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JD Scholten, running for congress in Iowa's 4th Congressional District against Steve King, waves to supporters at the Wing Ding Dinner on August 9, 2019 in Clear Lake, Iowa.
(Photo: Alex Edelman/AFP via Getty Images)
Iowa Democrat JD Scholten Launches Senate Run After Joni Ernst Controversy
"I don't think there's anything worse that you could do than cut Medicaid, cut SNAP benefits for everyday Iowans just so you can give billionaires bigger tax breaks," Scholten said.
Jun 02, 2025
Iowa Democratic state Rep. JD Scholten, who represents parts of Sioux City, announced Monday that he is mounting a challenge to U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst—the Iowa Republican who is up for reelection in 2026 and who has come under scrutiny in recent days for comments she made downplaying constituent concerns over GOP efforts to cut Medicaid.
"After her comments over the weekend, I've been thinking about it for a while, but that's when I just said: This is unacceptable and you've gotta jump in," Scholten said, according to the Iowa outlet The Sioux City Journal. "At the end of the day, though, it's not about her, it's not about me, it's about the people of Iowa deserving better.
"I don't think there's anything worse that you could do than cut Medicaid, cut SNAP benefits for everyday Iowans just so you can give billionaires bigger tax breaks," he added, referring to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. "That is not Iowa in my mind."
Scholten has served in the state House since 2023. In 2024, Scholten won his contest by 6.9 points in a district that U.S. President Donald Trump won.
The Democrat has run twice for Iowa's 4th Congressional District. In 2020, he lost to Republican Rep. Randy Feenstra, and in 2018, he narrowly lost to then-longtime Republican Rep. Steve King. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) campaigned for Scholten during his 2018 bid and Rolling Stone once described Scholten as a "prairie populist."
Scholten, 45, is a pitcher for the baseball team the Sioux City Explorers.
If he prevailed over Ernst, he would take over a seat that she has held since 2015.
Ernst spoke at a town hall in Parkersburg, Iowa last week and was responding to a question about the impact of the U.S. House-passed GOP reconciliation bill, which includes cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, when an attendee shouted that "people will die" as a result of the cuts.
Then Ernst said, "Well, we all are going to die."
Ernst later posted a video on Instagram, in which she offered a mock apology.
"I made an incorrect assumption that everyone in the auditorium understood that, yes, we are all going to perish from this Earth," she said. "So I apologize, and I'm really, really glad that I did not have to bring up the subject of the tooth fairy as well." The video appeared to be filmed in a cemetery.
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Iowa Democratic state Rep. JD Scholten, who represents parts of Sioux City, announced Monday that he is mounting a challenge to U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst—the Iowa Republican who is up for reelection in 2026 and who has come under scrutiny in recent days for comments she made downplaying constituent concerns over GOP efforts to cut Medicaid.
"After her comments over the weekend, I've been thinking about it for a while, but that's when I just said: This is unacceptable and you've gotta jump in," Scholten said, according to the Iowa outlet The Sioux City Journal. "At the end of the day, though, it's not about her, it's not about me, it's about the people of Iowa deserving better.
"I don't think there's anything worse that you could do than cut Medicaid, cut SNAP benefits for everyday Iowans just so you can give billionaires bigger tax breaks," he added, referring to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. "That is not Iowa in my mind."
Scholten has served in the state House since 2023. In 2024, Scholten won his contest by 6.9 points in a district that U.S. President Donald Trump won.
The Democrat has run twice for Iowa's 4th Congressional District. In 2020, he lost to Republican Rep. Randy Feenstra, and in 2018, he narrowly lost to then-longtime Republican Rep. Steve King. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) campaigned for Scholten during his 2018 bid and Rolling Stone once described Scholten as a "prairie populist."
Scholten, 45, is a pitcher for the baseball team the Sioux City Explorers.
If he prevailed over Ernst, he would take over a seat that she has held since 2015.
Ernst spoke at a town hall in Parkersburg, Iowa last week and was responding to a question about the impact of the U.S. House-passed GOP reconciliation bill, which includes cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, when an attendee shouted that "people will die" as a result of the cuts.
Then Ernst said, "Well, we all are going to die."
Ernst later posted a video on Instagram, in which she offered a mock apology.
"I made an incorrect assumption that everyone in the auditorium understood that, yes, we are all going to perish from this Earth," she said. "So I apologize, and I'm really, really glad that I did not have to bring up the subject of the tooth fairy as well." The video appeared to be filmed in a cemetery.
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Iowa Democratic state Rep. JD Scholten, who represents parts of Sioux City, announced Monday that he is mounting a challenge to U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst—the Iowa Republican who is up for reelection in 2026 and who has come under scrutiny in recent days for comments she made downplaying constituent concerns over GOP efforts to cut Medicaid.
"After her comments over the weekend, I've been thinking about it for a while, but that's when I just said: This is unacceptable and you've gotta jump in," Scholten said, according to the Iowa outlet The Sioux City Journal. "At the end of the day, though, it's not about her, it's not about me, it's about the people of Iowa deserving better.
"I don't think there's anything worse that you could do than cut Medicaid, cut SNAP benefits for everyday Iowans just so you can give billionaires bigger tax breaks," he added, referring to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. "That is not Iowa in my mind."
Scholten has served in the state House since 2023. In 2024, Scholten won his contest by 6.9 points in a district that U.S. President Donald Trump won.
The Democrat has run twice for Iowa's 4th Congressional District. In 2020, he lost to Republican Rep. Randy Feenstra, and in 2018, he narrowly lost to then-longtime Republican Rep. Steve King. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) campaigned for Scholten during his 2018 bid and Rolling Stone once described Scholten as a "prairie populist."
Scholten, 45, is a pitcher for the baseball team the Sioux City Explorers.
If he prevailed over Ernst, he would take over a seat that she has held since 2015.
Ernst spoke at a town hall in Parkersburg, Iowa last week and was responding to a question about the impact of the U.S. House-passed GOP reconciliation bill, which includes cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, when an attendee shouted that "people will die" as a result of the cuts.
Then Ernst said, "Well, we all are going to die."
Ernst later posted a video on Instagram, in which she offered a mock apology.
"I made an incorrect assumption that everyone in the auditorium understood that, yes, we are all going to perish from this Earth," she said. "So I apologize, and I'm really, really glad that I did not have to bring up the subject of the tooth fairy as well." The video appeared to be filmed in a cemetery.
Related Articles Around the Web
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