Between January 12 and May 3 of this year, Iowa State Representative Josh Turek of Council Bluffs missed 261 legislative votes. That's nearly 60% of all House votes during the 2026 session.

He still collected $20,100 in per diem payments.

Turek, the Iowa Democrats' nominee for U.S. Senate, apparently believes the path to a promotion runs through not showing up for the job you already have. He's running against Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson for the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Joni Ernst — and his campaign pitch is that he's the guy Iowa needs representing them full-time in Washington. Based on his attendance record, "full-time" is a generous interpretation.

So where was Turek while his colleagues were voting on legislation? According to Iowa House chief clerk records he was fundraising. Between March 25 and 31, Turek missed 12 votes while his campaign raised roughly $43,000 from Southern California donors, with expenses logged at Los Angeles hotels. From February 17 through March 23, he missed another 16 votes while pulling in approximately $36,500 from Washington, D.C. donors.

At one point in March, he missed 30 consecutive votes.

The bills he couldn't be bothered to show up for weren't obscure procedural measures. Rural healthcare and medical licensing legislation. An education standards bill. Funding for the Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs. The Iowa Farm Bill. Child abuse investigation protocols.

Veterans, farmers, kids. The greatest hits of things Iowa voters actually care about.

Turek's campaign offered the predictable defense. A spokesperson called him "one of Iowa's most bipartisan and effective lawmakers" and pointed out that Hinson also missed votes for fundraisers. Which is an interesting rebuttal when your opponent claims a 98.8% lifetime voting record since 2020. Sixty percent absence versus 1.2% absence isn't a comparison — it's a punchline.

The per diem detail is what elevates this from lazy to insulting. Legislative per diem exists to compensate lawmakers for the cost of doing the people's business. Turek treated it like direct deposit for a no-show job. Most employers have a word for collecting a paycheck while skipping 60% of your shifts. It's not "bipartisan" or "effective."

This is what a candidacy looks like when the resume is thinner than the ambition. You skip the votes in Des Moines, cash the checks, fly to Los Angeles and D.C. to fill the war chest, then ask Iowa voters to send you to a bigger chamber where the stakes are higher and the accountability is lower.