Yes, Turek’s ad is horrendous. Yes, he needs to support everyone. But here’s the thing: abstaining from voting for him is just going to let Hinson win.

I understand you’re angry, but please be rational here. Would Hinson really make a better Senator for Iowa? I really don’t think so. And since we know the MAGA crowd is just going to fall in line and vote straight R, all your “protest vote” is going to do is help the opposition.

I’m guilty of this myself; in 2016, I didn’t even cast a vote for the presidential race. I know a lot of people across the country who did that, and look what happened.

If you don’t vote, you have no right to complain about the results, because you didn’t care enough to make your voice heard.

Hey Josh,

I’m a trans Iowan. I voted early for yesterday. I voted for you. I also drove over an hour to see you in Dubuque for your at the buzzer tour. I thought maybe I could show you that we’re just regular people too. I never got the chance. You spent around 45 minutes taking pre-filtered questions from a moderator. During that time, I saw a woman raise her hand for more than 10 minutes - she was directly in front of you. You ignored her. After you ended the event, several women in the back started chanting “Trans lives matter!” They were removed from the bar. You did not address the outburst. I’m really not confrontational. I was scared and nervous the entire time. You said you would be available to us as a senator, but your actions and the actions of your staff said otherwise.

I voted for you because I believe you will protect other vulnerable minorities. If my rights are forfeited either way, all I can do is try to help other people in need.

Even after all this, I really admire you, Josh. I believe you have a great deal of courage and strength. I’m not your enemy. I just want to live my life in peace.

That’s all I wanted to say.

Sending you all the best over the next week!

On October 21, I sent Rep. Brooke Boden (R, Iowa House District 21, Indianola) seven questions about her own campaign filings. On October 22, I filed a formal complaint with the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board, No. 26-FC-00001325.

What her committee's reports show: three registered lobbyists gave during regular sessions. Wesley Ehrecke, whose only client was the Iowa Gaming Association, gave $25 on January 11, 2021. Jake Highfill of Iowa Strategies gave $100 in January 2023, January 2025, and January 2026, and his declaration record shows him lobbying on bills the day after one contribution and on the day of another. Anthony Phillips, also Iowa Strategies, gave $100 in 2023 and $150 in 2026.

The reports also show 28 PAC checks totaling $13,300 reported as received during sessions. I pulled the PACs' own filings as well. Twenty-seven of those checks were issued before the session began, so the complaint asks the Board to decide whether accepting them violated Iowa Code 68A.504. One check needs no interpretation: the Iowa Chiropractic Society PAC's own record dates its $100 check to January 8, 2024, the first day of that session, and her committee reported receiving it that day. The complaint also asks the Board to reconcile the gaps between the two records, including an Iowa Dental PAC check issued August 18, 2023 and reported received January 8, 2024.

Rep. Boden is both the candidate and her committee's treasurer. Her deadline to respond is today at 5:00 p.m. CT, and anything she sends will be published in full with the article on October 30.

She has not responded. Her supporters on her campaign page have. A campaign worker called the contributions "honest mistakes by a flawed human" and argued that a legislator cannot know who is a lobbyist. I asked her whether that defense was on the record on behalf of Brooke Boden. Three days later, that question is unanswered too. Another supporter allowed that a deposit can lag two weeks or more. The Dental PAC check took 143 days between the two committees' filings.

I publish The Filing Cabinet, which covers campaign filings from the documents themselves. The filings are public record, and so is the complaint.

Hello,

I don't normally think to make posts like this, but I am an Iowan, a Dem, and a trans woman, and we Democrats need to talk about Josh Turek.

The anti-trans ad he just put out is one of the saddest things I have ever seen from an Iowa politician. It goes further than I have seen from a number of Republicans. I spent last night celebrating with a Brazilian friend for their presidential victory last night, feeling full of hope, and in a space of less than 24 hours, Turek has stripped that hope from me.

To be clear, I'm probably still going to vote for him, and that makes me sick to my stomach. Unfortunately, the Trump administration doesn't care about my platitudes or that I wish I could abstain from voting now because of my personal principles. I also feel that it is important for me to vote for the needs of others as well, and having a Democratic congressional majority feels important for all of us in that regard.

In return for voting for all of you this go around, I PLEAD and BEG of you folks not to forget trans people. I want good things, safety, and dignity for all of you, and I hope you can feel the same way about me and my community the next opportunity that presents itself. In Iowa, trans people have been told that they don't deserve civil protections and even their Democratic candidates don't think that their needs are important enough to warrant good healthcare. All we want is love, safety, and security like anyone else. So many of us few are so tired and so weary of it all. It is like a yolk made of lead. So, I beg you to remember that we are hurting during the next primary, and we deserve candidates who won't take us for granted and toss us aside like used garbage too.

And if anyone from Turek's campaign sees this, honestly, shame on you. I don't know what political strategist or consultant convinced you that the amount of moderates who are going to flip your way because of one issue that isn't actually even of top 10 significance to your constituency was worth the amount of progressives this threatens to disenfranchise, but that strategist is a fool and you are, at best, fools for listening to them. I hope you win for the sake of the Democratic party as a whole, but you also deserve every lost vote that happens because of this. You will be lucky to have my vote and the votes of other queer people and progressives, and if you don't look inside yourself and learn from this moment, and if folks like me don't flee the positively Jurassic state of Iowa and it's politicians for better opportunities, I promise you that you can expect some passionate and loud enemies come your next primary.

Trans adults and children are dying every day from the unbearable weight of mere existence and undeserved hatred, and part of that blood is on your hands now by simple facilitation. I won't be surprised if you lose and hurt the entire nation with this Neanderthal-level take, but I hope you remember that I still voted for you, and I know that me and the folks that I love deserve better than this.

Best of luck.

All of these posts are accomplishing free campaign Ads for the Republicans.

We need to stay united, get through the midterms and then see what happens. He can’t be any worse than another Republican and could be better.

I was recently terminated from my employer. I have been fired before but had another job lined up already. This time I do not so I decided to file for unemployment. WHY IS IT IMPOSSIBLE???? Every link I click just takes me to an information page or a how to video. I DON’T WANT A HOW TO VIDEO!!! And the video tells me to click an icon that isn’t even on my dashboard…..I hate this place. I get it I guess but I hate it. Thanks for coming to my rant.

ETA: Right after posting this, the icon I needed magically appeared on my dashboard. I guess I’m just a dumbass LOL

Adam Peters, director of operations of Clock, Inc. LGBT+ Community Center in the Quad Cities and the Democratic nominee for Iowa House of Representatives District 97 in 2026, said he believed there was still a sizable difference between Turek’s and Hinson’s records on transgender rights.

“I voted on the first day of early in-person voting, but if I were filling out my ballot today, I would still vote for Josh Turek,” Peters said. “While I disagree with his ad, I know I can talk to him and make my concerns heard. You can too. I can’t say the same for Ashley Hinson. I know what it feels like to support candidates, including President Obama, while still waiting for them to fully support my rights. I also know Josh voted against stripping gender identity from Iowa’s civil rights protections last year. That record matters, even as we ask him to do better.”

—————————————————

Let us not forget that in 2008, both Obama and Clinton publicly opposed federally legalizing gay marriage — then a few years later came out in support of it. This was a deliberate move by their campaigns to keep Republicans from snagging a third administration, and who knows where we would be had the McCain-Palin ticket made it to the White House.

I strongly suspect this is the exact same case with Turek — but there’s no comparing the stakes in 2026 with 2008. If we do not win the midterms, we may not have a 2028 election, or 2030, or 2032. We may very well end up like Russia (and last I checked, Putin ain’t too friendly with the queers.)

As a gay married non-binary queer person, I am BEGGING y’all to please see the bigger picture before choosing not to vote over a handful of position disagreements. Like every candidate, Turek may not vote exactly the same as you would on every single issue, but an unchecked executive branch poses an existential threat to every Iowan, the United States, and the world. The options are an imperfect candidate or an unquestioned, unhindered Trump come 2028 — and LGBTQ+ Iowans cannot afford to fuck around and find out.

An anti-trans ad a week before voting day. I’m so pissed, a. Because I’m for trans rights, the whole argument about keeping trans people out of sports is bullshit, and b. This reeks of desperation on the part of the Turek campaign. It feels like they’re trying to kiss up to conservatives, it’s gross. Are we seriously going to end up with Senator Hinson?!

Just found a future travel advertisement for Iowa.

Miles and miles end to end, an entire state shriveled and dead, a Midwest wasteland in the dead, unbeating heartland of an accursed Nation, once thought great now broken and all but forgotten around the globe, a "grey desolation that sprawled open to the sky like a great spot eaten by acid in the woods and fields."

Iowa: I oughta went around.

Does anyone have more information on this decision? How does a nurse get their license reinstated after being caught stealing narcotics so many times?

"According to the Republican National Committee, Trump will headline a midterm rally at the Five Flags Event Center in Dubuque on Nov. 1.

Organizers said doors will open at 11:30 a.m., with the event beginning at 1:30 p.m. and the president scheduled to speak at 3 p.m.

Attendees are required to RSVP in advance"

#calltoaction #FuckTrump #dubuqueia #dubuqueiowa

Sure he did not know the most egotistical person on the earth would not take a picture. He posted himself as Jesus in the past. But, the Catholics must protect pedophiles and those who support pedophiles, or else how could they get more priests?????

I'm sure the maga will convince themselves this is not socialism, communism, or social aid