Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) is facing a new Democratic challenger in J.D. Scholten, after he claimed her recent comments at a town hall motivated him to jump in the race.
Ernst is up for reelection in 2026 and was only facing one Democratic challenger until her Parkersburg, Iowa, town hall. Now, Scholten, a state representative, has thrown his hat in the ring.
Scholten announced his campaign Sunday and said on Monday he, “wasn’t planning on doing this right now, but I just can’t sit on the sidelines.”
“Cutting vital services to give bigger tax breaks to billionaires isn’t just bad policy, it’s theft from people like you and me,” he said in a video posted to social media. “Maybe it sounds crazy to run against an insider with enough arrogance to laugh at her constituents, but I’ve ran harder races before.”
Ernst took questions in a town hall this week about what Democrats have characterized as cuts to Medicaid in legislation passed by the House, dubbed “the big, beautiful bill.” As the bill now lies before the Senate, she was answering questions about how she will vote on it. One audience member shouted at the senator, “People are going to die,” to which Ernst responded “Well, we all are going to die,” drawing boos at the moment and national news coverage since.
Ernst has only reiterated her comments since the event and filmed herself in what appeared to be a cemetery.
“I made an incorrect assumption that everyone in the auditorium understood that, yes, we are all going to perish from this earth. 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,” Ernst said. “For those that would like to see eternal and everlasting life, I encourage you to embrace my Lord and savior Jesus Christ.”
Scholten’s campaign website takes a swipe at Ernst, reading, “I grew up here and I’ll die here – but hopefully not because I can’t get health insurance. I believe we deserve more than a GoFundMe broken health care system, a JBS food system and a Dollar General economy.” Otherwise, the website is largely bare of proposed policies.
Scholten is a 45-year-old pitcher for the Sioux City Explorers. He’s run many national campaigns in Iowa before, coming within a few points of former Republican Rep. Steve King in 2018. In 2020, he ran for the seat again, but lost to Republican Rep. Randy Feenstra by more than 20 points. He’s been a state representative since 2023.
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Scholten serves a district that elected Trump in 2020 by 27 points. He is the only Democratic representative in an area that he categorized as “a Republican stronghold.”
Several Republican town halls have gone sideways as protesters have increasingly infiltrated the meetings to shout down lawmakers. As a result, National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Richard Hudson (R-NC) told members that they should cease holding in-person town halls to stop encouraging such actors. However, Ernst defended her Parkersburg event as she approaches her reelection bid, saying, “I always enjoy hearing from constituents and sharing my work to cut government red tape for you.