VoteVets is launching a new television ad as part of a multimillion-dollar effort backing state Rep. Josh Turek of Council Bluffs in Iowa’s competitive U.S. Senate Democratic primary, the group announced.
The ad, titled “Easiest Diagnosis,” features Air Force veteran and Iowa physician Dr. Teresa Coon discussing health care issues and Turek’s platform. It will air statewide on broadcast, cable and satellite television, along with digital placements on streaming services, YouTube, digital audio and social media, according to a news release.
The spot is the second ad in VoteVets’ ongoing campaign to boost Turek’s candidacy. The organization said it has spent $2.65 million so far, including $1 million on ads running this week, as part of a broader effort to introduce Turek to voters as “a fighter for working families.” Its first ad, “Tough Times,” began airing March 24.
Speaking directly to camera, Coon says, “I spent seven years as a doctor in the Air Force and 30 more here in Iowa. Here’s my diagnosis: Our health care system is broken. Josh Turek gets it.” The spot highlights Turek’s personal story of being born with spina bifida due to his father’s exposure to Agent Orange while serving in the Vietnam War. The ad presents him as a candidate who “has been fighting his whole life.” It outlines his proposals to “take on the insurance companies,” “ban them from denying doctor prescribed care,” and “reverse Donald Trump’s disastrous cuts to Medicaid,” concluding with the line: “America needs to do something about health care. That’s why Iowa needs Josh Turek.”
VoteVets typically backs Democratic candidates who are military veterans. Turek did not serve in the military, but the group is backing him in part due to his family’s connection to military service and the long-term health impacts of that service.
VoteVets Senior Adviser Major General (Ret.) Paul Eaton said Turek “is a fighter who knows firsthand the costs military families experience,” adding that “families like his … bear the costs of decisions made in Washington.” Eaton said the group is backing Turek because he will “fight for veterans and military families,” calling him someone “who know[s] how to win” and pledging support to help him prevail in the primary and advocate for “hardworking Iowans.”
The new ad follows an earlier $825,000 ad buy announced in March, marking the first known involvement of a super PAC in the Democratic primary for Iowa’s open Senate seat.
The group also has been active nationally in Democratic Senate races and has worked alongside organizations aligned with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to support candidates in competitive contests.
Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, of Marion, is running for her party’s nomination in the race. U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst is not seeking reelection. Former Republican state lawmaker Jim Carlin, of Sioux City also is seeking his party’s nomination.
