Zach Wahls criticizes Josh Turek for ‘dark money’ support, immigration bill vote

U.S. Senate candidates Zach Wahls and Josh Turek both have taken pledges to refuse donations from corporate political action committees, but Wahls alleged Wednesday his opponent has taken money from a “dark money super PAC” in the Democratic primary race.

Progress Iowa and End Citizens United hosted a forum Wednesday at the State Historical Society in Des Moines with the two candidates running in Iowa’s June 2 Democratic primary for U.S. Senate. The candidates fielded questions on issues like affordability, health care and immigration.

They also addressed campaign finance and the influence of the 2010 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which removed limits on how much money corporations can directly spend in support of a political campaign.

The two candidates, who answered questions from moderators separately, were both asked about what distinguishes them from their primary opponent. Wahls pointed to the funding for his and Turek’s campaigns as a major divider.

“There is a real difference in this race,” Wahls, a state senator from Coralville, said. “Actions have to speak a lot louder than words. We are talking right now about the impact of corporate PAC money and how that has affected a lot of Iowans in our economy. But right now, there is a dark money super PAC that is currently spending millions of dollars bolstering Rep. Turek’s campaign.”

The VoteVets super PAC, which supports Democratic veterans, has spent at least $2.5 million in the race, according to the Des Moines Register, on ads supporting Turek and introducing him to Iowans. Turek, a state representative from Council Bluffs, is not a veteran, but has linked his spina bifida with his father’s exposure to Agent Orange as he served in Vietnam.

VoteVets has received money in the past from other Democratic leadership fundraising organizations, such as the Senate Majority PAC, which are aligned with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

Wahls linked the support Turek’s campaign has received from VoteVets with his own criticism of Schumer and current Senate Democratic leadership in Washington.

“I don’t think it is a coincidence that on the very first day of my campaign, I said, ‘I think it is time for new leadership in the Senate Democrats,’ and Rep. Turek has not taken that position,” Wahls said. “So if you think that there is not a connection between those two things, I don’t know what to tell you. But I will tell you this — we have to take on this problem of these super PACs spending enormous amounts of money in our elections, no matter what side of the aisle it’s on.”

Turek told reporters after the forum that VoteVets is a super PAC that has decided to support his campaign, but said the campaign does not directly engage with the group, and its support does not change the fact that he is calling for removing dark money groups from politics.

He said it was “disappointing” Wahls was focusing on attacks rather than on policies, but said it showcased the contrast between their campaigns.

“Anybody that heard myself and then heard Sen. Wahls, … you’ll see a very distinct energy there,” Turek said. “I am someone that is talking about the need for hope and positivity and optimism and in the need to focus on the issues, not on going after him.”

National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesperson Samantha Cantrell said Wahls’ comments showed the “messy” primary race and lack of support for Schumer as leader.

“The frontrunner in Iowa’s messy Democrat primary used their first candidate forum to double down on his opposition to Chuck Schumer as Leader if elected to the Senate,” Cantrell said in a statement “Iowa’s Democrat base is rallying behind Zach Wahls’ calls for new Democrat leadership, and Schumer’s handpicked recruit Josh Turek is paying the price.”

There are two candidates running in the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate seat — U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson and former state lawmaker Jim Carlin. Hinson has been endorsed by President Donald Trump, current U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst and several other GOP leaders in Congress. The Senate Leadership Fund, the Senate GOP campaign arm, plans to spend $29 million in support of Hinson’s campaign in the months leading up to the general election.

Wahls said Republicans are afraid a Democrat can win the U.S. Senate seat, “and that is why they are spending $29 million this November to try to buy this seat for Ashley Hinson.”

“But Iowans are going to see through this smoke screen,” Wahls said. “We are going to do what it takes, not only to win this nomination but to defeat Ashley Hinson.”

Wahls also criticized Turek when asked about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions and collaboration with Iowa law enforcement. Wahls repeated that “actions speak louder than words,” and said Turek was one of three Democrats to vote in support of Senate File 2340, a 2024 law related to immigration law enforcement by state authorities.

The measure, called the “worst anti-immigrant law in Iowa’s history” by an American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa official, gave Iowa law enforcement the ability to charge people with an aggravated misdemeanor if they have been denied admission, deported or otherwise removed from the U.S., or if they currently have an order to leave the country. The law also gives state courts the ability to order the deportation of undocumented immigrants, with state agencies and law enforcement able to transport migrants to U.S. ports of entry to ensure they exit the country, allowing them to charge individuals with a felony if they do not comply with an order to leave.

“I voted against that bill, and I spoke against that bill,” Wahls said. “What I said then is 100% true today, which is that laws like that do not make Iowans more safe. They make Iowans less safe … We have to absolutely overhaul and reform ICE as an agency. We need to make sure that we have immigration enforcement that respects the Constitution, that respects basic human rights, and understands that every single person who lives in this country has basic rights under our Constitution.”

Turek said his support for the 2024 legislation — passed during former President Joe Biden’s tenure — was separate from current issues related to ICE actions happening under the Trump administration.

“This applies to individuals that have come here illegally, committed a crime, have been deported,” Turek said. “And I am someone that believes that we can recognize that we need safe and secure borders — but it’s also not a mutually exclusive issue, that we also need an easier pathway to citizenship and fundamental immigration reform.”

Turek said he understood the difficulties immigrants are facing under Trump’s current immigration crackdown, being married to an Afro-Latina woman from the Dominican Republic.

“I cannot believe that right now in the United States of America, I’m having to tell my wife to keep her passport with her at all times,” Turek said. “I mean, what we were seeing is inhumane, it is unjust. At the United States Senate, I would not (support) any DHS funding without serious reforms to ICE.”

This story has been updated.