State Representative Josh Turek is a four-time Paralympian and two-time gold medalist for Team USA, a former professional wheelchair basketball player and a candidate for U.S. Senate. 

As the Olympics come to a close and the Paralympics begin in early March, I’m sure a lot of us are thinking about what it means to cheer for Team USA. 

Representing the United States at four Paralympic games was the highlight of my wheelchair basketball career, and one of the greatest honors of my life. Watching them raise the American flag with USA across my chest, a gold medal around my neck, and the stars and stripes over my shoulders, I was proud to be an American. 

This Olympics, I know many Americans are troubled by the direction of our country.

The strongest, wealthiest nation in the world should not be one where millions of people are losing their health care and food assistance while billionaires get tax breaks. It should not be one where a government agency is inflicting fear and violence on American communities with no accountability. It should not be one that doesn’t protect women’s bodily autonomy. It should not be one where policymakers are more interested in looking for the next big check than looking out for the little guy. 

Iowa, a state that was once number 1 in public education, one of the first states to recognize gay marriage, the first state to admit women to the bar, is now 50th in the country for economic growth and home to one of the nation’s most extreme abortion bans. The only things we’re #1 in are farm foreclosures and cancer rates. 

Many of us are searching for the greatness in that. 

I’m running to represent Iowa in the U.S. Senate to fight for an America we can be proud to cheer for. 

I didn’t plan to have a life in politics. I first ran for the Iowa House of Representatives after seeing the impact of Iowa’s privatized Medicaid system. I was working as an assistive technology professional, helping assess and provide mobility devices to individuals with disabilities. Since Iowa had privatized Medicaid, we saw a 1,000 percent increase in denial and delay rates. This wasn’t happenstance, it wasn’t just failed bureaucracy: it was a direct result of a policy that sought to profit off the most vulnerable in our society.

That’s not what Iowa, or what America, is all about. 

Now, I’m running for Senate because we need more people in Washington from places like Council Bluffs, Iowa, who understand what it’s like to go to the Goodwill for clothes and have the wrong color lunch ticket, people who have had to navigate our country’s broken health care system, so they understand what it means to cut health care for millions of working class Americans just give tax breaks to billionaires. 

Securing a Senate Democratic Majority is one of the best ways to reverse the actions that have disappointed so many of us. That majority runs through Iowa, and as the Democrat that represents the reddest seat in Iowa won in 2024, I know what it takes to win the votes we’ll need to win statewide. Flipping this seat won’t be easy, but neither was winning gold medals. 

The Olympics and Paralympics offer an opportunity for Americans of different races, religions, political parties, and geographies to have one thing in common and remind us that we’re all on the same team. We can celebrate our Olympic and Paralympic athletes while also fighting for an America we’re proud to cheer for. By electing candidates that reflect the best of America, we can be proud of both our athletes and our representatives.