Josh Turek pedaled his way up a rolling hill, Iowa cornfields stretching endlessly across the horizon as he tilted his chin toward the blazing sun.
Mr. Turek, a wheelchair-bound Democratic state legislator vying for a Senate seat, gripped the hand cranks of his cycle.
He was present on a July Sunday, sweating beside riders wearing corn hats and helmets, to take part in Iowa’s annual weeklong cycling celebration. The event begins on the state’s western flank—a nearly 60-mile stretch near the Nebraska border that winds through conservative towns and is dotted with roadside pie stands and food trucks.
The bike trek, undertaken months before the November election, reflected the steep challenge Mr. Turek faces in winning over Iowa’s rural voters, a large swath of the country’s agricultural community that has been deeply affected by soaring prices.
As he cycled through each town, Mr. Turek stopped to shake hands, sip beer, and pitch voters on why they should elect him to Washington. Some cyclists fawned over the Democrat, asking for a photo or a “Josh Turek for Iowa” yard sign, while others remained unconvinced.
In the tiny city of Soldier, Mr. Turek approached a man selling breakfast sandwiches and cold drinks.
“I’m Josh, and I am running for Senate,” Mr. Turek stated, extending his hand and briefly sharing his campaign platform with the vendor.
The man smiled, shaking his hand and thanking Mr. Turek for stopping by, though he did not indicate whether he would ultimately support him.
Mr. Turek, 47, was born with spina bifida and went on to become a Paralympic gold medalist. Last month, he won a competitive Democratic primary against an anti-establishment rival, having framed his physical disability and resilience as the centerpiece of his campaign.
“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” he said, taking a sip of cold water about 30 miles into the bike trek, and adding, “This will not be the hardest thing that I’ve gone through in my life.“
He is now waging a challenging uphill campaign against Representative Ashley Hinson, a Republican backed by President Trump, to succeed retiring GOP Senator Joni Ernst. The outcome will help determine which party controls the Senate.
There he was on a blistering hot morning, arm-pedaling his way between Onawa and Harlan, 59 miles apart, in a handcycle.
“Do you see?” a woman said to a young girl pedaling along in Turin. “He is biking with his hands.”
The child pressed the brakes on her bright pink bike adorned with matching streamers.
“No way,” she replied, pointing at Mr. Turek’s handcycle as he continued rolling along.
Mr. Turek has said that his condition, which occurs when the spine and spinal cord do not properly form, stemmed from his father’s exposure to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. The toxic chemical defoliant causes severe birth defects in millions of children.
A Council Bluffs, Iowa, native, he described enduring 21 surgeries at a children’s hospital in Minnesota, spending weeks at a time away from his parents and four siblings while confined to a full-body cast.
He did not make friends until he turned 12, when he began playing wheelchair basketball at an adaptive sports camp in Omaha, Nebraska, where he first learned about the Paralympics. Mr. Turek would go on to have a professional wheelchair basketball career and twice win the gold medal as part of the U.S. team.
Iowa has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since Tom Harkin retired in 2014, nor has it elected one as governor in two decades. The state’s House seats are all held by Republicans, and Mr. Trump decisively won Iowa in the past three presidential elections. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report gives Ms. Hinson an edge in the race, rating it as “lean Republican.”
Democrats remain hopeful, despite their grim track record in the state. Rising fuel and fertilizer costs, driven by the war in Iran and Mr. Trump’s tariffs, have crippled farmers and manufacturers throughout Iowa.
Mr. Turek’s race is one of many competitive elections in Iowa this year. Rob Sand, Iowa’s Democratic auditor, is polling ahead of Republican Zach Lahn in the governor’s race. Republican Representatives Zach Nunn and Mariannette Miller-Meeks are also facing challenges from two Democrats with state legislative experience, in races that Cook rates as tossups.
Ms. Hinson, a former TV news anchor elected in 2020, handily won the GOP primary following endorsements from Mr. Trump and other top Iowa Republicans. She has vowed to be the president’s “top ally” in the Senate, while also stressing her willingness to work with Democrats on cost-of-living issues.
In her district, Ms. Hinson was one of many Republicans who faced angry constituents at town halls last year. She was booed as she defended the sweeping reconciliation bill enacted last summer, a measure that extended tax cuts and slashed safety net programs.
In 2022, Mr. Turek was elected to represent part of Council Bluffs and Carter Lake, Iowa, winning his race by six votes. He won re-election by five percentage points in 2024, despite Mr. Trump winning the district by eight points. A self-proclaimed “common-sense prairie populist,” Mr. Turek has credited his political durability to a relentless focus on economic policies.
“Populism is my political north star,” Mr. Turek said. “It’s always about what is best for the middle class, what is best for workers — looking out for the have-nots.”
The July biking celebration, titled “The Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa” and colloquially known as R.A.G.B.R.A.I., lacking the political clout of the Iowa State Fair or community events at diners, still offered plenty of opportunity for retail politicking. Bikers cheered Mr. Turek on as they zoomed by.
“Go, Josh, Go!” a couple shouted. Another man seated in a recumbent trike pedaled alongside Mr. Turek at one point, talking about, as the candidate put it, “the state and all the terrible things that are happening here.“
Mr. Turek has raised $6.3 million for his campaign, a fraction of Ms. Hinson’s $10.2 million haul, according to campaign finance reports. His opponent also has about $6.7 million in the bank, compared to Mr. Turek’s nearly $2.4 million. The Senate Majority Political Action Committee, aligned with Democrats, has committed $30.5 million to the race, while the leading Senate Republican PAC, Senate Leadership Fund, has pledged $29 million.
The Republican PAC has been quick to attack Mr. Turek. In a news release last week, the group criticized him for failing to vote on a state agriculture spending bill in May, despite urging members of Congress to pass the farm bill.
Mr. Turek said he was clear-eyed about his odds of flipping the deep-red Iowa counties he was passing through on his cycling trip. Still, he hoped his time with voters could trim Ms. Hinson’s margins and persuade some lifelong Republicans to switch parties in November.
He said a staunch Republican approached him along the way, noting that while Mr. Turek had an inspiring story, he would not receive his vote.
“I said, ‘Well, we’ll see about that,'” Mr. Turek recounted. “‘You know, I’ve got 100 days to win you over.'”
He kept on pedaling.
