Iowa state Rep. J.D. Scholten is dropping out of a crowded Democratic primary to oust Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) and endorsing fellow state Rep. Josh Turek instead.
Scholten announced he would suspend his campaign at a rally with Turek in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on Monday, calling him the “best hope” Democrats have to defeat Ernst in the 2026 midterm elections. Scholten, also a former professional baseball player, tied the race to Republicans’ passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, as Democrats accuse them of taking away healthcare access from millions of Medicaid recipients.
“From the very beginning, I thought a prairie populist athlete from Western Iowa would be the best candidate to win in the General election,” Scholten said in a statement. “I still do, but instead of me, I have complete confidence that Josh Turek can take this on. That’s why I am suspending my campaign and endorsing him. As his friend, I’m proud to support him.”
Both Scholten and Turek are the only Democrats from western Iowa serving in the state House of Representatives. Scholten launched his campaign in June following Ernst’s controversial “we all are going to die” remark at a town hall on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Ernst made the comment in response to an attendee calling out that “people are going to die” because of the law’s Medicaid reforms.
Scholten had experience with national races, most recently losing to Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-IA) in the 2020 elections. He has been a state representative since 2023 and is the only Democrat to represent a Republican stronghold in the state legislature. Prior to his election, President Donald Trump carried the district by 27 points in 2020.
Turek launched his bid for the Senate last week. A Paralympian with two gold medals in wheelchair basketball, Turek has also been a state representative since 2023. He outpaced Democrats across Iowa and polled over 13 points ahead of former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024.
With Scholten out of the running, Turek faces three other competitors for the Democratic nomination: former Michelle Obama adviser Jackie Norris, Iraq War veteran Nathan Sage, and state Sen. Zach Wahls.
Ernst has not announced whether she will run for reelection. So far, she has two primary challengers: former Iowa GOP state Sen. Jim Carlin and Libertarian-turned-MAGA candidate Joshua Smith.
Smith announced his bid in April, pitching himself as an “America First” Republican. He ran for president last cycle on the Libertarian ticket but failed to get the party’s nomination. He unsuccessfully ran as a Libertarian to oust a Democratic state senator last year.
IOWA STATE REP. JOSH TUREK JOINS CROWDED DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY TO OUST JONI ERNST
Carlin, who announced his campaign in June, was a state senator from 2017 to 2023 and previously a state representative. He unsuccessfully launched a primary bid against Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) in 2022. Carlin has argued that Ernst is not reflecting the values of Iowa Republicans in Congress and did not follow through on her token “make ’em squeal” promises, per the Iowa Capital Dispatch.
The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates Ernst’s Senate seat as “likely Republican,” though that rating could shift if the incumbent decides she does not want to run for reelection. Ernst previously said she would plan to only serve two terms, a remark highlighted by Democrats leading up to the 2026 elections. However, she said in 2024 she was “very likely” to run for a third term.