Turek highlights cancer advocacy, pledges support if elected to U.S. Senate

Iowa Rep. Josh Turek said Wednesday his work across the aisle to support pediatric cancer research and funding in the state Legislature shows he would be the best candidate to advocate for these priorities in the U.S. Senate.

Turek, the Democratic nominee for Iowa’s open Senate seat, spoke to cancer patients, advocates and volunteers at a “coffee cancer chat” in Cedar Rapids, hosted by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN). It was part of a nonpartisan series of events the group is holding with members of both parties ahead of the midterms in Iowa.

Cancer has become a top issue on the Iowa campaign trail this election season because of the state’s position as having the fastest-rising cancer rate and the second-highest number of new incidences of cancer in the nation. Turek said Wednesday his work to address cancer in Iowa began well before his 2026 campaign for U.S. Senate, as he worked on legislation related to cancer as a member of the Iowa House.

Turek said the first year he was in the Iowa Legislature, 2023, he advocated for a bill to dedicate $1 for every Iowan toward pediatric cancer research at the University of Iowa — a similar proposal to the measure supported by Iowa House Republicans this session. Ultimately, Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a law providing $3 million in funding for pediatric cancer research through a 5-cent tax on vapes and alternative nicotine products, which Turek said represented “a form” of his proposal.

None of these bills passed by the Iowa House or Senate in 2026 featured his name, Turek said. “I’m in a trifecta minority, so you don’t always get the credit for some of the work that you did.” If elected to the U.S. Senate, the Democrat said he would take a similar approach to working across the aisle on issues like cancer research.

“As you’ve heard me say, even here today, with some of the examples that I gave you, sometimes you don’t end up getting credit for the work that you end up doing on these bills, but what I’ve learned in the Legislature is, it’s amazing what we can get done with people who don’t care who takes credit,” Turek said. “And when we’re willing to work to do the hard work behind the scenes, to work in a bipartisan manner, to get results. And that’s what I’d like to do. I’m not going up there to play political games, I’m going up there to make sure that people have healthcare, and people are taken care of.”

The Democrat had also introduced a measure in 2023 called “Better Caths for Iowa,” which would have called for Iowa Medicaid to not reimburse for catheters made with DEHP, a manufactured chemical linked with higher instances of bladder cancer, until a review was conducted. Though the bill was not taken up by the Iowa House, it received a subcommittee hearing — something that often does not happen for bills presented by the minority party.

Even though the bill did not pass, Turek said having the discussion still had an impact.

“Because of the work and advocacy that we did on this, we had the five largest providers, actually, pull out the DEHP,” Turek said. “So now, there is 20 million catheters that are made annually that no longer contain this cancerous compound that was leading to a bladder cancer epidemic. So, it has taught me how much advocacy can really move the needle in the right direction.”

Turek said healthcare was a top priority for him at the Statehouse, and would continue to be a major focus in Washington, D.C., if elected.

“If I only got one thing done in the U.S. Senate, I would love to arrive at a public option, so every American, every Iowan, has access to care,” Turek said. “And I would love to (be) — even if it means only six years in the U.S. Senate — coming back and saying, ‘We made meaningful progress on this cancer issue, and Iowa no longer lead the nation in cancer rates.'”

Turek faces U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, a Republican, in the general election. Hinson also plans to speak with ACS CAN advocates before the election about her priorities on addressing Iowa’s cancer rates and research funding.

Hinson’s campaign has criticized Turek for missing an April vote on the bill which would have provided $1 per every Iowan for pediatric cancer research funding.

Turek has previously answered questions from reporters about Hinson and Republicans’ criticisms that he missed a significant number of votes in 2026 by saying he was spending time “meeting Iowans all over the state” as he ran his primary campaign earlier in the year, and by saying he spent time working “really, really hard behind the scenes … to find strange bedfellows, build relationships across the aisle, and I was able to get a lot of policy to the finish line.”

Turek did vote in favor of the vape and nicotine product tax providing $3 million in pediatric cancer research that made it to the governor in May. He said he was happy to see the funding provision “get across the finish line” in 2026.

“I think it’s a great example of what we can do when we work together in a bipartisan fashion,” Turek said. “A lot of the times when you do this work behind the scenes, you don’t end up taking the credit. And something that I — really I’m proud of — is (that I’m) one of the most bipartisan members in the Iowa Legislature, and one of the most effective members.