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Iowa Democratic U.S. Senate candidates urge party to hold the line on health care subsidies
Iowa Democratic Party leader Rita Hart: ‘We will have the strongest Democratic ticket in Iowa in a generation’
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DES MOINES — Iowa Democratic candidates running for Congress urged members of their party to only support a deal to end the government shutdown if it includes extensions for health care subsidies, as lawmakers neared an agreement.
During the Iowa Democratic Party’s Liberty and Justice Celebration fundraiser Sunday evening in Des Moines, state Democrats vying to represent Iowa in the U.S. Senate stressed the importance of health care access and called on congressional Democrats to hold the line on ensuring an extension of expanded Affordable Care Act subsidies.
As the federal government shutdown reaches day 41, congressional Democrats have refused to vote for legislation to reopen the government unless it includes an extension in expanded ACA subsidies first passed in 2020, which are set to expire at the end of the year. If they expire, many Americans will see their health care premiums skyrocket.
While candidates for both statewide and federal races made their pitch to party members, news came out that enough Senate Democrats had agreed to a deal to reach the 60-40 margin needed to pass stopgap legislation through a procedural vote. The deal does not include extensions for ACA subsidies. Instead, Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota promised to hold a vote on the extensions in mid-December, according to the Associated Press.
Three Democratic U.S. Senate candidates centered their remarks around the importance of health care and how access to it impacted them personally, including Nathan Sage, who said he was “flustered” after learning of the deal in Congress before going on stage.
Sage, a former Chamber of Commerce leader who lives in Indianola and also served in the Marine Corps and Army, said he’s heard from Iowans who are “scared” and “angry” about the unaffordability of health care during his 99-county tour.
“They're scared because they don't know what they're going to do without their health insurance. They don't know how they're going to be able to afford a living in this world,” Sage said. “Millions of Americans are going to lose their health care. Millions of Americans are not going to know what to do.”
Iowa state Rep. Josh Turek, of Council Bluffs, tied his personal experiences with health care access to his platform on preserving Medicaid and expanding health care coverage for Iowans with disabilities and the most vulnerable. During his remarks, he said health care is a "human right.”
Turek, a two-time Paralympic gold medalist and the first permanently disabled member of the Iowa Legislature, said he understood the importance of affordable health care in a “deeply personal way.” He was born with spina bifida and underwent 21 surgeries before the age of 12 after his father, a Vietnam veteran, was exposed to Agent Orange.
Shortly after the event ended, Turek put out a statement calling on Congressional Democrats to fight for ACA subsidy extensions.
“Health care is worth fighting for. As the cost of everything goes up, Washington Republicans have proven time and time again that they’d rather cut taxes for billionaires,” Turek said in the statement. “Without ACA subsidies, 125,000 Iowans will see their premiums double or triple. No one in the richest country on Earth should have to choose between health care and putting food on the table. No protection for health care, no deal.”
Iowa state Sen. Zach Wahls, of Coralville, who was raised by two mothers, said Iowans are feeling the squeeze of health care costs at the pharmacy, doctor’s office and in nursing homes. Wahls said if it wasn’t for one of his mother’s union contracts that ensured health coverage for his family after she was laid off from her nursing job during the Great Recession, his family would have been overwhelmed by medical bills when his other mother was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
“I learned at too young of an age what it feels like when bad things happen to good people, and what happens when hardworking Iowans are forgotten or failed by a government that is supposed to work for us,” Wahls said. “That is exactly the problem that is facing our state right now.”
After the event ended, Wahls released a statement on the current deal in the U.S. Senate to end the shutdown.
“Senate Democrats shouldn’t cave — when working families’ health care is on the line, you fight,” Wahls said in the statement.
The Democratic candidates are aiming to fill a seat being vacated by Republican Iowa U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, who is not running for re-election in 2026.
Veterans advocate and former state legislator Bob Krause, of Burlington, is also seeking the Democratic Party's nomination for the U.S. Senate in 2026. Krause did not attend Sunday’s event.
Iowa U.S. Rep Ashley Hinson, of Marion, and former state lawmaker Jim Carlin, of Sioux City, are the Republican candidates in the race.
‘We have one big year ahead of us’
After facing political headwinds in last year’s general election, the tone around the midterm elections was one of hope Sunday night as Iowa Democrats pointed to the Democrats’ victories across the country in last Tuesday’s election as an indicator that the party is regaining its footing.
Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart noted that Iowa Democrats have a chance to reshape the state’s political landscape with open gubernatorial and U.S. Senate elections in 2026. The last time that happened in Iowa was in 1968.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds announced in April that she will not run for re-election in 2026. In September, Ernst also announced she will not seek another term in Congress.
“I'm also confident in 2026 that we will have the strongest Democratic ticket in Iowa in a generation,” Hart said. “We have one big year ahead of us.”
Hart stressed that the path to victory for Democrats must include messaging around the importance of kitchen table issues that helped the party outperform Republicans in gubernatorial and mayoral races last week, including the economy, affordability, job creation and lowering the cost of health care and child care
"The Democratic victories that we saw nationwide last Tuesday and the special election victories in Iowa show that people are hearing our message,” Hart said. “All eyes will be on Iowa, we have the chance to take back Terrace Hill (the governor's residence), to send a Democrat to the U.S. Senate, and to help Democrats take back the majority in the House by sending four new representatives to Washington, D.C.”
Both Democratic gubernatorial candidates — Iowa state Auditor Rob Sand and political consultant Julie Stauch — said that they are hearing from Iowans who want to see a change in state leadership.
Sand, who recently wrapped up his campaign’s 100-town hall tour across the state, said Democrats, Republicans and independents showed up to the events
"They're Republicans who are taking a step towards us to say, ‘Hey, maybe we need to be working together on this. Maybe we need to be getting together to work together for change,’” Sand said. “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. And in Iowa, we've had 10 years of one-party control.”
Stauch, who also has been traveling around the state to talk to Iowans, said there are three key issues people in the state are most concerned about right now: water quality, education and health care. She laid out her policy proposals for each subject and said going around the state has made her “optimistic” about the 2026 election.
“It's an opportunity to be open to people,” Stauch said. “Keep hope alive. Keep working, and we can do this.”
Republicans in the gubernatorial race are state lawmaker Eddie Andrews, of Johnston; Iowa U.S. Rep Randy Feenstra, of Hull; business owner Zach Lahn, of Belle Plaine; pastor Brad Sherman, of Williamsburg; and former Iowa Department of Administrative Services Director Adam Steen, of Runnells.
The primary election is June 2, 2026.
Gabby Giffords, Sen. Mark Kelly address crowd
While Democratic Arizona U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly and former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords were scheduled to headline the event, Kelly was not able to make it due to shutdown negotiation talks in Washington, D.C.
Instead, Kelly spoke to the crowd in a video message, explaining his frustration with Republicans over health care subsidies. He touted Democrats’ election victories earlier this month as proof that the party and its message are appealing to voters.
“I know we can win back our power, power to make our lives better,” Kelly said. “We have to use this energy and this momentum from this week to organize and mobilize and work as a team.”
Giffords, Kelly’s wife, has been a staunch advocate for gun control since she was shot in the head in 2011 during an assassination attempt. She urged attendees to take action to end gun violence.
“My recovery is a daily fight, but fighting makes me stronger,” Giffords said. “We are at a crossroads. We can just continue shooting, or we can act.”
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