At a Sioux City rally, President Trump targeted Josh Turek’s 2023 vote against SF 496. Here is what the law does, how the Iowa House voted and where polls stand 11 days out.
Data as of Oct. 23, 2026, morning ET (latest poll fielded Oct. 15-19; Iowa SOS absentee report data as of 8 a.m. Oct. 22).
President Donald Trump used a Thursday night rally in Sioux City to weigh in on the Iowa Senate race 2026, criticizing Democrat Josh Turek over his 2023 vote in the Iowa House against Senate File 496, the state law that requires schools to tell parents when a student asks to be addressed by a different name or pronoun.
Trump appeared with Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, who faces Turek, a state representative, for the open U.S. Senate seat now held by Republican Sen. Joni Ernst. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3, 11 days away.
What Trump and Hinson said in Sioux City
Speaking on Oct. 22, Trump called Turek “a woke far-left radical,” according to video of the remarks posted by the Trump campaign. He continued: “Turek voted to allow schools to turn your children transgender without informing the parents and with no parental consent.”
Hinson, who joined Trump on stage, told the crowd, “We are ready to make sure we do not send Josh Turek to the U.S. Senate in 12 days, aren’t we?” She added that Turek’s “record is too liberal for Iowa” and said, “He wants our kids to be able to change their pronouns at school.” She closed with: “We’re going to keep Iowa red and keep Iowa, Iowa.”
Trump spoke to more than a thousand people, Radio Iowa reported. He is scheduled to return to the state for a Nov. 1 rally in Dubuque, according to the same report.
A Turek campaign spokesperson, quoted by Iowa Capital Dispatch, described Turek as a common-sense prairie populist who has broken with his party and said he voted with Republicans more than 700 times as a state lawmaker. Turek, who held his own event in Davenport the same night, posted afterward on X: “In 12 days, we’re going to win this race, change this state, and change this country.”
What SF 496 does
Senate File 496 was signed into law on May 26, 2023, according to the Iowa Legislature’s bill history. The nonpartisan legislative summary of the act lists several major provisions:
- It establishes a parent’s or guardian’s right to make decisions affecting the parent’s or guardian’s child.
- It prohibits instruction related to gender identity and sexual orientation in kindergarten through grade six.
- It requires each school district’s K-12 library program to contain only age-appropriate materials, with an enforcement process beginning Jan. 1, 2024, and requires districts to post a list of the books available in their libraries.
- It bars schools from knowingly giving false or misleading information to a parent or guardian about a student’s gender identity. If a student asks a licensed practitioner employed by the school for an accommodation intended to affirm the student’s gender identity, including a different name or pronoun, the practitioner must report the request to an administrator, who must report it to the student’s parent or guardian.
- It requires written parental consent before a school gives a student an examination or survey assessing mental, emotional or physical health that is not required by state or federal law.
The law’s library-book provisions are being challenged in court, Iowa Capital Dispatch reported.
How Turek voted on SF 496
The official House Journal records Turek as a “nay” on both House votes on the bill.
- April 4, 2023: The House passed SF 496, as amended, 55-42. Turek is listed among the 42 nays (House Journal, pages 770-771).
- April 20, 2023: After the Senate amended the bill again, the House concurred and gave it final passage 57-38. Turek is again listed among the 38 nays; five members were absent or not voting (House Journal, pages 899-900).
In the Iowa Senate, the bill passed 34-16 on March 22, 2023, and, after further amending the House’s version, the Senate passed it again 34-16 on April 19, 2023, according to the Legislature’s bill history. The governor signed it on May 26, 2023.
Where the Iowa Senate race 2026 stands
Recent public polls of the Hinson-Turek contest show margins of 3 points or less, each within that survey’s margin of error. Results are listed from the most recent field dates.
| Pollster | Field dates | Sample | Margin of error | Hinson (R) | Turek (D) | Laehn (L) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| co/efficient | Oct. 15-19 | 863 likely voters | ±3.32 | 48% | 45% | 2% |
| Trafalgar Group | Oct. 13-15 | 1,094 likely voters | ±2.9 | 45.9% | 44.2% | 3.5% |
| New River Strategies (D) / GS Strategy Group (R) for Cook Political Report | Oct. 9-13 | 602 likely voters | ±4 | 44% | 46% | 8% |
| YouGov | Oct. 6-12 | 2,245 likely voters | ±3.1 | 46% | 47% | n/a (2% “someone else”) |
| NPA Polling | Oct. 8-12 | 678 likely voters | ±3.8 | 47% | 44% | 4% |
| Marist Poll | Oct. 8-11 | 1,100 registered voters (likely-voter results shown) | ±6.6 (likely voters) | 45% | 48% | n/a (2% “another party”) |
| Emerson College Polling/Nexstar Media | Oct. 5-6 | 650 likely voters | ±3.8 (credibility interval) | 47% | 45% | 2% |
Libertarian Thomas Laehn is also on the ballot. In the Cook survey, he drew 8%, including one in five independents, and Cook noted that Turek’s 2-point lead was “well within the poll’s four point margin of error.” In the Marist survey, 2% of likely voters chose another party’s candidate and 4% were undecided. Among Marist’s larger pool of registered voters, Turek led by seven points.
The latest poll, from co/efficient, also tested a two-way race without Laehn and found Hinson ahead 49% to 46%. For how the Iowa Senate race 2026 compares with other close contests, see our roundup of Senate toss-up races and the latest polls.
Poll methodology: Figures are each pollster’s published toplines. Marist’s likely-voter margin of error is ±6.6 points and its registered-voter margin is ±4.5 points. Emerson reports a credibility interval rather than a traditional margin of error. Margins of error apply to each candidate’s share, so a lead smaller than the margin is not a statistically clear lead.
Early voting in Iowa
Absentee voting in Iowa, both in person and by mail, began Wednesday, Oct. 14, according to the Iowa Secretary of State’s Voter Ready guide. The deadline to request a mailed ballot passed at 5 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 19. The last day for in-person absentee voting is Monday, Nov. 2. Absentee ballots must be received by the county auditor before polls close at 8 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 3. Polls open at 7 a.m.
The Iowa Secretary of State’s statewide absentee report, with data as of 8 a.m. on Oct. 22, shows 278,507 ballots requested, 278,034 issued and 167,251 received. By party registration, the received ballots break down as 86,443 from registered Democrats, 52,445 from registered Republicans, 27,903 from voters with no party and 460 from others. Absentee statistics show only who has returned a ballot, not how anyone voted. For a wider look at returns, see our tracker of early voting numbers and ballots returned.
What to watch
The final stretch of the Iowa Senate race 2026 will test how much SF 496 and other votes from Turek’s time in the Iowa House matter to voters, compared with the economy. In Emerson’s October survey, 42% of likely voters named the economy as the top issue facing the state, and 8% named education.
