Some Democrats are criticizing Josh Turek, the Iowa Democratic Senate candidate, over a recent campaign ad on transgender sports and gender-affirming care, according to a report from The Hill. The criticism centers on the ad itself, the outlet's summary of its report says.
The Hill quoted from the ad, in which Turek says, "As a kid in a wheelchair, I faced my share of bullying." That is the only passage of the ad that the summary quotes directly. The excerpt goes on to say that no Iowan should face discrimination and that, as a Paralympian, Turek believes it is important to have rules.
The Hill's summary connects the ad to two subjects: transgender sports and gender-affirming care. It does not say which Democrats are raising objections, what specific objections they have made, or whether any of them have spoken publicly beyond the criticism described.
The summary also does not say whether Turek or his campaign has responded to the criticism. It does not describe where or how widely the ad has run, or when it was first broadcast. Those details would help readers understand the scale of the dispute, and they are not in the account available here.
The report was written by Tara Suter and published on November 1, 2026, under The Hill's campaign coverage. The summary is cut off partway through Turek's quoted remarks, so it does not reflect the full text of the ad.
This account rests on that single summary. No other outlet's reporting on the criticism was provided, so this story reports only what The Hill described. Any further developments would need to be confirmed against the original report.
Sources: The Hill: Democrats criticize Turek over ad on trans issues.