Iowa Democratic Senate nominee Josh Turek, who has presented himself as a common-sense lawmaker capable of appealing across party lines, voted against three measures restricting DEI offices, required coursework, and funding in the state’s public education system, according to a Washington Free Beacon report.
Turek, an Iowa state representative since 2023 and a former wheelchair basketball player, voted against three bills restricting DEI policies between April 2024 and May 2025, including two that became law.
In April 2024, Turek voted against SF 2435, which prohibits Iowa’s public universities from employing DEI officers.
He opposed HF 269 in March 2025. The measure would have prohibited public colleges and universities from requiring students to complete courses related to diversity, equity, inclusion, or critical race theory as a condition of graduation.
Turek also voted in May 2025 against HF 856, which barred state funding from supporting DEI offices and initiatives at both the higher-education and K-12 levels.
The bills prompted changes to race-based initiatives at Iowa’s public universities, according to the Free Beacon.
The University of Northern Iowa revised its 2023-2028 Strategic Plan by removing language calling for the university to “increase diversity” among its students and faculty and improve graduation and retention rates among “traditionally marginalized students.”
The university defined “traditionally marginalized students” as “specifically American Indian or Alaskan Native; Asian; Black or African American; Hispanic/Latinx, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander.”
The revised plan instead called for increasing those “success rates” among “all students.”
The measures also addressed equity-related training programs offered to public school teachers.
The Iowa City School District’s former “Department of Equity,” for example, offered teachers a course titled “Ethnomathematics: The Study of Math as a Cultural Activity,” according to public records obtained by Parents Defending Education and cited by the Free Beacon.
The training called on educators to “examine mathematics teaching and learning through a cultural lens” and approach the mathematics classroom as ethnographers by exploring the origins of existing practices and questioning “the hierarchies they produce.”
Another course, titled “Analyzing Systems of Behavior,” encouraged teachers to examine how they showed up in their classrooms and what they needed to do to challenge themselves regarding “bias and privilege.”
A third course, “WE ARE EVERYWHERE: Paris is Burning,” centered on New York City’s African American and Latinx Harlem drag-ball scene during the 1980s and addressed intersectionality, race, sexuality, class, gender, and LGBTQIA+ topics.
The Iowa City district has since closed its Department of Equity. The department’s former equity director now works as a human resources director for Minneapolis Public Schools, according to the Washington Free Beacon.
Turek has described himself as a “prairie populist” and a “common-sense” lawmaker who can appeal to “Iowans of all political stripes.”
The Free Beacon noted that two of his votes against the DEI restrictions occurred after President Donald Trump made opposition to initiatives he described as “woke” a central part of his 2024 campaign. Trump carried Iowa by 13 points in that election.
Turek’s campaign platform includes an education section arguing that Iowa is no longer nationally ranked for its public schools and has fallen to the “middle of the pack.”
The platform calls for ending Iowa’s school-choice voucher program, arguing that it “waste[s] taxpayer dollars.” The Free Beacon reported that the education platform does not address spending by Iowa public schools on DEI-related programs.
The West Des Moines Community School District, for example, entered into a two-year contract worth nearly $130,000 to implement a “Deep Equity” plan.
The plan included school equity audits, focus groups intended to assess strategic equity and inclusion outcomes, and school board training examining “the Board’s role in leading for equity,” according to the report.
A Turek spokeswoman did not answer the Free Beacon’s questions about his DEI votes on the record.
She said Turek “will work with anyone to get things done for Iowans,” adding that he had worked with Republicans to cut taxes for Iowa families and “keep dangerous criminals off the street.”
Turek also benefited from $10 million in primary spending by VoteVets, a Democratic group tied to Schumer, according to the Free Beacon.
Breitbart News reported in January that Turek was one of several Democrats running in states Trump won in 2024 despite holding positions that could conflict with many voters in those states. Turek’s attendance at and support for a “No Kings” rally was among the examples highlighted.
A July 1 Breitbart News report identified Iowa as one of the states Democrats hope to flip as they seek control of the U.S. Senate.
Republicans currently hold 53 Senate seats, compared with Democrats’ 47. Democrats would need to retain all their seats and gain four more to take control of the chamber.
The Iowa contest is for the open seat held by retiring Republican Sen. Joni Ernst. A New York Times/Siena poll cited by Breitbart News on July 1 showed Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) leading Turek by two percentage points, 48 percent to 46 percent.