2026年7月8日 美国东部时间6:08 / 福克斯新闻
记录显示，乔希·图雷克在加利福尼亚州和华盛顿特区筹款期间，缺席了涉及农村医疗和教育法案的投票
作者：莱奥·布里塞尼奥，福克斯新闻
福克斯商业频道记者格雷迪·特林布尔在《特别报道》节目中报道了州众议员乔希·图雷克与州参议员扎克·瓦尔兹竞争挑战共和党籍参议院候选人的关键席位角逐。
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FOX独家报道：记录显示，两届残奥会金牌得主、州议员、爱荷华州联邦参议院民主党候选人乔希·图雷克领取了超过2万美元的每日津贴，同时缺席了2026年超过一半的投票。
从2026年1月12日到5月3日，他缺席了议会261次投票，占其应投票数的近60%。
这些缺席行为部分集中在竞选活动期间，涉及多项备受瞩目的法案，这表明图雷克在为填补参议员乔尼·恩斯特（R-爱荷华州）退休后留下的席位而进行的艰难竞选过程中，难以平衡议员和候选人的双重角色。
在整个竞选过程中，图雷克将自己塑造成美国草根逆袭故事的典型代表：他天生下肢瘫痪，却仍为美国国家队出战残奥会篮球比赛，并在2016年和2020年夺得冠军。
民主党人借力残奥会选手 力争拿下共和党关键参议院席位
乔希·图雷克是两届残奥会金牌得主、州议员、爱荷华州联邦参议院民主党候选人。（斯科特·奥尔森/盖蒂图片社）
作为参议院候选人，图雷克承诺捍卫那些帮助他实现人生历程的政府项目。
“如果没有我父亲服役带来的退伍军人医疗保障、父母困难时期的免费暑期午餐项目，以及确保我能接受良好教育的当地教育辅助机构，我不可能走到今天，”图雷克在一段竞选视频中说道。
尽管这一打动人心的言论引发了全国关注，但图雷克的竞选筹款一直举步维艰。根据联邦选举委员会的记录，2025年7月至5月底，他仅筹集到340万美元资金。
这一数额在争夺空缺席位的竞选筹款中处于较低水平。
相比之下，试图夺回俄亥俄州参议员席位的前联邦参议员谢罗德·布朗自去年11月以来已筹集了近2600万美元。
记录显示，图雷克为在全国范围内筹款而缺席关键投票，同时却全额领取爱荷华州为议员提供的每日201美元免税津贴，以覆盖履职相关开支。根据众议院首席办事员的数据，图雷克领取的津贴总额达到了20100美元。
根据州法律，爱荷华州议员每次立法会议最多可领取100次每日津贴。
民主党人借力残奥会选手 力争拿下共和党关键参议院席位
2019年10月9日，爱荷华州得梅因市的爱荷华州议会大厦。2020年爱荷华州民主党党团会议将于2020年2月3日举行，这将是民主党总统初选的首场提名竞争。（乔·雷德尔/盖蒂图片社）
3月25日至3月31日期间，他缺席了12次投票，同期他在南加州居民中筹集了4.3万美元捐款。竞选支付的洛杉矶酒店费用显示，图雷克的竞选团队当时就在该地区。
在这12次缺席的投票中，他错过了一项涉及农村医疗和医疗执业许可法案的投票。另一起类似事件中，2月17日至3月23日期间，图雷克在华盛顿特区从捐赠者处筹集了3.65万美元，同期缺席了16次投票，其中包括一项教育标准法案的审议。
那段时间的竞选开支记录显示他亲自到场。其中一笔记录显示，他的竞选团队报告在缅因大道800号举办活动，支付了250美元的“活动场地租赁费”。
3月的某段时间里，图雷克连续缺席了30次投票。
在回应福克斯新闻数字频道的问询时，图雷克的竞选团队指出，缺席投票筹款并非他独有的情况，包括图雷克的共和党挑战者、众议员阿什利·辛普森（R-爱荷华州）在内的其他候选人也会为筹款而缺席投票。
“就在上周，阿什利·辛普森缺席了年度国防拨款法案的投票，去参加一场奢华的华盛顿特区筹款活动。与此同时，乔希·图雷克被评为爱荷华州最具跨党派合作精神和最高效的议员之一，他经常与共和党人合作，为爱荷华州家庭减税，并将危险罪犯绳之以法，”他的竞选团队发言人说道。
辛普森在6月24日参加筹款活动期间，缺席了2027年国防法案 markup环节的部分投票。
“乔希始终采取‘走遍全州’的方式，直接与爱荷华州民众会面，而阿什利·辛普森自启动竞选以来从未举办过一次市政厅会议，还多次投票损害爱荷华州家庭的利益，”该发言人补充道。
特朗普背书的辛普森赢得爱荷华州参议院共和党提名，民主党紧盯共和党席位
众议员阿什利·辛普森于2025年8月23日在爱荷华州锡达拉皮兹市的“阿什利烧烤派对”筹款活动上与来宾交谈。（斯科特·奥尔森/盖蒂图片社）
辛普森的竞选团队回应称，自2020年当选众议员以来，她的终身投票出席率达到98.8%，同时抨击了图雷克的履职记录。
“乔希·图雷克不仅在与舒尔茨派系的超级政治行动委员会一起筹款时，缺席了为爱荷华州退伍军人事务部拨款的投票，还缺席了爱荷华州农业法案、农村医疗资金、儿童虐待调查，以及2023年涉及未成年人性别转换手术的投票。乔希·图雷克是一名缺席履职的议员，不配获得他所谋求的晋升，”辛普森竞选团队的通讯主管比利·弗斯特在一份声明中说道。
点击此处下载福克斯新闻应用
本月早些时候，图雷克在民主党初选中令人信服地击败了爱荷华州民主党参议员扎克·瓦尔兹。
他将在11月3日的全州大选中与辛普森对决。
莱奥·布里塞尼奥是福克斯新闻数字频道国会团队的政治记者，此前曾任职于《世界杂志》。
Dem Senate hopeful pocketed massive taxpayer-funded cash while skipping hundreds of votes
July 8, 2026 6:08am EDT / Fox News
Records show Josh Turek missed votes on rural health and education bills while fundraising in California and Washington, DC
By Leo Briceno, Fox News
FOX Business correspondent Grady Trimble reports on state Rep. Josh Turek and state Sen. Zach Wahls competing for the chance to challenge the GOP U.S. Senate candidate in a key race on ‘Special Report.’
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FIRST ON FOX:Josh Turek, a two-time Paralympic gold medalist, a state legislator and Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Iowa, has taken over $20,000 in per diem payments while missing more than half of his 2026 votes, records reveal.
From Jan. 12, 2026, through May 3, he missed 261 of the chamber’s votes, accounting for nearly 60% of his votes.
The absences, some of which were clustered around campaign events and spanned several high-profile bills, suggest Turek has struggled to balance his role as a legislator and candidate as he wages an uphill battle to fill the seat being vacated by Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa,who is retiring.
Throughout his campaign, Turek has framed himself as a classic example of the American underdog story, having overcome being born paralyzed from the waist down to play basketball for the U.S. in the Paralympic Games, winning championships in 2016 and 2020.
DEMOCRATS TURN TO PARALYMPIAN IN BID TO FLIP KEY GOP-HELD SENATE SEAT
Josh Turek is a two-time Paralympic gold medalist, a state legislator and Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Iowa.(Scott Olson/Getty Images)
As a candidate for Senate, Turek has pledged to defend the government programs that made his journey possible.
“I wouldn’t have gotten that far without VA health coverage from my dad’s service, free summer lunch programs when my parents were struggling and the local AEA that made sure I had access to a good education,” Turek said in a campaign video.
Despite a powerful message that has drawn national attention, Turek has struggled to raise capital for his campaign, having accumulated $3.4 million from July 2025 through the end of May, according to FEC records.
The sum is on the lower end of campaign contributions for a campaign to flip an empty Senate seat.
By comparison, Sherrod Brown, a former U.S. senator trying to reclaim his seat in Ohio, has raised nearly $26 million since last November.
Records show that Turek skipped critical votes to raise campaign cash across the country — while at the same time maxing out the daily $201 tax-free per diem that Iowa offers its legislators to cover costs of the job. For Turek, that amount reached $20,100, according to the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives.
Legislators in Iowa may collect the per diem 100 times per legislative session, according to state law.
DEMOCRATS TURN TO PARALYMPIAN IN BID TO FLIP KEY GOP-HELD SENATE SEAT
The Iowa State Capitol building is seen on October 9, 2019, in Des Moines, Iowa. The 2020 Iowa Democratic caucuses will take place on February 3, 2020, making it the first nominating contest in the Democratic Party presidential primaries.(Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
He missed a set of 12 votes while, between March 25 and March 31, raising $43,000 in donations from residents of Southern California. Campaign payments for hotels in Los Angeles suggest Turek’s campaign had been in the area at the time.
Among the 12, Turek was absent for a vote on a rural health and medical licensing bill. In another similar case, Turek raised $36,500 from donors in Washington, D.C., between February 17 through March 23, missing 16 votes during that time, including consideration of an educational standards bill.
During that time, campaign expenses suggest he was there in person. In one such entry, his campaign reported hosting an event at 800 Maine Ave, paying $250 for an “event venue rental.”
At one point in March, Turek missed 30 consecutive votes.
In response to an inquiry from Fox News Digital, Turek’s campaign pointed out that the pattern isn’t unique to him and that other candidates — including Turek’s Republican challenger, Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa — also miss votes to fundraise.
“Just last week, Ashley Hinson skipped votes on the annual defense funding bill to attend a ritzy D.C. fundraiser. Meanwhile, Josh Turek is ranked one of Iowa’s most bipartisan and effective lawmakers and has regularly worked with Republicans to cut taxes for Iowa families and keep dangerous criminals off the streets,” a spokesperson for his campaign said.
Hinson was absent for a portion of the 2027 defense bill markup while at a fundraiser on June 24.
“While Josh continues his ‘go everywhere’ approach to meet directly with Iowans, Ashley Hinson has not held a single town hall since launching her campaign while repeatedly voting to hurt Iowa families,” the spokesperson added.
TRUMP-ENDORSED HINSON SECURES IOWA SENATE NOMINATION AS DEMOCRATS EYE GOP SEAT
Rep. Ashley Hinson speaks to guests during her Ashley’s BBQ Bash fundraiser on August 23, 2025, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.(Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Hinson’s campaign responded by noting that she has a 98.8% lifetime voting record since her election to the House of Representatives in 2020 while also lambasting Turek’s record.
“Not only did Josh Turek skip the vote to fund the Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs while fundraising with a Schumer-aligned Super PAC, he also skipped votes on the Iowa Farm Bill, rural health funding, child abuse investigations, and, in 2023, gender transition procedures for minors. Josh Turek is an absentee legislator who doesn’t deserve the promotion he’s trying to get,” Billy Fuerst, Hinson’s campaign communications director, said in a statement.
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Turek convincingly defeated Iowa Democratic Sen. Zach Wahls in the party primary earlier this month.
He will face off against Hinson in the state’s Nov. 3 general election.
Leo Briceno is a politics reporter for the congressional team at Fox News Digital. He was previously a reporter with World Magazine.