Iowa girls need laws, not league rules
Josh Turek’s ad backs rules for girls’ sports, but he has not said whether he would support a federal law barring males from girls’ teams.
Josh Turek's new ad runs our position on girls' sports, and Iowa families should hold him to writing it into law. On Oct. 24, AdImpact Politics posted that Josh Turek had a new Iowa Senate ad, in which he says: “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... I'm against taxpayers paying for sex changes, too.”1
Turek faces Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson for the seat Sen. Joni Ernst is leaving. Election Day is Nov. 32. A Democrat running for the Senate is using opposition to males competing in female sports in a new ad. The American Principles Project's 2024 report cites a November 2024 Napolitan News/RMG poll in which 75% of voters opposed allowing biological males to compete in women's sports and 13% supported it3. The Iowa House passed HF 2416. The vote was 55 to 394. The Iowa House roll call shows Democrats cast 38 of the 39 no votes.
He leaves eligibility to sports governing bodies
Turek's answer is the leagues. Just The News Iowa reports that Turek told The New York Times in July that eligibility decisions should rest with sports governing organizations rather than Congress or the courts.
A governing body writes its own rule and can rewrite it. Which of those bodies answers to the parents of a girl who wants a fair place on her team? Iowa did not hand that decision to the leagues.
Iowa’s law sets girls’ eligibility by sex
Iowa answered the question in statute. The Iowa Legislature's bill history describes HF 2416 as a bill on athletic eligibility based on sex in school districts, accredited nonpublic schools, regent institutions, community colleges and certain other higher-education institutions. The House passed it 55 to 39 on Feb. 21, 2022. The Senate passed it 31 to 17 on March 2. Gov. Kim Reynolds signed it on March 34. Just The News Iowa reports that the law requires students to compete in sports based on their sex at birth2.
He voted against sex-based school changing areas
The same question reached school restrooms and changing areas, and Turek voted no. Just The News Iowa reports that his legislative record includes a March 2023 vote against requiring students to use school bathrooms and changing facilities corresponding to their sex at birth2. The Iowa House roll call labels the measure SF 482, "Public School Restrooms," and records its passage, 57 to 39, on March 16, 20235.
A girl changing for gym class is not asking a sports league for permission. Turek's ad says it is important to have rules, so why did he vote against this one?
Turek has not said he will back it
The rule Congress could write is the one Turek has not said he will back. Hinson voted in January 2025 for the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act. The bill would bar federally funded education programs from allowing male athletes to compete in sports designated for women or girls, and it defines sex by reproductive biology and genetics at birth. It passed the House, then stalled in the Senate in March 2025, where several Democrats joined Republicans but not enough to overcome a filibuster. Hinson has made the issue a centerpiece of her Senate campaign, arguing that federal action is necessary to ensure consistency across states, Just The News Iowa reports. Turek's campaign did not respond to a request for comment on whether he would support federal restrictions on transgender athletes in women's sports2.
Before they cast their ballots, Iowa families should demand a yes-or-no answer from Turek. Should Congress or the sports governing bodies decide who competes in girls' sports? Will you vote for the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act?
Sources
- @AdImpact_Pol on X, 2026-10-24: #IAPol: "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 ... I'm against taxpayers paying for sex changes, too." Josh Turek is up with a new #IASen ad. Future, 2026-10-24
- Iowa Senate race: Turek opposes male athletes in women's… | Just The News Iowa
- Defeating They/Them (American Principles Project, 2024)
- Iowa Legislature - Bill History
- Voting Report
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