Elizabeth Warren to Campaign in Iowa for Progressive Senate Candidate Zach Wahls Ahead of June Primary
Iowa | Congress — Why It Matters
The Iowa Democratic Senate primary has emerged as one of the most closely watched internal party battles of the 2026 election cycle, with the race serving as a proxy fight over the direction of the Democratic Party. The winner of the June 2 primary will face Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson, making the seat a key battleground in the contest for control of the U.S. Senate.
The open seat — vacated after Republican Sen. Joni Ernst declined to seek a third term — represents a rare opportunity in a state that has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 2008, when Tom Harkin won his fifth term.
What Happened
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., announced Friday, May 1, that she will travel to Des Moines on May 10 to campaign for Iowa state Sen. Zach Wahls, who is running in the June 2 Democratic primary against state Rep. Josh Turek.
Warren, who had previously endorsed Wahls, made the announcement one day after Maine Gov. Janet Mills — widely viewed as the establishment favorite in that state’s Democratic Senate primary — suspended her campaign. Mills’ exit is expected to clear the path for Graham Platner, an oyster farmer and veteran backed by Warren and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., to face five-term Republican Sen. Susan Collins in November.
The Iowa race pits Wahls, who has positioned himself as a progressive outsider, against Turek, who is widely perceived as the preferred candidate of Democratic leadership in Washington. Warren’s visit is intended to add momentum to Wahls’ campaign ahead of the primary.
In a public statement announcing her May 10 appearance, Warren said Wahls “is running to shake things up” and accused the political system of being “rigged against working families” by corporations, lobbyists, and super PACs. Wahls welcomed the endorsement visit, saying in a statement that Warren “has spent her career standing up to the corporate special interests that have rigged our economy.”
By the Numbers
June 2 — date of the Iowa Democratic Senate primary between Wahls and Turek.
+20 points — Turek’s lead in an April poll conducted by Vote Vets Action Fund, a group that supports his campaign.
+18 points — Wahls’ lead in an earlier survey released by a Teamsters local that backs his candidacy.
2008 — the last year a Democrat won a U.S. Senate seat in Iowa, when Tom Harkin secured a fifth term.
2020 — the last time Warren campaigned in Iowa, during her own presidential bid, in which she finished fourth in the Democratic caucuses.
Zoom Out
The Iowa and Maine primaries are among several congressional contests across the country functioning as ideological battlegrounds within the Democratic Party. With Democrats out of power in both the White House and Congress — and President Trump’s fiscal 2027 budget proposing sweeping changes to federal spending that Democrats have largely opposed — the question of who leads the party’s opposition has taken on heightened importance.
The diminished influence of former presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama, and Bill Clinton has left the party without a clear establishment figurehead, creating an opening for progressive figures like Warren and Sanders to assert influence over candidate selection. With the 2028 Democratic presidential primary expected to be wide open, each Senate and House race carries added significance for rival factions seeking to shape the party’s future platform and leadership.
Iowa’s competitive Senate landscape is part of a broader national fight, as both parties eye key legislative battles in Congress that will define the policy agenda heading into the next election cycle.
What’s Next
Warren is scheduled to appear at a Wahls campaign rally in Des Moines on May 10. The June 2 primary will determine which Democratic candidate advances to face Rep. Ashley Hinson in the general election.
Polling in the race has produced sharply conflicting results, with each candidate showing a substantial lead depending on the survey’s sponsor — leaving the outcome difficult to forecast. Hinson, the Republican incumbent, is expected to be a formidable opponent regardless of which Democrat emerges from the primary.