Josh Turek ad on transgender issues draws bipartisan criticism

Josh Turek, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, is facing criticism from both LGBTQ+ advocates and Republicans for a recent ad in which he said he opposed allowing transgender women to compete in women’s sports, and supported blocking Medicaid funding going to gender-affirming care for transgender Iowans.

Turek, a state representative from Council Bluffs who faces Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson in the general election, released an ad Sunday titled “Stop the Nonsense,” about issues related to transgender Iowans. Hinson and other Republicans argued Monday that Turek’s ad was misrepresenting his record on transgender issues while LGBTQ+ advocates said his position was a “dramatic” departure from that of other Democratic candidates.

“As a kid in a wheelchair, I faced my share of bullying,” Turek said in the ad. “That’s why I believe that no Iowan should face discrimination. As a Paralympian, I also know it’s important to have rules. It’s why I oppose males competing in female sports, something that is already illegal in Iowa. I’m against taxpayers paying for sex changes too. Anyone tells you any different is lying.”

Turek said, “it’s time to stop the nonsense from both extremes and start to focus on lowering costs for Iowans.”

This is not the first ad in which Turek has emphasized his willingness to take a more conservative approach to issues if elected to the U.S. Senate. He has also spoken about his support for increasing border security efforts, saying he would work with President Donald Trump to make changes to the U.S. immigration system if elected. Other ads by the Turek campaign — including two released Monday — focus on issues like diesel prices and high healthcare costs.

He is not also not the only Iowa Democrat to make statements and release advertisements about transgender issues this election cycle. Rob Sand, running for governor, has repeatedly said he does not support allowing transgender women to compete in women’s sports, and Democratic congressional candidates including  Sarah Trone Garriott, Lindsay James, and Christina Bohannan have all released ads discussing the issue.

While advocates and others have criticized these ads from other Democratic candidates in recent months, the LGBTQ+ advocacy organization One Iowa Action, released a statement Monday condemning Turek’s ad. The organization has not released statements criticizing other ads.

In a statement, One Iowa Action Executive Director Max Mowitz said, “we unequivocally condemn Josh Turek’s recently released campaign ad and the policy shift it represents.”

Keenan Crow, director of policy and advocacy for One Iowa, said though other Democratic candidates have put out political advertisements referencing transgender Iowans, the organization chose to issue a statement condemning Turek’s advertisement because it directly called for a policy change to ban coverage of gender-affirming healthcare for individuals on public programs like Medicaid.

“This ad is advocating a policy change that would be a dramatic departure from what anybody else in the Democratic Party is saying right now,” Crow said.

The ad is not the first time Turek has said he opposes public funding for gender-affirming surgeries. In an article from American Journal News, Turek said he does not endorse using taxpayer funds for these medical procedures. He also explained his 2025 vote against an Iowa Health and Human Services appropriations bill, which included this restriction, by saying his “no” vote was because the budget did not address Medicaid waitlists and provider shortages.

Turek’s statement that he opposed “taxpayers paying for sex changes” comes after Iowa Republicans have repeatedly attempted to pass a state-level ban on Medicaid coverage for gender-confirming surgeries. In 2019, the Iowa Legislature passed a law to this effect that was struck down by a court decision which found the measure violated the Iowa Constitution and the Iowa Civil Rights Act. This was a decision Gov. Kim Reynolds and other Republicans referenced when the state removed “gender identity” as a protected class in the state’s civil rights code in 2025.

Turek voted against this measure, Senate File 418. The law not only impacted Medicaid coverage — it also ended state civil rights protections for people facing discrimination in areas like employment, housing, public accommodations and education because of their gender identity.

Though One Iowa condemned Turek’s ad, Mowitz said in the statement the organization was not supportive of Hinson, who has also regularly spoken and voted against transgender athletes competing in women’s sports, alongside other restrictions on transgender medical care.

“Make no mistake, Ashley Hinson is no friend to LGBTQ+ Iowans, and that is not our claim,” Mowitz said. “Hinson has taken every opportunity she has had to strip the rights of transgender Iowans, and we believe she would continue that record in the US Senate. But on the specific policy of Medicaid coverage for gender affirming surgical care, there is no light between Hinson and Turek. Their policies on this issue are the same, and that is a dangerous escalation. This places Josh Turek as the most trans exclusionary federal Democrat on the ballot anywhere in the country. We cannot and will not let this go unaddressed.”

Adam Peters, director of operations of Clock, Inc. LGBT+ Community Center in the Quad Cities and the Democratic nominee for Iowa House of Representatives District 97 in 2026, said he believed there was still a sizable difference between Turek’s and Hinson’s records on transgender rights.

“I voted on the first day of early in-person voting, but if I were filling out my ballot today, I would still vote for Josh Turek,” Peters said. “While I disagree with his ad, I know I can talk to him and make my concerns heard. You can too. I can’t say the same for Ashley Hinson. I know what it feels like to support candidates, including President Obama, while still waiting for them to fully support my rights. I also know Josh voted against stripping gender identity from Iowa’s civil rights protections last year. That record matters, even as we ask him to do better.”

Iowa Rep. Aime Wichtendahl, D-Hiawatha, said the ad was disappointing in an interview with Gray Media Iowa Monday. Wichtendahl, who serves with Turek as a member of the minority party in the Iowa House, was the first transgender Iowan elected to the state Legislature.

“These talking points aren’t going to gain you anything with the voters,” Wichtendahl said.

But Rep. Adam Zabner, another Democratic colleague of Turek in the Iowa House, said in a statement that he believes Turek will continue to fight against discrimination if elected to Congress.

“I have worked alongside Josh for years and saw firsthand how committed he is to ensuring the rights of all Iowans and fighting against discrimination,” Zabner said. “With Ashley Hinson, Iowans would get just another corrupt D.C. politician who would continue to cut health care and food assistance to give tax breaks to billionaires.”

At a campaign rally with fellow Republicans including U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks in Coralville Monday, Hinson also criticized Turek’s ad — claiming he was misrepresenting his voting record.

“You may have seen he just launched a new trans ad last night, I think it was, saying he does not support boys and girls bathrooms,” Hinson said. “Well, sorry to say this, but again he’s lying about his record. His record shows otherwise.”

Hinson referenced Turek’s votes on several pieces of legislation, including votes against GOP-led law banning transgender students from using school restrooms that conflict with their assigned sex at birth. A Turek campaign spokesperson said he opposed because that bill because it “puts disabled Iowans and their caregivers, particularly caregivers of the opposite sex, at risk of legal consequences for entering a public restroom.”

Hinson also cited Turek’s vote against a law requiring parental consent if a child requests gender-related accommodations like the use of different name or pronouns at school. That law, currently being challenged in court, also banned books containing depictions of sexual acts from being available in K-12 school libraries and restricted gender identity and sexuality from being in any instructions or material for K-6 students.

“He is trying to act like a Republican to win this election here in Iowa, and he has to run away from his liberal record,” Hinson said.