Hunter
06/03/25
Democratic State Representative JD Scholten has announced he’s running to unseat Joni Ernst in the US Senate.
Scholten said he hadn’t planned on running but was incensed by Senator Ernst’s callousness when she told attendees at a town hall event last week who were complaining about Medicaid cuts “we are all going to die” and doubled down with a sarcastic apology video shot in a cemetery.
In a video announcing his run, Scholten said, “Maybe it sounds crazy to run against an insider with enough arrogance to laugh at her constituents, but I’ve ran hard races before,” referencing his nearly-successful run to unseat Steve King in the 4th US Representative district in 2018.
The 45-year-old Scholten also announced over the weekend that he’s signed an agreement to play semi-pro baseball with the Sioux City Explorers.
He has been in the state legislature since 2023 and is the second Democrat to announce a run for Ernst’s seat. Nathan Sage, executive director of the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce and military veteran, announced his campaign in April.