Erin Reed

As an Iowan I'm underwhelmed AF with the Dem choices this race, with Turek being the biggest 🚩of them all. Ashley is a freaking self serving scumbag, so there's no good pick to be found & I'll likely write in "Someone Else" instead.

This is eminently reasonable, extremely well-argued, and essential reading. Erin is correct about all of this, and it is doubly urgent given what we've seen in the UK. 2026 is the time to correct the Dems about this. 2028 may be too late.

i think "vote dem across the board, but for the 4 very worst dems on trans rights you can leave them blank" is a reasonable position (& a reasonable compromise between vbnmw & fears about dems going full uk labour)

In a discourse that is so eaten up by the binary of "we can't draw lines because it hurts the broader effort" on one side, and "we can't draw lines because who are you to say we draw it here and not there" on the other, there's a lot of care and clarity (not to mention bravery) in this piece.

this is a perfectly reasonable list, imo these four are all monumentally awful on trans issues and this is a more than fair place to draw the line, especially given how the elections currently look - three of them are in the house, where dems will romp regardless, and iowa can do better than turek

I agree with this strategy of voting for Dems provided that they haven't embraced extreme anti-trans positions. and I definitely agree that Kaptur, Cuellar, & Turek have all crossed that line & I personally wouldn't vote for them

You all have seen Erin and I fiercely clash over tactics over the years, but this piece makes a wholly reasonable ask that I also endorse. The four in the header image especially suck shit.

Hi. I, a trans woman, am the Executive Producer of this show. I wrote the question. He called trans girls men. He has now said it in three different places in the past week.

These anti-trans Dems are saying "biological males" should be banned from girls sports because they know exactly how bad it sounds if they say "transgender girls" should be banned from girls sports. They're using "biological males" framing as a sort of self-justification and self-soothing.

Lula pulls it off! Down with fascism!

I think people intuitively understand that democratic candidates tossing trans kids to the wolves is not only morally repugnant but also politically ineffective, otherwise they wouldn't freak out every time someone said they weren't voting for a democrat who did this

Matt Yglesias should at least *acknowledge* the opposing view: You’re more likely to secure trans rights in the long run if compromise on that issue is considered untenable in the Democratic Party chip. The outcome of one race is less important than that long term stake in the party.

There are some people who claim "oh, Dems in blue states will never shift towards enacting anti-trans policy" Meanwhile Colorado is literally enacting a medical detransition protocol for trans youth on medicaid.

Yesterday, Josh Turek released one of the worst anti-transgender ads to come from a Democrat this election cycle. It called for a federal funding ban on gender affirming care, which would impact countless trans Americans. Here is our article on the ad you have all undoubtedly seen by now.

seriously, as a trans person living in Iowa I'm not voting for this guy and I'm asking you not to either

If you donated to Josh Turek without realizing he was running on a federally funded trans healthcare coverage ban, you can request a refund of your donation here: help.actblue.com/hc/en-us/art...

People who think embracing GOP hatred of trans people is the only way for Democrats to win in that part of the country should remember that in 2025, John Ewing became the first Black mayor of Omaha NE by running this ad. He beat Republican incumbent Jean Stothert by 12 points.

the handful of die-hard anti-trans voters that exist are going to vote GOP no matter what. so this ad will not pick up a single new voter. all it does is further disenfranchise trans ppl – a marginalized group MAGA hates. this is a pro-MAGA ad & Turek is furthering MAGA's cause by airing it

Senate Democrats posted this the same day Josh Turek released the worst anti-trans ad of the cycle. Meanwhile, DCCC released their own anti-trans ad last week in South Carolina.

Anti-trans Democrats are spreading poison when we can least afford it, during elections in this ongoing fascist takeover. As a strategy, it’s a recipe for failure. As a moral stand, it’s reprehensible. PS I’m the father of young trans woman and I’ll never forgive anyone who makes her life harder.

Sorry man this guy’s gotta lose I don’t care who the fuck he’s running against. If these loudly anti-trans Dems don’t lose, it’s going to take us thirty years to get back the rights we’ve lost in the past five.

If you donated to Josh Turek without realizing he was running on a federally funded trans healthcare coverage ban, you can request a refund of your donation here: help.actblue.com/hc/en-us/art...

Turek’s stance is cruel, electorally misguided, and out of step with his own party. Most swing-seat Democrats *have* stood with us, but keeping the trans community’s trust requires Democrats—and, at a minimum, LGBTQ+ organizations—to call this bullshit out.

josh turek sucks, there is no reason whatsoever to be doing this other than a truly unacceptable level of personal bigotry