Iowa Democrat Josh Turek Draws Party Criticism Over Ad on Transgender Issues

Iowa Democratic Senate candidate Josh Turek is facing criticism from fellow Democrats over a recent ad on transgender sports and gender-affirming care, and at least one Democratic official, a woman, said she will not vote for him. In the ad, Turek, a Paralympian who said he was bullied as a child in a wheelchair, said no Iowan should face discrimination but that rules matter in sports. The ad also opposes taxpayer money going to sex changes. Turek is challenging Republican U.S. Representative Ashley Hinson in a closely watched race that could flip the Senate, which Republicans currently control. The criticism came about two days before the midterm elections. Separately, Turek has made health care the centerpiece of his campaign, arguing that Medicaid cuts, rising costs, rural care shortages and Iowa's cancer crisis have hurt residents. An Emerson Polling survey of 650 likely Iowa voters on October 5 and 6 found that those most concerned about health care lean toward him.

The left-leaning Washington Post leads with the intra-party backlash, with a headline built around the Democratic official's refusal to vote for Turek and a description of the ad's language on taxpayer-funded sex changes. The alternative outlet The Hill matches that framing, reporting that some Democrats are criticizing the ad and quoting Turek's own words about discrimination and rules. Newsweek, also in the alternative group, takes a different angle. It treats health care as his strongest line of attack against Hinson and cites Emerson polling and the poll's executive director, without mentioning the ad in the portion provided. Right-leaning outlets had not reported this story at the time of writing, while left-leaning and alternative outlets had.