Two candidates with fascinating life stories are running for the Democratic nomination in the senate election in Iowa.

https://jasonbeets.blogspot.com/2026/05/a-fascinating-iowa-senate-race.html

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#News #Iowa #Democrats #Election #USPol #Politics #US #USA

Zach Wahls, who was raised by a lesbian couple, eloquently and tirelessly advocated for gay rights, before he was elected to serve in the Iowa State Senate.

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#LGBT #GayMarriage #Gay #Lesbian #Advocacy #Activism

Josh Turek, who has Spina Bifida, trained hard to become a wheelchair basketball paralympian who won two gold medals, before he was elected to serve in the Iowa House of Representatives.

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#Sports #Olympics #Paralympics #Disability #Wheelchair #Basketball

Iowa will hold its primary on June 2.

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The US Senate election in Iowa is for an open seat, because Republican Senator Joni Ernst chose not to run for reelection.

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#Iowa #Senate #Republicans

The 2026 Iowa Senate Race has received little national attention, despite the captivating life stories of the two rising stars running in the Democratic primary.

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So let’s learn about these candidates, and their fascinating biographies, as we explore the most interesting Senate Race you’ve likely never heard of.

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Section: Fighting for Equality

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Zach Wahls was raised by his two mothers, Terry Wahls and Jackie Reger.

Both Zach Wahls and his sister were conceived via artificial insemination, from the same anonymous sperm donor, which means they are full biological siblings.

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Zach Wahls advocated for gay rights as the US debated whether same-sex couples should be allowed to legally marry.

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In 2009, the Iowa Supreme Court overturned a state law that banned gay marriage.

https://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/04/us/04iowa.html

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#Iowa #Gay #Marriage #Law #Politics #Equality

Republicans in the Iowa House of Representatives attempted to overturn the State Supreme Court decision by amending the Iowa State Constitution to ban gay marriage.

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The Judiciary Committee of the Iowa House held a hearing on January 31, 2011, as the legislature considered whether to approve the proposed state constitutional amendment.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/a-tale-of-two-moms-a-teenage-sonand-a-video-that-wouldnt-die/

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Zach Wahls, who was a 19-year-old college student at the time, eloquently advocated in favor of marriage equality and against the proposed amendment.

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His arguments were so well reasoned that The Economist magazine introduced video of Wahls’s testimony by stating, “This is what it looks like to win an argument.”

https://www.economist.com/democracy-in-america/2011/02/04/the-iowa-house-v-zach-wahls-and-his-moms

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Wahls told the committee that his family isn’t that different from any other Iowa family.

“When I’m home, we go to church together. We eat dinner, we go on vacations,” he said. “But, we have our hard times too; we get in fights. Actually, my mom, Terry, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2000. It is a devastating disease that put her in a wheelchair. So, we’ve had our struggles."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01DcBxsOyIw

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“But we’re Iowans,” Wahls continued. “We don’t expect anyone to solve our problems for us. We’ll fight our own battles. We just hope for equal and fair treatment from our government.”

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Wahls said the topic of same-sex marriage came up frequently during class discussions at his university.

“The question always comes down to, ‘Can gays even raise kids?’ And the conversation gets quiet for a moment, because most people don’t really have an answer,” he said. “And then I raise my hand and say, ‘Well actually, I was raised by a gay couple, and I’m doing pretty well.’ ”

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Wahls reiterated that his family was not that different than any other.

“My family really isn’t so different from yours,” he said. “After all, your family doesn’t derive its sense of worth from being told by the state, ‘You’re married, congratulations!’ No. The sense of family comes from the commitment we make to each other to work through the hard times so we can enjoy the good ones. It comes from the love that binds us. That’s what makes a family.”

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Wahls argued against amending the Iowa constitution to discriminate against families like his.

“So what you’re voting for here is not to change us,” he said. “It’s not to change our families, it’s to change how the law views us, how the law treats us.”

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