Josh Turek wants Iowans to believe he is ready to work with President Donald Trump to secure the southern border.
That is the message of “I-35,” the Council Bluffs Democrat’s new television ad. Looking directly into the camera, Turek promises to “work with anyone to fix it, including President Trump, to secure the border and stop the flow of drugs into Iowa.”
He also highlights his vote for legislation allowing Iowa law enforcement to arrest people who had previously been denied admission to the United States, deported or ordered to leave the country.
But that is the general-election, Josh Turek. Democratic primary voters heard something very different.
Speaking at Ashley Hinson’s BBQ Bash in Clive on Saturday, Hinson described it as “the tale of two Tureks.”
“One Josh in the primary, another Josh in the general election,” Hinson said. “The only thing that I think is consistent here about Josh Turek is how shamelessly willing he is to say or do anything to get himself elected.”
She does not have to speculate about what the other Josh Turek believes. He recorded it himself.
At an April forum hosted by Progress Iowa and End Citizens United, Turek called federal immigration enforcement “inhumane” and “unjust.”
“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, according to Iowa Capital Dispatch.
He then made his position on border enforcement funding clear: “At the United States Senate, I would not support any DHS funding without serious reforms to ICE.”
Turek repeated that promise to KCCI, saying he would withhold Department of Homeland Security funding unless Congress imposed new restrictions on ICE. His demands included body cameras, new use-of-force standards, a ban on agents wearing masks and restrictions on immigration enforcement near churches, schools, hospitals and courthouses.
His campaign website still says he has “spoken out against abuses of power from ICE agents” and would “ensure regulation and accountability for ICE agents.” He also supports making it easier for illegal immigrants to obtain citizenship.
None of that appears in the new television ad.
Instead, Turek wants his 2024 vote for Senate File 2340 to tell the whole story. He was one of only three Iowa House Democrats to support the legislation, which allows state law enforcement to charge certain illegal immigrants who had previously been denied admission, deported or ordered to leave the country.
It was a politically significant vote. An ACLU of Iowa official called the legislation “the worst anti-immigrant law in Iowa’s history,” and Zach Wahls attacked Turek over it during the Democratic primary.
The vote is real. So is everything Turek said afterward.
A candidate who tells Democratic primary voters that ICE is “inhumane” and promises to withhold Homeland Security funding cannot simply film a new television ad and reintroduce himself as President Trump’s partner on border security.
That is not crossing the aisle. It is crossing the calendar.
Turek’s campaign argues that he broke with his party after President Joe Biden and Congress failed to secure the border. It also accuses Hinson of opposing a “bipartisan deal that was endorsed by the Border Patrol.”
That refers to the failed 2024 Senate border package, which President Trump opposed and House Republicans rejected.
Hinson explained at the time that the proposal was “like a piece of masking tape over a gushing Niagara Falls.” She objected that the legislation would not require the border to close until illegal crossings reached a seven-day average of 5,000 encounters per day, or 8,500 in a single day.
Apparently, Turek’s idea of working with Trump begins with blaming Republicans for rejecting a bill Trump himself opposed.
Republicans should take Turek’s reinvention seriously. The race is competitive, national Democrats are investing heavily and Turek is attempting to neutralize one of his party’s greatest political vulnerabilities.
But Iowans should also understand what they are being sold.
They can watch the new “I-35” ad. They can also read Turek’s campaign platform and listen to what he told Democratic primary voters just a few months ago.
Both versions exist. Only one is currently appearing on television.
