USA28 August, 20262 min read
Josh Turek Rejects Kamala Harris Campaigning For Him In Cedar Rapids, Iowa
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Josh Turek rejects Kamala Harris campaigning for him in Cedar Rapids. Turek is a Democratic Senate candidate and two-time Paralympic gold medalist.
5 outlets told this the same way.
Harris kept at distance
In Iowa, Democratic Senate candidate Josh Turek rejected the idea of former Vice President Kamala Harris campaigning for him, responding “No” when pressed by a reporter at a Wednesday event in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
“‘No, thank you,’ Sand said after Martin asked him about Harris.”
Turek, a state representative and two-time Paralympic basketball gold medalist, clinched his Senate nomination in early June, and the Fox 59 report framed his stance as part of a broader effort by red-state Democrats to distance themselves from Harris.
Rob Sand, the Iowa gubernatorial candidate and state auditor, also pushed back against Harris campaigning for him, saying “Let’s move on,” and adding that he believes she shouldn’t pursue a presidential run in 2028.
The Fox News account similarly reported Sand’s position when Politico’s Jonathan Martin asked whether Sand would like Harris to campaign for him, quoting Sand as saying “No, thank you” and “Let’s move on. We need new leaders.”
Polls and margins
A Suffolk University poll published on Wednesday placed Rob Sand ahead of Republican businessman Zach Lahn 48% to 44% among 500 Iowa voters likely to vote, with 9% undecided, and it reported a plus-or-minus 4.4-point margin of error.
The same reporting said an Emerson College Polling/Nexstar survey conducted August 2–4 put Sand ahead at 48% to 43%, while a New York Times/Siena College poll conducted from mid-June to late June showed a tighter race at 48% to 47%.
David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center, said, “These polls are within the statistical margin of error,” and tied it to the fact that voters who gave Trump double-digit scores in 2024 are now almost evenly split between the governor and the Senate.
The reporting also cited prediction markets, saying that in June 2025 Kalshi gave Republicans a 71% chance of holding the governorship vs. 29% for Democrats, and that Democrats are now around 74–78% on Kalshi depending on the day.
Campaign framing and stakes
In Independence, Iowa, Rob Sand told a crowd that “I think our political system is broken,” and he argued it is “run by two private clubs” that are “more interested in beating up on each other than they are in solving our problems.”
Sand, 44, is the state auditor and the CNN profile described him as holding 100 town hall meetings across every county in Iowa, with the town of Independence identified as the Buchanan County seat along the Wapsipinicon River in eastern Iowa.
The CNN report said Sand faces GOP businessman and farmer Zach Lahn, who surprised party leaders by defeating President Donald Trump’s endorsed candidate, Rep. Randy Feenstra, in the June primary.
In the same Iowa race, the Fox News report quoted Trump’s Truth Social post supporting Lahn, saying “It is a great honor for me to support the patriot of ‘America First,’ Zach Lahn,” and it identified the 2026 gubernatorial contest as Sand’s fight against Lahn in the state where Republicans hold all statewide offices except one.