Iowa Democrat Senate candidate receives pushback for ad opposing transgender athletes, taxpayer-funded sex changes 

Iowa Senate candidate Josh Turek is facing criticism from LGBT activists and fellow Democrats after releasing a campaign ad opposing males in female sports and taxpayer-funded sex-change procedures – positions that have also drawn scrutiny from his Republican opponent.

Turek, a state representative from Council Bluffs, is running against Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson for Iowa’s open Senate seat.

Turek, who is disabled, won gold medals in wheelchair basketball at the Paralympics.

“It’s why I oppose males competing in female sports, something that is already illegal in Iowa,” he says in the ad.

“I’m against taxpayers paying for sex changes too,” he adds.

Iowa passed legislation in 2022 barring transgender-identifying males from competing in girls’ sports. Gov. Kim Reynolds signed the measure into law, which applies to K-12 schools and colleges.

“No amount of talent, training or effort can make up for the natural physical advantages males have over females,” Reynolds, a Republican, said at the time.

Three years ago, the state also banned sex-change surgeries for minors. The law also barred doctors from providing children puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones for so-called gender transitions.

The Iowa House journal says Turek was absent when lawmakers passed the 2023 measure. His campaign told PolitiFact in June that he opposes sex-change surgeries for minors.

Hinson has challenged Turek’s record, pointing to his votes against Republican proposals concerning transgender issues.

“He is trying to act like a Republican,” she said at a rally this week, according to Iowa Capital Dispatch.

Turek voted against a 2023 education bill requiring schools to notify parents when a child wants to use a different name or pronouns to reflect a transgender identity. The measure concerned parental notification, not medical interventions for children.

He also opposed a 2025 health budget bill that barred Medicaid from paying for sex-change procedures.

Turek said he opposed other provisions of the measure, including its failure to address long waits for services and a shortage of care providers, American Journal News reported.

LGBT activists have also criticized Turek’s ad, objecting to his positions on the issues.

“We unequivocally condemn Josh Turek’s recently released campaign ad and the policy shift it represents,” One Iowa Action Executive Director Max Mowitz told Iowa Capital Dispatch.

State Rep. Aime Wichtendahl, D-Hiawatha, Iowa’s first openly transgender-identifying state lawmaker, also criticized Turek.

“You don’t need to throw people under the bus to win elections. The plain fact is that these talking points don’t win elections,” Wichtendahl told the Iowa State Capitol Bureau.

Wichtendahl had already voted early for Turek.

Ballot measures in other states

Voters in five states will decide transgender-related issues next week, as reported in Heartlander News.

Arizona, Nebraska and Washington have proposals to keep males out of female school sports. Washington’s measure would also require a health care provider to verify an athlete’s sex for girls’ competitions.

Colorado voters will consider separate proposals concerning female sports and sex-change surgeries for minors.

In Missouri, Amendment 3 would permanently ban so-called gender-transition surgeries, puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for minors under 18, with exceptions for unrelated medical conditions. The measure would also repeal the 2024 constitutional amendment that established “reproductive health care rights,” restricting abortion to cases of rape or incest, emergencies and fetal anomalies up to 12 weeks’ gestation. 

(Image credit: Screenshot/Josh Turek campaign website)