5NOV

Turek beats Hinson as Sand wins Iowa

2 min read

00:50UTC

Josh Turek took Iowa's Senate seat 50.45% to 46.34% on the Secretary of State's unofficial results, and Rob Sand became the first Democrat elected Iowa governor since 2006.

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Key takeaway

Iowa Democrats won the Senate seat and governorship and lead three of four House districts.

Josh Turek won Iowa's Senate race over Ashley Hinson, 686,486 votes to 630,615, 50.45% to 46.34%, on the Iowa Secretary of State's unofficial results with 95 of 99 counties fully reported⁠¹. He cleared 50% outright, so the Libertarian's 3.09% did not decide it. A Marist Poll had put Turek ahead in September, and he kept the lead through the outside spending that followed.

Rob Sand won the governorship 757,326 to 607,415, the first Democrat elected governor of Iowa since 2006, CNBC reported⁠².

Democrats lead in three of Iowa's four House districts. Christina Bohannan has 52.74% against Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks in IA-1 (Iowa's 1st District), and Sarah Trone Garriott has 53.52% against Representative Zach Nunn in IA-3; NBC projected both for Democrats⁠³. In IA-2, the seat Hinson left to run for the Senate, Lindsay James leads Joe Mitchell 49.5% to 45.53%.

Deep Analysis

In plain English

Iowa, a farm state in the US Midwest, has voted Republican in most recent statewide races. On 3 November it elected Democrat Josh Turek to the US Senate over Republican Ashley Hinson, and Democrat Rob Sand as governor. Iowa has four seats in the US House of Representatives. Democrats lead in three of them on the state's unofficial count. Television networks have projected two of those for the Democrats; the third, IA-2, is still a lead.

Deep Analysis

Root Causes

Democratic-side outside groups outspent Republican-side groups in Iowa's Senate race on filings through late October, and Lower Costs Now alone reported spending for Turek. Turek did not depend on outspending the late Republican push; the money on his side was already larger.

The open IA-2 seat came about because Hinson left The House to run for the Senate. An open seat removes the incumbent's advantage, which helps explain why the race there is the closest of Iowa's three Democratic leads.

What could happen next?

Meaning
If the IA-2 lead holds, Democrats will hold Iowa's new Senate seat, its governorship and three of its four House seats at once.
Risk
IA-2 remains a lead rather than a projection, and the four outstanding counties can still move it.

First Reported In

Update #23 · Democrats take the Senate and the House

NBC News· 5 Nov 2026

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Different Perspectives

Missouri voters

Missouri voters rejected Proposition A by 61.83% to 38.17% at 95% reporting, repealing the 2025 map that split Kansas City. Trump carried the state, yet its 2022 lines now stay for future elections too.

Senate Leadership Fund (SLF)

SLF reported about $43.9m of independent expenditures from 27 October to 1 November, almost all against Democrats, including $12.37m against Sherrod Brown. Seven of its ten targets won; Dan Osborn lost in Nebraska and two are uncalled.

Richard Hudson, chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee

Hudson, who runs House Republicans' campaign arm, conceded North Carolina's 9th District to Richard Ojeda before any AP call. Democrats lead 10 of the state's 14 House districts on the unofficial feed.

Department of Justice (DOJ)

DOJ lost before Judge David O. Carter on 28 October and a 9th Circuit panel on 30 October on its demand to set aside 20,000 California ballots, and says it will appeal the Alaska dismissal. No court has set a ballot aside.

Senator Dan S. Sullivan

Sullivan, who trails Mary Peltola 48.2% to 47.9% on first choices, told CNN he would accept the result. DOJ's suit to stop Alaska certifying anyone but him was dismissed on 1 November.

Scott Colom's campaign

Colom's campaign estimates that about 15,000 affidavit ballots remain to be counted in a race he leads by roughly 65 to 100 votes. Those ballots count only if voters confirm their ID or eligibility by 5pm on 10 November.

Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Editorial standards.