we need to crack down on insurance companies, because insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies should not be dictating care. Doctors should be deciding care.

[Stephen Gruber-Miller] Zach Wahls on the public option. How would this work and would it take more government investment to cover everybody?

[Zach Wahls] Stephen health care is deeply personal to my family. My mom, Terry, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis when I was only eight years old, and that was a really scary time for all of us. She had been stumbling. She'd been falling. We didn't understand why. And when we finally got that diagnosis, you know, in one sense, it was reassuring to have something that you could name it and call it. But on the other hand, I knew that it was a devastating disease. And growing up, I watched her, someone who I looked up to was the most important person in my life, decline physically, and that was incredibly difficult. Health care is absolutely a human right. Representative Turek and I agree on that 100%. That is why actually earlier today we released a comprehensive plan that would lower the Medicare enrollment age, allow any American or employer to buy into Medicare, and to answer the question, you're going to have a combination of increased people buying into Medicare, and that was going to pay for a lot of the increased costs by having more folks in the system, you need to have the ability to have real competition. And far too many Iowans don't have that right now. And that is why we have a health care system that is failing so many Iowans. And these Medicaid cuts are going to be absolutely devastating. We went to Joni Ernst hometown Hospital in Red Oak, Iowa. Went to Montgomery County Memorial. We met with, met with local hospital leaders there. And what they told us was that these Medicaid cuts were going to be devastating because Medicaid had been in. These are their words, our salvation. We are going to need to reverse those cuts to make those investments into the health care system. We are going to invest more into Medicare, in part by having more folks buying into it. And we have to reverse the cuts to the Affordable Care Act as well. My sister is one of the 100,000 plus Iowans facing massive increases in their insurance premiums of 100, 200, 300%. That is what is costing Iowans. It is absolutely unacceptable. And that is exactly what Ashley Hinson voted for and what Donald Trump signed into law. And we need a senator who will take them head on.

[Erin Murphy] To continue along that. And Josh Turek, I'll start with you on, you both mentioned those spending cuts until Democrats are in a position to reverse those and increase Medicaid spending again, is there anything you can do to preserve health care access in Iowa, especially in rural areas?

[Josh Turek] Yeah. Well, again, I think that the very best way that we fight back is we win these elections. And if we're looking at a situation where we can duplicate what we did in Trump's first midterm, then we're going to be able to take back Congress and take back the US Senate. I think that the low hanging fruit on this is that we can, we can try to overturn the big, beautiful bill and make sure that we've got millions of Iowans that are provided with coverage, and also make sure that we overturn the ACA subsidies. So you don't have 190 thousand Iowans that are losing their coverage. But also, we need far more incentives, particularly to our rural health care and because they are losing funding, I mean, 250 clinics. I was just in Ottumwa, where three more clinics have closed. As Zach said, he's absolutely right. Two and five Iowans in the rural communities are on Medicaid. This is absolutely their lifeblood, and they need this. So you've got the low hanging fruit of making sure that we restore the funding to Medicare and Medicaid, a fully funded acres, and then long term, I think that we move to a public option to be in place and put guardrails. Another thing that I think that we have agreement on across the board, even amongst Republicans, is that it is egregious that you're looking at a situation where insurance companies are maximizing profits off the backs of most vulnerable. I'll tell you a story, is that nearly the day that I launched my campaign, my sister got diagnosed with stage two breast cancer, and she was basically told by her private insurance, you don't have enough cancer. And they said, because you've only got stage two, not stage three or stage four, we will not cover the PET scan to other parts of your body that what is so fundamentally wrong. We have to put guardrails in place on these insurance companies and these big pharma to make sure that doctors are providing care, not the insurance companies.

[Erin Murphy] Zach Wahls aside from more funding, what can be done in Congress to support rural health care, especially.

[Zach Wahls] Well, Erin, one of the things I want to talk about, because I think it's really important to this broader conversation, is that the next time that we have the opportunity to pass a public option into law, we cannot let the filibuster be the thing that prevents us from getting it done. The last time we had a real shot at a public option, it was the filibuster that killed the public option. And that is why the next time that we have control of the Senate, it is time for the, for us to end the filibuster. I've taken that position very clearly in this race that it is time to end the filibuster as it currently exists. And I believe that I'm the only person in this race who has done so. What I would tell you is that this is something that is absolutely vital, and we cannot let arcane Senate rules get in the way of delivering this victory for the American people. It is something that has to happen, and there are a lot of things that we can do when it comes to rural health care. Another thing that we hear about a lot. Something that I worked on in a bipartisan way in the Iowa Senate is pharmacy benefit manager reform. PBMs are middlemen that collect huge amounts of income and are crushing small town and rural pharmacies all over our state. If you look at a map of Iowa and you put a pin in every community that has lost a small town or independent pharmacy over the last five years, the entire state lights up. That is unacceptable, forcing Iowans to drive 30, 40, 50 minutes to get the prescription that they need is absolutely unacceptable. And so I think that if we've been able to do that in a bipartisan way in the Iowa Senate, we should be able to do that in a bipartisan way. In the US Senate. The problem, of course, is that Ashley Hinson has taken millions of dollars from the insurance and pharmaceutical industries. And so, again, we keep coming back to this challenge between the connection between this rigged economy and the corruption of our politics by this big money. That is the core problem. That is at the root of so many of these issues. And that is something that we have to face head on.

[Kay Henderson] I needn't ask this next question of Zach Wahls. So I will turn to you. Josh Turek should the filibuster end?

[Josh Turek] I'm fundamentally in favor of filibuster reform. Absolutely. It is not enshrined in the Constitution. This is a 20th century invention. And I will say that the filibuster can at times be used as an effective check and balance on the majority's power. And right now, I think there's probably a few of us that are happy that we, we see it in place, but we've seen it abused. Without a doubt. What I would like to see with the filibuster is I would like to see it moved back to the pre 1974 standards and move away from the filibuster. So if you're going to use the filibuster, you must speak the entire time and you must be present actually on the Senate floor. And I think that would keep some level of protection check and balance on the majority power, but also do away with the egregious abuse that we have seen.

[Zach Wahls] Kay if I may, just briefly, I would just say that filibuster, it is not time for the filibuster to be talked about, reformed. It is time for the filibuster to end. You're talking about challenges, especially with the public option, that are of incredible importance to the future of this country. And that is a place where it sounds like there's some real disagreement in this primary.

[Kay Henderson] Zach Wahls if you are elected, would you vote to go to war?

[Zach Wahls] Kay, I will tell you that I would take the decision to vote on any war incredibly seriously. What I would not do is vote to authorize an endless war in the Middle East. We are seeing the president lead this country into war with Iran. That war is wrong. Bombing innocent civilians is wrong. As the United States Senator from this state, I will always push peace, not an endless war in the Middle East. And what I would tell you is that there are certain situations where this country has to defend itself. We've seen that in the past, but the problem is that we have seen Congress completely delegate that authority to the executive branch. And this has been a problem in both parties for a long time. And that is something that has to change. What I would tell you is that with the current war that we are facing right now in Iran, that is not a war that I would have voted to authorize. I think both Representative Turek and I spoke out on the very first day that it began. It should not have been launched without a clear explanation to the American people of our objectives, a timeline or how the war would be litigated.

[Kay Henderson] Josh Turek.

[Josh Turek] Well, the current war in Iran, we agree on that. I can tell you I speak from some level of personal experience on this. I come from generations of. of veterans. Both of my grandfather served in World War II in the Navy. My father spent 22 months in Vietnam. It was due to his exposure in Agent Orange is why I ended up with my disability of spina bifida. I'm an example of the generational consequences of these forever wars that we continue to find ourselves into. When the bombs stopped. The consequences do not. In my lifetime, I've seen us spend $1 trillion over in Iraq, another trillion dollars in Afghanistan for what? My father's conflict, 50,000 men and women don't come home from Vietnam. I'm tired of seeing a blank check to the military industrial complex, and to send our brave men and women overseas. And in the United States Senate, I will do everything that I can to prevent us from going into these unnecessary forever wars. We're spending $1 billion a day in this conflict with Iran. Meanwhile, we've got closing schools and hospitals and roads here in Iowa, a real America first approach, a real Iowa first approach is, let's take care of our citizens here. And and I would be fundamentally against the war.

[Stephen Gruber-Miller] On taxes. Josh Turek your policy platform says you want to close loopholes for billionaires and big corporations. What loopholes specifically would you close?

[Josh Turek] Yeah, absolutely. I can tell you this is two of the biggest issues that we've got going on in this country is the wealth divide and tax avoidance. And we are living through a second Gilded Age right now. It is really have and have nots. And everyone is feeling that. And when you're looking at what when MAGA say we will, they talk about Make America Great Again. They're talking about America post-World War two, they're talking about the 1950s, when we had arguably the most progressive taxation system. That was when we had the strength of the middle class. That was when we had the biggest strengths of unions. And unfortunately, because of the lack of campaign finance reform, we've had billionaires and large corporations that have had outsized influence on buying off our political system. I say we can have oligarchy, or we can have democracy, but we can't have both. I think it is fundamentally wrong when companies like Amazon and Tesla and some of these aren't paying and are paying less in taxes than a teacher or than a, than a firefighter, I think one of the very first places that we can start carried interest loophole. I know that there is a buy, borrow, die. There's a lot that we can go after, but we absolutely have to address this wealth divide. And without question, we have to tax billionaires and large corporations.

[Stephen Gruber-Miller] Zach Wahls you've proposed a 5% wealth tax on billionaires. Why that number and what would you do with the money that comes from that tax.?

[Zach Wahls] Stephen, I 100% think the most important thing when it comes to taxation in this country is to ensure that the wealthy are paying their fair share, a 5% wealth tax on billionaires will ensure that we have the revenue to give American families a substantial middle class tax cut. It will allow us to invest in child care. It will allow us to invest in health care, and it will allow us to invest in our public education. This is not a question of being punitive. This is a question of making sure that the wealthy are paying their fair share, and that we can end the growing, massive wealth disparity in this country. It is a threat to our democracy. When you have billionaires that have this massive and disproportionate influence in our politics. You look at Elon Musk, who spent nearly $300 million on the 2024 presidential election and as a result, earned billions more after Donald Trump took office. When we talk about making sure that we have an economy that works for everyday people, that starts with ensuring that the wealthy pay their fair share, that means challenging the massive corporations that have developed monopolies in industry after industry, after industry after industry. And that makes sure that we have strong supports for hard working Iowa families. Again, I'm really proud to have been endorsed by 25 different labor unions across the state. That is something that I wear as a badge of honor, because it means that the folks who work the hardest in this state to build an economy, to fight for workers rights, to make sure that we have a level playing field in our economy. Understand that I have their back, and I will go to work every day in the U.S. Senate to make sure that we have an economy that works for us, not just the billionaires.

[Erin Murphy] Let's talk about the solvency of Social Security right now. Americans are taxed on the first $185,000 they earn. You've both talked about lifting that cap, but experts say that alone is not enough to fix the system long term. Zach Wahls what more needs to be done?

[Zach Wahls] So, Erin, earlier this year, my campaign rolled out our Keep the Promise Act to keep the promise of Social Security alive for this generation and for future generations. That plan has three parts. Number one, it would end the cap altogether on the income tax that is paid into Social Security. Currently, it is only about the first $180,000 of a person's income. So if you're Elon Musk, you stop paying into Social Security basically on the first minute of the first day of the year. That's unacceptable. Second, it would reverse the cuts to Social Security that were put into place by Doge, that Ashley Hinson voted for as a member of the House Appropriations Committee, and it would make sure that we can actually make ensure that Iowans who are trying to get their benefits approved can do so in a timely way. As a matter of fact, my campaign headquarters in Coralville is literally right next door. The same office hallway as the Social Security field office in Coralville. And when we get to work in the morning, we often see a line out the door of people who are waiting for an appointment. That's unacceptable. Finally, to keep the Promise Act would make a very simple change to law. And it would say that the Social Security Commissioner needs to work full time, because today the Donald Trump appointed Social Security commissioner is a Wall Street executive named Frank Bisignano, who is splitting his time 5050 between Social Security and the IRS. I think that's unacceptable. Social security is a sacred promise that has been made to every American that if you work hard and you play by the rules, you can retire with dignity and security. That is a promise that I will keep as Iowa's next United States Senator. That is why we released the Keep the Promise Act. And scrapping the cap is the first step to ensuring the long term solvency of the trust. It will give us decades to figure out additional changes that need to be made. But the first thing that we need to do is make sure that we keep the promise. And that is exactly what I'll do as Iowa's next United States senator.

[Erin Murphy] Josh Turek, same question. And does this solution include raising the retirement age?

[Josh Turek] Social security is one of the greatest examples of a social safety net that was really successful, passed during Franklin Delano Roosevelt's administration pre Social Security. You were looking at 85 to 90% of American elderly that were living in abject poverty. This is an earned benefit to me. This is really simple. The way that, we we solve this problem is we take the cap off. As Zach said, it is fundamentally wrong that you and I and every single middle class person here ends up paying into Social Security tax all year long. Meanwhile, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk pay for the first few minutes of the first day. That is one of the first things that we can do. Secondly, we absolutely need to tax billionaires in large corporations. And lastly, we're looking at a situation where we're willing to spend $1.5 trillion for military industrial complex. I think that it is a, it's a misuse of our resources of that. Let's protect Social Security. Let's take care of our elderly. It is an earned benefit. And that is the way to keep it.

[Kay Henderson] Let's turn to immigration. Your fellow Democrats in Congress sought reform of ICE. That didn't happen. What did happen was the longest partial government shutdown in history. Josh Turek to you first? Was it worth it? And if you're elected to the Senate, what immigration policy changes would you support?

[Josh Turek ] Yes, it absolutely was worth the fight. I can tell you that this is an issue that is personal to me. What a lot of people don't know about me is that I'm married to an immigrant. I'm married to an Afro-latina woman that was born in the Dominican Republic. I've gone through this process. We were denied her, her citizenship without even getting an interview. We were sent papers in the mail that said, you've got 60 days or you’re going to be deported. It's far too complicated, far too hard. I cannot believe with what now what we're seeing with ICE in this country. It's inhumane, it's unjust. It's unAmerican that families like mine are scared. I can't believe that. I have to tell my wife that she's got to keep her passport with her, just to be able to go to the grocery store. And we need reforms to ICE. And in the United States Senate, I would have not thought I would have not supported any DHS funding without serious reforms to ICE. And that includes making sure that Ice agents aren't masked, that they have body cams, use of force standards, and also protections to places like churches and schools, because what we are seeing right now is fundamentally wrong and un-American.

[Kay Henderson] Zach Wahls.

[Zach Wahls] Immigration is an incredibly important part of Iowa's present and a part of our future. What I would tell you is that when it comes to immigration, Representative Turek and I do have a very different record on this topic in the Iowa Legislature. In 2024, Governor Kim Reynolds came to the Iowa Legislature and asked us to pass an anti-immigrant bill that was described by the ACLU as one of the most anti-immigrant bills in Iowa history. It wasn't just the ACLU, law enforcement groups, the Catholic Church, immigrant rights groups came to the state House. They asked us to vote against this bill, which would have required Iowa law enforcement to take on immigration enforcement activities, which is, of course, a purview of the federal government. But to work with organizations like Ice on that kind of activity. I listened to those groups. I spoke out during the debate, and I voted against that bill. Representative Turek was one of only three Democrats to vote with Republicans on passing that bill into law. I think that was the wrong vote. I think it was something that is not supported by law enforcement, that wasn't supported by immigrants rights groups. And it's something that unfortunately made Iowans not more safe, but less safe. And so what I would tell the folks who are watching at home is that this is a place where there's a real disagreement in our record and in the United States Senate. I will fight to make sure that we fix this broken immigration system, that we overhaul ICE, and that we have a pathway to legal status for people who are in this country, who have not committed violent crimes, and who are willing to go through a full process of paying any back taxes that they owe. Learning English, making sure that they pay a penalty and go through the system. The challenge is that this administration has absolutely defunded immigration courts, which is going to make that a lot harder to do.

[Kay Henderson] Josh Turek

[Josh Turek] Yeah, this is I think this is an example of what people dislike about politics, is leaving out important details in something. This bill firstly took place during the Biden administration fundamentally different. What we're seeing, the Biden administration, the Trump administration with ICE. Secondly, this bill only applied to individuals that had come here legally and had already been deported. I have been very, very clear about this. This is an issue that's deeply personal to me. I am married to an immigrant. I have gone through the process and three things can be true. One, we absolutely need fundamental reforms to ICE, as the ones that I spoke about, because what we are seeing right now is inhumane and it is un-American. But two, we can also recognize that there's not, these aren't mutually exclusive ideas that we need to have safe and secure borders, but we also need to have a far easier pathway to citizenship, including passing the Dignity Act. I want to make sure that it's easier for people. If you want to come here, you want to work hard, you want to make your community better. There should be an easier pathway to citizenship for you to be able to work here. The model of our country is E pluribus unum out of many, one is the beauty of the American experience of the American melting pot. And Iowa has a long history of being very welcoming to immigrants and to refugees. And that is exactly what I will fight for in the United States Senate.

[Zach Wahls] Kay. If I can also respond here. This issue is not over. The bill that Representative Turek voted for, which was opposed by law enforcement at the time, was opposed by the ACLU of Iowa at the time, the ACLU, ACLU of Iowa at the time described this bill as one of the most extreme discriminatory and unconstitutional anti-immigrant laws in the United States of America. The argument that Representative Turek just made is the exact same argument that Brenna Bird, Iowa's attorney general, is making in federal court. It is the argument that she is preparing to make in front of the United States Supreme Court, in front of Clarence Thomas and Sam Alito, who are just waiting for this bill. But here in Iowa, when law enforcement spoke out about this bill at the time, in 2020 four, the Republican chief of police for Marshalltown, a man named Michael Tupper, came to the statehouse and he warned us at that time that bills like this would erode trust in law enforcement, and it would make it more difficult for local police to do their jobs. If people, regardless of their immigration status, were unwilling to report that they were the victim of a crime because they might be deported. And in fact, there are still people who are here today who are here legally, who if the Supreme Court lets this law take effect, could be separated from their families and removed from this country. I listened to those folks when they came to the statehouse in 2024, and they warned us about this bill. I voted against it then, and I'm proud of that vote.

[Stephen Gruber-Miller] We have a lot of topics.

[Josh Turek] Just to follow up real quick, because to compare me to Brenna Bird is fundamentally incorrect. I voted against a bill this year that would have punished police for failure to cooperate with ICE. I've been very, very clear that what we are seeing with ICE is fundamentally wrong. And I have said we need to have regulations on ICE, and I've mentioned the ones that we need to have. This is an issue that is deeply personal to me. I have gone through this process myself, and I want to make this country easier to be able to come here as an immigrant and work here and make their communities better. We can have two things, and they do not have to be mutually exclusive. You can recognize the need for safe and secure borders, but also the need to have fundamental immigration reform.

[Kay Henderson] Stephen, Stephen.

[Zach Wahls] These are the last.

[Kay Henderson] Stephen, Stephen

[Stephen Gruber-Miller] We need to move to some other topics on agriculture. Iowa farmers have been struggling in recent years between high costs, extreme weather, trade policy and other things. Zach Wahls, what's your vision for the future of Iowa agriculture, and what policies would you put in the farm bill to make that happen?

[Zach Wahls] Stephen my mom, Terry, grew up on a family farm in Clayton County and northeast Iowa. It was a 200 acre family farm, a classic of that time. My grandparents, my grandpa John, was a veteran, came home from World War Two. My grandma Lois, I someone I look back on with a lot of fondness. My grandpa John died when I was very young. If either of my grandparents were alive today, they would not recognize what has happened to Iowa agriculture for the last 50 years. Policymakers in Washington, D.C. Have been telling farmers and farm states like Iowa that they need to get big or get out of farming, that they have to plant fencerow to fencerow, and that approach has not worked for Iowa over the last 50 years. 70 of Iowa's 99 counties have lost population. Our small towns, our rural communities are suffering. The average farm size has gotten enormous compared to when my mom was growing up. We've seen these massive monopolies in so many different parts of the ag economy. We need a farm bill that works for Iowa, not Iowa, just working for big multinational corporations that are the only ones making any real money, which is a lot of what's currently happening right now. The farm bill that we would call forward, and we released a comprehensive plan on this topic earlier this year. It would reverse the get big or get out approach from Washington, D.C. It would support the next generation of farmers by going after the land access issue. This is one of the most challenging parts of the ag economy facing young farmers. I was actually just over the weekend talking with a former constituent of mine from Cedar County, the more rural part of my district, and he was telling me that when he and his wife tried to buy just 40 acres, it was such a burden on the cash flow of their farm that they're already thinking about selling it. That, to me, is completely unacceptable, and it needs real reform. We also need to make sure that we are fundamentally changing our approach to conservation policy, because the water quality in the crisis in this state is directly tied to the cancer crisis in this state. And then finally, and I talked about it a little bit earlier, we have to challenge these corporate monopolies and the Iowa legislature, Bayer, Monsanto, many other of these large companies have been trying to essentially get immunity from being held responsible if their products cause cancer or other life threatening diseases. I've been proud to vote against those bills. And in the United States Senate, we need to make very clear to these large corporations that if they are in these dominant positions in the market, that they will need to be broken up so that we can actually lower the amount of income that they are capturing from our farmers, and that we have more of those farm dollars actually staying in our state, so that we can actually have an ag economy that works for Iowa and help us get back to the approach that worked so well for this state for so long.

[Stephen Gruber-Miller] Josh Turek, what policies would you support putting in the farm bill?

[Josh Turek ] I can tell you this. It's, I've been traveling around this state for the last few months into rural communities and talking with farmers. It is a very dangerous place to be. A farmer in Iowa right now. I'm calling it a farmageddon. It is really a second farm crisis. We now lead the nation in farm foreclosures. You're seeing farm suicide rates skyrocket. I was just in Crawford County speaking to my friend Dave, and he said, it is just one gut punch after another. This is due to the Trump tariffs, where our commodities prices are up side down. This is due to Trump and Ashley Hinson rubber stamp four times. Ashley Hinson voted in favor of the Trumps which have decimated our communities. But we've got to do more on anti-monopoly lack of of vertical integration is what we've seen. Too much vertical integration on this. This has led to input prices going up 100 times higher, 100% higher over the last decade. We need to pass right to repair. This is something I've been very vocal about in the Iowa Legislature. We actually just passed it through the House to make sure that farmers have their farm equipment. We need to have mandatory country of origin labeling to our beef packers, because we've lost over 100,000 beef providers in this country, and we need to make sure that we pass a farm bill and we need to pass a farm. We have three years overdue on this pass a farm bill. And if I'm in the U.S. Senate, I want to make sure that we pass a farm bill, but not allow Congress to leave until we have passed that farm bill.

[Erin Murphy] We talked about this a little bit at the top. We want to circle back to the topic of electability. As you well know, your party's voters are trying to decide which of you to send into the general election this fall. Since Tom Harkin was last elected, and Josh Turek, we'll start with you. Democrats have lost support in traditionally union heavy areas, especially along the Mississippi River in Iowa's midsize towns. What specifically can you do Josh Turek, to bring those voters back to the Democratic Party?

[Josh Turek] Well, one, as I said, I am the Democrat that represents the reddest district that was won on Election Day. I'm battle tested. I know that there's something specific about my story, my background, my resume, and my politics. Focusing on prairie populism. Just like Senator Harkin did, that has the ability to resonate with these folks in the rural communities in a very real way. What are we, what am I going to do? One, I'm going to be very disciplined in my messaging. I'm going to go out there and I'm going to talk about the kitchen table issues. I'm going to talk about cost, and I'm going to talk about the need to address corruption, corruption, both on the need to change campaign finance reform passed Citizens United, make sure we pass the Disclose Act so that every dollar that is donated to a campaign, to a PAC, to a super PAC, is accounted for. Also, making sure that we have ethics reforms in place, term limits, banning members of Congress and their families from trading stocks, and making sure that we ban that. We mandate every single member of Congress to have an annual town hall, to be accountable to their constituents. But I'm going to go out there and I'm going to talk about these prairie populist ideas, and I'm going to go into each and every one of these 99 counties, every one of these small and rural communities, and not go after them and vilify them. I understand why they voted for Trump, because Trump accurately identified that the status quo was not working for the average Iowan, for the average American, for the middle class. But every single one of his policies have been faux populism. So I'm going to go out there and talk about that, get in front of them. I know I won't win every single one of them over, but what I have learned representing a very, very red district is you can win enough of them over, especially with a candidate like myself with a message of prairie populism. And we go to all 99 counties, every single one of these small and mid-sized communities. It's enough to trim the margins. And what I've learned in representing such a red community is these are double votes, one out of their column and one in my column. But we're only going to be able to win this with a candidate like myself.

[Erin Murphy] Zach Wahls you both have policies for what you would do to help rural Iowa, but Democrats have struggled in rural areas in recent election cycles. As someone who has run exclusively in a safely Democratic state House district, how do you convince those voters to vote Democratic?

[Zach Wahls] Well, Erin, when I first ran in 2018, my district, as I'm sure you recall, did include Cedar County and Muscatine County, two district, two counties that voted for Barack Obama in 2012, Donald Trump in 2016, and for Zach Walz in 2018. And what I would tell you just zooming out is that we have to be honest with voters about how rigged the economy has become, and that that is directly tied to the corruption of our politics, that those two problems are, in fact, the same problem. The corruption of our politics is why you see the massive influence of billionaires and super PACs that are weighing in on elections, and that is what they use to maintain a failed status quo that is keeping them in place. And the problem is that you have establishment politicians in both parties who have benefited from the changes to these laws. And in fact, we are seeing outside spending in this race happening right now. I will tell you, I was very clear on the first day of this campaign that I will not vote to continue the failed leadership of Senator Chuck Schumer as Iowa's next United States senator. It was Senator Chuck Schumer, Erin, who said on national television that the Democratic Party can write off rural voters and blue collar voters, and that for each one of those votes that we lose, we're going to pick up two more in the suburbs. That math might work in New York. It definitely does not work in Iowa. And frankly, Erin, that is not the Democratic Party that I want to belong to. Since the New Deal. This is the party that has fought for workers rights and for civil rights and for women's rights. We are the party that fights for every person who needs a champion. No matter whether you are a factory worker who has seen their job shipped overseas, someone who has seen their job replaced by artificial intelligence, or you're the scared eighth grader watching the television, wondering if the government is going to come for your family. And that is why I will not vote for any leader who thinks that our party should write off rural voters and blue collar voters. We are not going to be able to win them back until we have a new vision and new leadership for this party, and I'm the only person on the stage here tonight who has said that I will not I will not vote for Senator Schumer for leader unless Representative Turek wants to join me in making that commitment here tonight.

[Josh Turek] I'll tell you, I, I agree with you that the way forward with this party is that we have to move away from being corporate Democrats, and that we have to once again be the party of the people, the party of the middle class, the party of workers. I'm not a DC insider. I don't know these folks. I, I have, I only have one idea with this. And that is I am not measuring the drapes. I'm not up in DC. If I have the amazing opportunity to be able to represent Iowans in the US Senate, I will go up and I will ask whoever is deciding to run for leadership. Three questions, maybe four. What are you going to do for Iowa? What are you going to do for Iowans? What are you going to do for the middle class? And ultimately, who is going to be best aligned with me on my prairie populist agenda of a livable wage, affordable housing, affordable health care, driving private equity out of health care and out of housing, doing something about our drinkable water, but also, maybe most importantly, doing something about the corruption that we're seeing both on the campaign finance side and the lack of ethics reforms inside. And whoever gives me that answer, that will be who I support.

[Kay Henderson] We have about five minutes left for the questions that we'd like to ask here. So you both expressed concerns about monopolies, and I'd like to focus on that for voters for just a minute. Zach Wahls. It's the executive branch that enforces current antitrust laws. Are you suggesting that the Senate and the House should pass new antitrust legislation?

[Zach Wahls] Kay, I want to just briefly go back to the answer that we just heard, because we are not going to beat Ashley Hinson with an answer like that. It is a very simple yes or no question. The leadership of Chuck Schumer has failed the Democratic Party. It has failed the state and has failed this country, and it is not measuring the drapes. To expect that Iowans can get a straight answer to a yes or no question about the vision of your future for this party and for our country. Dark money which is flooding into this state to the tune of $6.7 million in climbing from a super PAC closely linked to Senator Schumer, dark money has an agenda, and that agenda is to protect the broken status quo and the failed leadership of Senator Schumer. And if you want to learn more about all of the money that is coming into our state, you can go to Josh Turek .com to see a lot more information about what is currently happening in the state. Kay to your question about anti monopolies. The Congress absolutely needs to reassert its authority here to make sure that we actually have antitrust laws in this state that actually work, because right now you are not seeing, you're seeing so much concentration two companies control virtually the entire chemical market. You're looking at four companies that control 90% of the global grain trade, two companies that control 90% of the corn, North American corn market. That is not acceptable. And so if the executive branch won't do its job, then absolutely, Congress needs to reassert its control and make sure that we actually have competition in the market. That is what we need to have, right? When you look at what is currently happening now, the lack of competition that is bad for workers, it is bad for innovation, it is bad for growth, and that is that lack of competition is what results in higher prices. Breaking up these companies, enforcing these antitrust laws. And if the executive branch isn't willing to do it, then Congress can pass new laws to do so. That is what has to change.

[Kay Henderson] Josh Turek.

[Josh Turek] Yeah, we absolutely have to break up the, the, the monopolies and we have to have antitrust enforcement. Unfortunately, what we have seen is, we have seen the erosion of checks and balances, and we have seen the move to an imperial executive branch. And from tariffs to as well of anti-monopoly enforcement. We need that back into the hands of the Congress. And this is another reason why we have got to win these elections going forward, so that we can actually put legitimate checks and balances back in place. One last thing, just to say, respond to what Zach said. There is if he wants to talk about the influence of dark money, one is, well, he was in the minority leadership. He took $250,000 from a crypto Phelan and left the Iowa Democratic Party $200,000 in debt to pay that back. He also, up until last year, was a director of a dark money PAC and even took $10,000 from that PAC into his campaign. Right now, we are not the same. Zach is a millionaire, I am not. He's taking a salary for his campaign. I am not. When he was in leadership, he took $30,000 five times more than any other person in minority leadership. I didn't even take reimbursement for my gas mileage. He was the director of a dark money PAC. I've been the director of a nonprofit organization for disabled kids. We are not the same.

[Kay Henderson] Zach.

[Zach Wahls] Well, it's categorically false. And look, it's absolutely true that when I was the minority leader, we were the victims of a fraudster, and that person was brought to justice. And that is absolutely what should have happened. It was a terrible situation. I would also tell you that when we talk about the influence of dark money that is currently flooding into this state, we all know why it is happening. Senator Schumer is trying to come into Iowa trying to buy an election to the tune of $6.7 million in climbing. And the reason why this is so frustrating to me is that when we talk about how we can win in this state, we are going to have to be honest with voters about the failures of leaders in both parties, because it is leaders of both parties who have failed to pass a farm bill. As Representative Turek earlier said earlier, that happened while Senator Schumer was the majority leader. It is leaders of both parties who have voted for trade deals, for policies that have been terrible for our economy and unless we are honest with voters about the shortcomings of our own National Democratic Party leadership, winning back the voters who this party has lost over the last decade plus is not going to be easy. And while I appreciate Representative Turek, you know, trying to suggest that he's the only person who can win in a state like this, that's simply not the case. We have seen time and time again that when candidates speak truth to power, the people of Iowa resonate with that. They trust that vision, and they are willing to, to join a part of and be a part of a new coalition that can win in this state. That's what we're going to do in November.

[Kay Henderson] Final question. A yes or no question. Do you support term limits, and should there be a retirement age for members of Congress? Zach Wahls? 

[Zach Wahls] Yes and yes. I've promised to serve only two terms if elected to the United States Senate.

[Kay Henderson] Josh Turek.

[Josh Turek] Yes, absolutely. We need term limits not only to members of Congress, both to the House and to the Senate. We also need it to the Supreme Court, along with ethics reforms in place, term limits, banning members of Congress and their families from trading stocks and mandating them to hold an annual town hall. That is one of the best ways we can address the corruption in this country.

[Kay Henderson] We have reached the limit of our hour together on this stage. Thank you, candidates, for being here and sharing your views. If you missed any part of this debate, you may watch it online at iowapbs.org. For everyone here at Iowa PBS, thanks for watching today.

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