CLEAR LAKE — Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona told Iowa Democrats Thursday their state plays a vital role in combating the "corruption" of President Donald Trump by helping decide control of Congress in 2026 through competitive elections for the U.S. Senate and House.
Kelly, a former astronaut and naval officer, delivered the keynote address for the Iowa Wing Ding, an annual Democratic fundraiser hosted at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake. He asked the crowd of more the 750 people who gathered at the event who they wanted to represent them in Congress and the state government, joking, "This isn't rocket science, and I should know."
He said Republicans also know the importance Iowa plays in the 2026 midterms.
"Republicans, you know, they understand how important these races are, and they're spending hundreds of millions of dollars right here, right now," Kelly said. "They're flooding the state with everything they have, and they're going to fight for the system that is working for them. And that's why we have to fight too."
Kelly first took office in December 2020, winning an Arizona special election to fill the state's U.S. Senate seat left vacant with former U.S. Sen. John McCain's death. He won reelection to serve a full six-year term in 2022.
The Arizona Democrat made national headlines when President Donald Trump and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth accused him and other Democratic lawmakers of sedition after releasing a video in November 2025 calling for members of the U.S. military and intelligence officers to refuse to carry out illegal orders.
"I know what happens when you speak truth to this administration," he told the crowd. He said the statement was something "everybody, including Pete Hegseth, should agree with — that our troops should not follow illegal orders."
Hegseth sought to reduce Kelly's retirement military rank as a naval officer because of his comments in the video, but a federal judge blocked this move in February. A grand jury also declined to indict Kelly and Sen. Elissa Slotkin, who also spoke in the video, on charges of seditious conspiracy.
Kelly said, "really, all this bullsh** — it is not about me. It is about silencing people who are willing to speak up, to stand up for what's right."
He called for Iowans to elect Democrats in order to be able to protect Americans' freedom to speak and vote — and to help create an economy that better serves working class Americans. Kelly shared a story in which he told his daughter, "the system is still working, it's just not working for you.
"It's working for the same people who are writing the rules — the rich, the powerful, the predators in the Epstein files," he said.
Kelly also criticized Trump for committing "unimaginable corruption" during his second term as president, saying that a Democratic Congress would be able to investigate Trump and his family, "and how he's trying to enrich himself and his family and his friends."
The Wing Ding is not the only stop on Kelly's trip to Iowa. He also plans to go to the Iowa State Fair, which kicked off Thursday.
While Iowa did not make the list of states the Democratic National Committee's rules panel has put forward as part of the 2028 nominating calendar early window, the state has long been an important place for presidential hopefuls to visit. Kelly told the BBC in February he would "seriously consider" a presidential run in 2028.
Before the Wing Ding, a group of conservatives called for Iowans to reject Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Josh Turek at the ballot box in November, saying he was "too liberal" for Iowa.
Four Republicans spoke as part of the Iowa Republican Party's "Turek's Too Liberal" tour outside the Surf Ballroom before the event began, calling for voters to instead support his opponent, U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson.
The speakers said Turek, who currently represents Council Bluffs in the Iowa House, did not represent Iowans' values through his votes in the state Legislature. They said his positions like a call to repeal the 2025 "One, Big Beautiful Bill" Act if elected to the Senate would hurt Iowa families.
John Latham, a farmer from Sheffield, criticized Turek for not voting on the "Iowa Farm Act" introduced by state Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig, a Republican, in the 2026 legislative session. Latham said the measure "delivered tax relief for for producers, helped support young and beginning farmers, and included provisions to keep Iowa farmland with the next generation, not big corporations or foreign countries."
Additionally, he said Turek opposes Hinson's "Save Our Bacon" Act — federal legislation that would ban states from enacting specific laws, like California's Proposition 12, that regulate growing conditions for agricultural products. While Turek has opposed Hinson's proposal, he also said he does not support California's Proposition 12.
"Iowa agriculture needs a strong voice in the Senate, not an activist who will vote like every other liberal in Congress," Latham said. "Josh Turek would be bad for farmers, bad for agriculture, and bad for small family businesses."
Before speaking at the Wing Ding, Turek held a campaign event in Northwood, the final stop of his 99-county tour. He joked he intentionally held the final event of the tour in Worth County, "so we could say that this trip was 'worth' it," as he introduced himself to the crowd as a former Paralympian and the first permanently disabled member elected to the state Legislature.
He told those gathered at the event about his first election in 2022, winning his Iowa House seat by a margin of six votes — and his reelection in 2024 by a margin of 5 percentage points.
"It has taught me the right candidate with the right message (can win), and I believe that message is common-sense prairie populism," Turek said.
After giving brief remarks, Turek visited with voters — including Sheri Miszewska, a former teacher, who criticized Iowa's all-GOP federal delegation for supporting cuts to medical research funding and education. Miszewska said she believed Turek's campaign had a good chance of succeeding in Iowa in the 2026 election.
"Looking at his past record — he's fighting for the average person, fighting for veterans, school districts," Miszewska said.
As Turek spoke later at the Wing Ding, he reflected on what he heard from Iowans after spending a year on the campaign trail.
"I got in this race a year ago yesterday, and it's been interesting, because I've been traveling this state all 99 counties," Turek said. "I keep engaging with people (who) say the same things — 'Josh, I'm struggling. I'm struggling just to keep food on the table, pay my electric bill, keep gas on my table.' And I think we're all feeling that, that struggle, right now. We're looking at a state that has really hit the bottom. … This is not the Iowa we know, this is not the Iowa we grew up in. But Iowans are ready for change."
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