US Senate candidate Josh Turek opposes public funding for gender transition
In the US state of Iowa, Democratic Senate candidate Josh Turek released a campaign ad on October 24, 2026, opposing taxpayer funding for gender transition. As PinkNews reports, the current Iowa state representative also reiterated his opposition to transgender women participating in women’s sports.
“I’m against taxpayers paying for sex changes too,” Turek says. The ad opens with him recalling the bullying he experienced as a child in a wheelchair and saying no Iowan should face discrimination. He explains his sports position by stressing the need for rules and ends by calling for a focus on lowering the cost of living.
At the October televised debate, Turek also said sports governing bodies should set eligibility rules rather than the government. According to a Des Moines Register report republished by AOL, he cited the need for consistent standards, including in international competition. At the same debate, he reiterated his opposition to transgender women competing in women’s sports.
The statement about public funding is not limited to minors. According to Iowa Capital Dispatch, LGBTQ organisation One Iowa fears that such an approach could affect coverage of healthcare for transgender adults through the public Medicaid programme. However, the ad itself provides no list of procedures, age limits or legislative text that would establish its precise effects.
One Iowa Action condemned the ad. Transgender Iowa state representative Aime Wichtendahl said such talking points would not win Turek new voters. Another Democratic colleague, state representative Adam Zabner, supported him, saying their work together convinced him Turek would continue to fight discrimination.
As LGBTQ Nation reports, Tyler Hack, executive director of the Christopher Street Project, which supports candidates who advocate for transgender rights, described Turek’s position as cruel, electorally misguided and out of step with his own party.
Turek’s Republican opponent, US Representative Ashley Hinson, also criticised the ad. She accused him of trying to appear more conservative than his state legislative voting record suggests, including votes against restrictions affecting transgender schoolchildren.
Turek had expressed his position on public funding for surgeries before. In August, American Journal News reported that he did not support such funding. He explained his vote against a 2025 budget bill containing a Medicaid coverage restriction by saying the package failed to address waiting lists for assistance and shortages of healthcare providers.
Turek is a two-time Paralympic gold medallist in wheelchair basketball. His campaign biography traces the start of his political career to the 2022 Iowa legislative election. He and Hinson are running for the US Senate in the election scheduled for November 3.
Uránia previously reported on disagreements among Midwestern Democrats over transgender rights, including the positions taken by Turek and other Iowa candidates.
