Iowa GOP challenger attacks Democrat over past vote on transgender sports ban

Republican Rep. Zach Nunn, seeking a third term in a competitive Des Moines-area district, launched a digital and TV advertisement that highlights Democratic state Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott’s 2022 vote against a bill banning biological boys from girls’ sports. The ad opens with a Minnesota case where a biological boy pitched in a girls’ softball tournament, prompting a Title IX probe by the Department of Education, and then cuts to an Iowa youth athlete demanding fairness and safety.

It accuses Garriott of voting to let boys compete in girls’ sports and use girls’ locker rooms, despite her recent self-produced video asserting she opposes men in women’s facilities and favors parental choice. Nunn’s campaign manager Brendan Duffy says Garriott is attempting to rewrite a record that shows two “no” votes on protections for girls. Garriott’s spokesperson Zach Schenkman notes the Minnesota incident is not an Iowa issue, while activist Riley Gaines publicly called out Garriott’s 2023 vote against a similar restriction. The dispute underscores the broader partisan battle over transgender-related sports policies in Iowa, a state where Governor Kim Reynolds signed the 2022 law into effect.