Former President Barack Obama Teams Up with Iowa Senate Nominee Josh Turek for Basketball Endorsement Video
Former President Barack Obama has released an endorsement video for Josh Turek, the Democratic nominee in Iowa’s high-stakes Senate race, featuring the two playing a game of IOWA—a variation of HORSE—at a gymnasium in Chicago last week. Mr. Obama, the sole Democrat to win Iowa in a presidential election over the past 25 years, filmed the two-and-a-half-minute segment with Mr. Turek, a centrist state lawmaker and two-time Paralympic gold medalist on the U.S. men’s wheelchair basketball team who aims to become the first Democrat to win a Senate seat in Iowa in over a decade.
High-Stakes Senate Contest and Economic Pressures in Iowa
Democrats are targeting the Senate seat held by retiring Republican Senator Joni Ernst as a top pickup opportunity to reclaim the Senate amid struggles in Iowa’s farming-heavy economy under President Trump’s second-term tariff policies. Mr. Turek faces Representative Ashley Hinson, a moderate Republican backed by President Trump, in an opinion poll race that is currently essentially tied. Mr. Turek has emphasized his bipartisan record in the Iowa Legislature and his message that the state is ready for a “common-sense” Democrat, while pointing to a widespread desire for change across urban and rural areas alike.
Inside the Campaign Video and Discussion on Politics and Basketball
Released on Wednesday, the video features lighthearted banter as both left-handed Democrats trade swishes while Mr. Obama misses a midrange bank shot from the wing and jokes that “the bank was closed.” The two politicians also discuss the greatest basketball players of all time, unanimously placing Chicago Bulls guard Michael Jordan at the top of their lists. While the video leaves the winner of the IOWA game ambiguous, Mr. Obama remarked that he was “whooped” and praised Mr. Turek as someone who “knows how to win.”
Campaign Reactions and Broader Midterm Context
Ms. Hinson’s campaign swiftly dismissed the endorsement, with spokesman Billy Fuerst offering a six-word statement: “Another liberal endorses Josh Turek — shocking.” The video marks one of Mr. Obama’s early endorsements for the midterm elections three months away, following a similar glossy campaign video in May where he joined Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico for tacos in traditionally red Texas.
