Obama Backs Iowa Democrat Turek’s Senate Bid in Basketball Video Endorsement

Former President Barack Obama threw his support behind Iowa Democrat Josh Turek on Wednesday, appearing in a campaign video where the two played basketball to promote Turek’s bid to capture a Republican-held U.S. Senate seat. The endorsement comes as Democrats target the Iowa seat vacated by retiring two-term Senator Joni Ernst, a race viewed as crucial to the party’s narrow path toward Senate control.

Turek, a state representative and four-time U.S. Paralympic wheelchair basketball competitor, faces Republican U.S. Representative Ashley Hinson in the contest. Hinson has secured backing from President Donald Trump, who won Iowa by double digits in the most recent presidential election. No Democrat has represented Iowa in the Senate for more than a decade.

In the video, Obama and Turek played a modified version of the basketball game H-O-R-S-E, using the letters I-O-W-A instead. Obama referenced his 2008 Iowa caucuses victory, which propelled him from a little-known Illinois senator to the Democratic presidential nomination, and noted his subsequent general election victories in the state.

“Of all the things I’ve done in politics, Iowa was my favorite thing,” Obama said in the footage. “There was just a magic about regular folks showing up.” Obama also jokingly remarked that Turek “whooped” him during their game, before concluding: “Now the ball’s in your court, Iowa. Let’s make sure that we send Josh Turek to the United States Senate.”

The endorsement reflects Obama’s growing involvement in the 2026 election cycle. In May, he appeared alongside U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico at a taco shop in Texas. Obama, a longtime basketball enthusiast, had the White House tennis court converted for basketball use and installed a professional-grade court at his Presidential Center, where he met WNBA players, including Iowa native Caitlin Clark, last week.