A Democrat from northwest Iowa who’s been a member of the Iowa House since 2023 is running for the United States Senate. State Representative JD Scholten of Sioux City says he decided to run Friday after he heard Iowa Senator Joni Ernst’s response when a woman suggested people would die if Republicans follow through on proposed cuts to Medicaid.
Scholten was on his way to a funeral when Ernst’s remark hit the airwaves.
Scholten ran for the United States House of Representatives twice and, in 2018, came within three points of defeating longtime GOP Congressman Steve King. Scholten, who has played pro baseball for teams in seven countries, got a last-minute call before a game last July to pitch for Sioux City Explorers and wound up pitching the rest of the season. Scholten was just re-activated last week by the club and the 45-year-old plans to pitch for the team this summer.
Scholten enters a potentially crowded contest among Democrats for the party’s U-S Senate nomination. Nathan Sage, the head of the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce, has been campaigning for several weeks and two other Democrats who are currently serving in the Iowa legislature have indicated they may jump in the race. Scholten says he’s prepared for a primary after running for congress twice.
In 2024, Scholten won his race for a seat in the Iowa legislature by seven points. Scholten says once the baseball season ends, he’ll visit each of Iowa’s 99 counties. In other campaign news, a Republican who’s been serving in the Iowa House since 2021 has filed the paperwork for a campaign for governor in 2026. Representative Eddie Andrews of Johnston has sent his supporters an email saying he’ll make a major announcement about his political future on Wednesday.
