Call it the Blue Scare of 2026.

Murmurs fill a packed room. Flashbulbs pop. And the gavel falls.

“Are you now or have you ever been associated with U.S. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York?”

If so, you might be a member of the dreaded Democratic establishment, or worse yet, a “Washington insider.”

Schumer has become a key figure in the Democratic race for U.S. Senate in Iowa. State Sen. Zach Wahls contends outside spending in the race by VoteVets.org to benefit his rival, state Rep. Josh Turek, shows Turek is beholden to party poohbas, led by old Chuck “The Jellyfish” Schumer himself.

Schumer misplaced his backbone last fall during a federal shutdown. Democrats refused to fund the government unless Congress approved an extension of enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies helping millions of Americans keep their health coverage.

But Schumer caved and allowed a group of Democrats to vote for a GOP measure ending the shutdown. In exchange, Schumer got a paltry promise from Republicans to vote on the ACA subsidies later. Those subsidies remain gone at this hour, and estimates show 4 million Americans will lose coverage. Schumer’s catastrophic capitulation is, for some, unforgivable.

So what’s Turek got to do with it?

Well, the political arm of VoteVets.org has poured $8 million into ads on Turek’s behalf. VoteVets receives funding from PACs tied to the Democratic establishment, including the Senate Majority PAC, and tends to back establishment candidates. Senate Majority PAC has not transferred money to VoteVets this election cycle.

“Sen. Schumer is trying to come into Iowa, trying to buy an election …,” Wahls said in an early May debate. He vows, if elected, to oppose re-electing Schumer as leader. Turek isn’t making a similar pledge..

The outside spending is, of course, fair game for criticism. Schumer is unpopular, so the advantage of such an attack is obvious.

But Schumer did not invent Turek. Many Iowans already saw him as a compelling candidate, with Paralympic gold medals, remarkable determination to meet voters at their doors and a pair of victories in a Council Bluffs district won easily by Donald Trump. Labeling Turek as an insider pawn won’t stick.

The Senate Majority PAC has announced it will drop $13.4 million into Iowa to pay for ads targeting Republican Senate nominee-in-waiting U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson. The Senate Leadership Fund, a Republican PAC, says it will spend $29 million in the state.

If Wahls has said he would denounce the help, I missed it.

Also, if Wahls or Turek wins Iowa, it likely means Democrats are taking the Senate. Following such a triumph, Schumer will be re-elected as leader if he wants it. Wahls may have to take a tough vote or break his promise.

But winning the primary comes first. And for Iowa Democrats, U.S. Sen. Ashley Hinson is the true blue scare.