In a hit piece published on Monday, The Washington Post accused Iowa Republicans of singling out and attacking the LGBTQ community. The article went on to describe the state as the new “Florida of the North.”

“Republicans in the Iowa legislature, empowered by the state’s recent ‘red wave,’ have embarked on an ambitious new agenda that includes a costly school choice bill and legislation targeting the LGBTQ community, a historic divergence from Iowa’s history as a civil rights bastion,” Washington Post reporter Annie Gowen wrote.

“A joke among statehouse reporters is that Iowa is becoming the ‘Florida of the North’ — without the beaches,” she noted further.

In the article, the Post mentioned Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, a Republican, 10 times and portrayed her as a culture warrior for “gun rights,” “school choice,” and against “abortion access.” The publication also drew a comparison between the “Don’t say gay” protestors in Iowa and similar events that have taken place in Florida.

Critics on the left have labeled Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill, which was signed into law in March, as the “Don’t say gay” bill as a way to criticize Governor Ron DeSantis. The law prohibits school employees and third parties from providing classroom instruction on “sexual orientation” or “gender identity” for students from kindergarten through third grade, Fox News reported.

The Post claimed that Reynolds is focused on restricting the LGBTQ community.

“Even as teens draped in rainbow flags crowded into the Capitol rotunda chanting ‘We say gay’ on March 8, Iowa lawmakers quickly passed three bills related to gay and transgender rights, culminating with a measure to ban gender-affirming care for transgender youth that is awaiting Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds’s signature,” The Post claimed.

The article used quotes from politicians and activists who are critical of Reynolds to support its argument that she is a politically active leader.

“From about 2019 until this year, attacks on LGBTQ Iowans have been exponentially increasing,” One Iowa Action’s director of policy and advocacy Keenan Crow claimed in a statement to the Post. “I believe it’s primarily because of the governor and her shifting priorities. It seems for whatever reason, she wants Iowa to be more like Florida.”

A former Iowa mayor called Reynolds “extreme” over her views about giving parents a choice in schools for their kids.

“That’s a red flag when your head of government is primarying her own party. It is an indication that the ideologies are becoming more extreme,” former Indianola mayor Kelly Shaw said, according to report.

“The governor has effectively removed her opposition, and that is pretty extraordinary,” Shaw added.