Why Zach Wahls' attack on VoteVets makes no sense
By PHOEBE WALL HOWARD
Special To The Iowa Mercury
Disclaimer: I don’t live or vote in Iowa. But I used to live and vote in Iowa, and I loved the years spent in a state filled with people who took pleasure grilling politicians on public policy in small-town diners. Even the grocery baggers debate election issues.
Who can forget wearing Wellie boots on a muddy farm after a rainy morning, standing beside the new CNN reporter Wolf Blitzer in his fancy Italian loafers. Later, Andrea Mitchell of NBC News elbowed me in the ribs trying to get closer to Bill Clinton as he campaigned for president. She later elbowed others, I heard, when covering Hillary Clinton. Beltway reporters brought their own style to the heartland.
Even though I no longer cover politics for The Des Moines Register, I can’t help but follow Iowa because it remains a bellwether. I’m not alone in monitoring the U.S. Senate battle.
Incumbent Joni Ernst is quitting at age 55.
Her counterpart, Chuck Grassley, is 92 and hasn’t announced retirement. As president pro tempore of the U.S. Senate, he’s third in line for the presidency behind the Vice President J.D. Vance and U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Ernst, a lieutenant colonel in the Iowa National Guard who served in the Iraq War, was elected 12 years ago. She succeeded Democrat Tom Harkin, a U.S. Navy pilot, who retired after 40 years in the House and Senate.
But she announced her retirement in June 2025 after a national debacle where Ernst, a Republican, dismissed constituent concerns at a town hall about spending cuts to Medicaid in President Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill Act by saying, “We are all going to die.” Constituents booed.
America was stunned.
Her infamous words rapidly replaced Iowa’s popular quote from the 1989 film “Field of Dreams” — “Is this heaven? No, it’s Iowa.” Critics created T-shirts and mock welcome signs went viral on social media. A day later, she posted a video saying she wanted to “sincerely apologize” and say she was glad she didn’t have to explain the “tooth fairy.” The sarcasm backfired.
And now, Plan B in DC
U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, 43, a former broadcast journalist in Cedar Rapids, is widely considered the frontrunner for the GOP nomination.
Meanwhile, Democrats are engaged in a brutal fight. Polling is split.
Iowa state Sen. Zach Wahls, 34, of suburban Iowa City in the east, and Iowa state Rep. Josh Turek, 47, of conservative Council Bluffs in the southwest, have criss-crossed the state tirelessly. They have a lot they agree on, and some things they don’t.
But there’s one issue that seems to be getting a lot of media attention and it feels like reporters are missing the story putting veterans in the crosshairs.
Why it’s misleading
Wahls takes every opportunity to say his primary opponent is backed by dark money — and implies it’s unsavory. Turek has, in fact, been the beneficiary of millions of dollars from VoteVets, an advocacy founded in 2006 by military veterans unhappy about Iraq war decision-making.
Both candidate have pledged to refuse donations from corporate PAC groups, but Wahls spotlighted VoteVets activity at a forum in Des Moines on April 8.
That wasn’t the first time and it won’t be the last.
But it’s grossly misleading. And the press hasn’t explained why.
“There is a real difference in this race,” Wahls said. “Actions have to speak a lot louder than words. We are talking right now about the impact of corporate PAC money and how that has affected a lot of Iowans in our economy. But right now, there is a dark money super PAC that is currently spending millions of dollars bolstering Rep. Turek’s campaign.”
Highly respected political reporter Laura Belin of Bleeding Heartland reported on April 12 that VoteVets planned to spend $2.5 million prior to the June 2 primary election. “So far, the VoteVets ads have focused on positive messages about Turek’s personal story and have not raised the electability issue” noting that Turek has proven record of passing legislation and winning over voters in a red district vs an opponent whose progressive district is nicknamed the People’s Republic of Johnson County.
To date, VoteVets has spent more than $6 million raising Turek’s profile with independent expenditures spent on ads and outreach not coordinated through the campaign.
Thing is, VoteVets is not a corporate PAC.
Its official VoteVets Action Fund is actually a 501©4 non-profit organization considered a hybrid PAC because it focuses on electing Democratic veterans advocating for veterans issues as opposed to a political action committee created by a corporate to represent business interests. The money powering VoteVets Action Fund actually comes from thousands of individual contributions.
Where attacking VoteVets gets weird
Wahls says the main difference between himself and Turek is a dark money super PAC “linked” to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer who is backing Turek. Wahls said he’s the one who will go to Washington as an “outsider” to “challenge the status quo” and “party bosses in DC,” making him more competitive against Hinson.
A message was left with Schumer’s office on Thursday, May 7, asking about Schumer’s alleged role in the Iowa race. No question, Schumer is widely viewed by Democrats in Iowa and nationally as a weak leader who fails to pushback against President Trump on key policies.
Belin posted video of Turek and Wahls and wrote, “Wahls believes that his public criticism of Schumer is the reason VoteVets is spending heavily for Turek. To my knowledge, every Democrat running for Senate went to Washington last summer to make their case for support. I would guess that Schumer and his allies decided Turek was the strongest candidate for the general election and were not reacting to anything the other Democratic contenders said about Schumer personally.”
Again and again, Wahls implies the VoteVets money is suspicious.
Turek’s dad, a U.S. Navy combat veteran in Vietnam who described listening to soldiers cry as they burned to death, told the Iowa Mercury this week that if any candidate in this country deserves VoteVets support, it’s his son. Both John and Josh Turek have suffered from Agent Orange exposure. Josh Turek endured 21 surgeries as a child with spina bifada. He has used a wheelchair since.
So who better for VoteVets to support than someone who lives the consequences of war? John Turek asked. He suggested that demonizing VoteVets is unfair.
Still, Belin commented on May 7 to the Iowa Mercury story saying, “I wouldn’t call VoteVets ‘sinister’ but to my knowledge they don’t disclose their donors. So that is by definition a dark money group. It’s not funded through small grassroots donations from veterans, as far as I know.”
Wait, did Zach Wahls’ staff even check?
A little digging casts doubt on the authenticity of Wahls’ claims.
That seems cynical at best and manipulative at worst. The candidate must think that voters won’t do the research themselves.
Again and again, Wahls steps in front of cameras to suggest that VoteVets is a pawn of Schumer. But VoteVets spotlights national security and veterans care issues. A quick review of proposed legislation by VoteVets-endorsed candidates indicates a specific focus on veterans.
VoteVets, which claims to represent more than 1.5 million military families and their supporters, has reach: 349,000 Facebook followers, 260,000 X followers; 76,000 YouTube subscribers; 144,000 TikTok subscribers and 120,000 Instagram subscribers.
Wahls attacks PAC that (his) labor supports
When you review Form 990 tax records and look at finance records through citizenaudit.org or OpenSecrets.org or ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer for the most recent years available, you notice patterns.
Individual donor support
In the 2023-24 election cycle, 7,234 individuals donated $200 or more to VoteVets. In the 2021-22 election cycle, 3,467 individuals donated $200 or more. In the 2019-20 election cycle, 4,623 individuals donated $200 or more.
Labor support
Unions have contributed significant dollars to VoteVets, including: Ironworkers, Plumbers and Steamfitters, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Communication Workers of America (CWA), Laborers International Union of North America (LiUNA), International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), Steamfitters, International Association of Firefighters, American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Sheet Metal Workers International Association, United Mine Workers.
Note: Wahls touts the support of Ironworkers and Plumbers on his campaign website.
Direct connection between VoteVets top donors and the military.
Liz Simons of Atherton, California, was a top donor in 2022 with $600,000. Her mathematician father worked as a codebreaker during the Vietnam War. The family has donated billions to philanthropy.
Karla Jurvetson of Los Altos Hills, California, donated $500,000 in 2022. She is a physician and the granddaughter of a Christian chaplain in the U.S. Navy. (She was a major contributor to a PAC that supported Elizabeth Warren, who is campaigning with Wahls as he criticizes people associated with VoteVets.)
Pat Stryker of Fort Collins, Colorado, the granddaughter of a U.S. Army veteran who served in World War 1 and invented products for wounded soldiers as an orthopedic surgeon based in Kalamazoo, Michigan, donated $250,000 in 2022.
Frank Armstrong, a retired U.S. Air Force pilot and Vietnam veteran from Coconut Grove, Florida, donated $700,000 in 2024.
While Iowans aren’t listed among top donors, they do appear, including Roxanne Conlin of Des Moines, former U.S. attorney, a $10,000 donor in 2024.
Deep ties to U.S. lawmakers with military ties
Again, VoteVets is not a corporate PAC pushing business issues. It focuses on issues that impact military families and candidates with a record of understanding, including U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin, Michigan, former CIA, Department of Defense; U.S. Rep Andy Kim, New Jersey, former NATO, State Department, Pentagon; U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, Arizona, U.S. Navy aviator; U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu, California, U.S. Air Force colonel, JAG Corps; U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal, California, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve; U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta, California, U.S. Navy Reserve intelligence officer; U.S. Rep. Gil Cisneros, California, U.S. Navy; Tulsi Gabbard, National Intelligence director, former Army National Guard; U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, Maine, U.S. Marine Corps; Gov. Wes Moore, Maryland, U.S. Army Reserve; Gov. Mikie Sherrill, New Jersey, U.S. Navy.
In March, Iowans mourned the death of two U.S. Army soldiers killed by a drone attack on a command center in Kuwait, a day after the U.S. and Israel launched its military campaign against Iran: Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, and Maj. Jeffrey O’Brien, 45, of Waukee.
Iowa has approximately 177,000 military veterans in the state or 5.5% of the population with a $2.6 billion annual economic impact.
Awaiting a response from Wahls
Messages were left with the Wahls campaign early Thursday, May 7, to ask how he can be critical of a PAC that’s funded by groups whose support he touts.
Editor’s note: Phoebe Wall Howard is an award-winning reporter who worked for The Des Moines Register covering organized labor and politics. She now writes Shifting Gears on Substack and is currently a member of the Iowa Writers Collaborative. She is the daughter of a U.S. Army veteran, granddaughter of a U.S. Navy veteran and niece of U.S. Air Force veterans. She is married to a master electrician who recently worked on the Gordie Howe International Bridge project as a member of the IBEW.
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Thank you Phoebe, your reporting is on target with facts. Making Schumer an issue in the campaign has been a misstep since day one as has this VoteVets issue. If there is any politician that Turek would be honored to receive endorsement from is former Senator Tom Harkin. I have not seen an endorsement from Harkin.
As always, fantastic reporting and analysis by Phoebe Wall Howard.