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By Hollie Silverman
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Josh Turek, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Iowa, said President Donald Trump has done a “better job” on the border than former President Joe Biden, while identifying several areas where he could work with the Republican president if elected next month.
“I agree with Trump. He's done a better job on the border than Biden, for sure,” state Representative Turek told ABC News’ Jonathan Karl on This Week when he was asked what he believed the president has done right. "I agree with him that we need to drive private equity out of housing. I would also like to see us drive private equity out of housing, healthcare, and nursing homes. And I agree with him that we should have no tax on tips, overtime, and Social Security."
Turek's campaign has also promised cooperation with Trump on immigration. In a campaign advertisement, Turek says: “In the U.S. Senate, I'll work with anyone to fix it, including President Trump, to secure the border, stop the flow of drugs into Iowa.”
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Turek described himself on Sunday as a “proud moderate” and a “commonsense prairie populist.” He listed his priorities as including a livable wage, affordable housing, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, drinkable water, Iowa’s cancer rate, functioning public schools, infrastructure and addressing corruption.
When Karl asked whether he believed the Democratic Party had moved too far to the left, Turek declined to make a broader judgment about the party.
“I don't think a lot about the party as a whole,” he said. “I think about myself, and I think about Iowa.”
The remarks came as Turek campaigns against Republican Representative Ashley Hinson, who Trump has endorsed, in one of the country's most closely watched midterm races. Trump won Iowa by 13 points in 2024 when he ran against former Vice President Kamala Harris.
A Democratic victory in the Hawkeye State could be important to the party’s hopes of winning control of the Senate, with the Associated Press listing the state among Democrats’ best Republican-held pickup opportunities.
Turek said on Sunday that he does not “vilify people for voting for Trump,” saying the president had “accurately identified the problem” when he raised concerns about grocery prices, corruption, electricity costs and keeping the country out of “forever wars.”
However, he criticized the results under the Trump administration, arguing that there had instead been “more and more consolidation of wealth and power to a handful of individuals.” He has also targeted foreign policy regarding the Iran war and trade tariffs, contending that rising costs have placed a burden on Iowans.
Turek also said that he had been independently recognized as one of the Iowa Legislature’s most bipartisan and effective members. He said he had never approached his work through “the guise of tribalism,” instead voting based on his district, his conscience and what he believed was best for Iowa.
Newsweek reached out to Turek's campaign by email Sunday for further comment.
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Hinson's View on the Border and Immigration
Hinson said last year during a conference call with reporters that illegal immigration is the top issue she hears about from her constituents.
“There are many mechanisms for people to self deport right now," she said, Radio Iowa reported. "The CDP One app, which is allowing for people to maybe have the chance to come back and experience the American dream, I would encourage people to look into what the Department of Homeland Security is offering there. The number one issue I heard about is the border and safety and making sure we’re deporting people who are not here illegally.”
Iowa is known for its extensive farms and agricultural production, and when asked if she had concerns over not having enough farm workers if illegal immigrants are deported, the congresswoman said it was important to work toward a solution that provides a legal immigration workforce visa.
"This is a workforce visa, not an amnesty issue,” Hinson said. “And we need to make sure we have those legal pathways for people to come here to work in critical industries like agriculture.”
Newsweek reached out to Hinson's campaign by email Sunday for further comment.
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Border Security Becomes Bipartisan Focus
Trump has made tougher border enforcement a defining part of his presidency, including continuing his wall along the U.S.-Mexico border that he started in his first term.
Turek’s comparison comes after migration at the U.S.-Mexico border surged and peaked during the Biden administration, a development the Associated Press said in a September analysis as a major reason voters returned Trump to the White House.
The AP analysis examined federal records containing the self-reported destinations of 4.5 million migrants released into the U.S. after crossing the border, legally or illegally, between October 2018 and July 2025, which fell under Trump's and Biden's administrations.
"The number of migrants released in the U.S. after crossing the border from Mexico began climbing during Trump's first term and rose drastically under Biden," the AP wrote in its analysis. "Border crossings fell sharply after Biden introduced severe asylum restrictions in June 2024 and plummeted more after Trump returned to the White House and suspended asylum at the border."
James Talarico, a Democrat who is running for a seat in the U.S. Senate in Texas, a border state, has also embraced a tougher border-security message, declaring himself a “border security Democrat” and saying Biden “failed us during his administration by not securing the border."
Although Talarico remains sharply opposed to other aspects of Trump's immigration agenda, he has advocated for hiring more Border Patrol agents, expanding surveillance technology and adding immigration judges, and has said he supports physical border barriers in places where they are needed.
Newsweek reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here. Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Anthony Murray and Steve Mollman.
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