Turek's trans sports ad splits Democrats as party weighs closing message

Josh Turek, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Iowa and a state representative from Council Bluffs, released an ad Sunday titled "Stop the Nonsense" in which he said he opposed allowing transgender women to compete in women's sports and supported blocking Medicaid funding for gender-affirming care for transgender Iowans.

The ad drew criticism from LGBTQ+ advocates, who called his position a "dramatic" departure from other Democratic candidates, and from Republicans including his opponent, U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, who argued the ad misrepresented his record.

In the ad, Turek said: "As a kid in a wheelchair, I faced my share of bullying. That's why I believe that no Iowan should face discrimination. As a Paralympian, I also..."

Rep. Don Davis (D-NC) released an anti-trans ad praising North Carolina's ban on trans women playing women's sports, saying "there's real concerns about fairness and safety" and that states should decide. Former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), a current Democratic Senate candidate in Ohio, released a 30-second ad reportedly costing more than $200,000 that mocked Republicans for focusing on trans people amid rising costs.

Democratic Kansas Senate candidate Adam Hamilton, a pastor, earned praise for defending transgender people in a KMBC interview, saying "we should not take a small group of people and bully them, pick on them, and hurt them."

The split reflects a late-stage wedge issue inside Democratic primaries and general election campaigns, with some candidates in GOP-heavy or red states adopting anti-trans positions while others defend trans people. The divide could shape turnout and coalition dynamics for LGBTQ+ voters and progressive base voters in close Senate and House races, and it tests whether anti-trans messaging still polls well enough for Democrats to use it in the closing week.