Scholten wants to take King head-on for U.S. House District 4

By Kelly Terpstra, ktperstra@charlescitypress.com

J.D. Scholten is a towering figure when he stands to spread his message to the state of Iowa.

The 6-6 former Sioux City East standout athlete and professional baseball player is not short on ways that he thinks Iowa can and will be better.

On Monday at Aromas coffee shop in Charles City, Scholten did a lot of sitting as he pulled up many a chair next to potential voters to talk about his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for Iowa’s Congressional seat in District 4.

That seat up for grabs in the House of Representatives is currently occupied by Republican Steve King — who has held that position since 2013. King was Iowa’s congressman in District 5 for 10 years and has served for eight terms all told.

Scholten is running against Leann Jacobsen, a councilwoman from Spencer, and John Paschen, a pediatrician from Ames, for the nomination to challenge King. The primary will be held Tuesday, June 5.

District 4 in Iowa comprises 39 counties in northwest Iowa. Floyd and Chickasaw counties are the farthest eastern counties in the district.

“It’s events like today, where I get out to the people — when I talk about my issues — I look them in the eye,” said Scholten. “He (Steve King) hasn’t done that in years.”

Scholten, 38, played collegiate baseball at Nebraska, where he helped the Cornhuskers to the College World Series. He talked about how he stands out from other candidates.

“I’m a little different. The average person in Congress is 58 years old with a net worth of a million dollars. I’m 20 years younger and just shy of a million dollars short,” said Scholten.

One of Scholten’s main concerns is the state of health care in Iowa, he said. He would like to implement a buy-in to Medicare for people over 55 “to allow the folks who want to retire to do so.”

He said he also wants to be able to negotiate drug prices, which have skyrocketed according to Scholten.

He also talked about one of Charles City’s nursing homes that recently closed down.

“If we cut Medicaid, we cut funding in these nursing homes,” said Scholten.

Other areas of concern for Iowa that Scholten thinks need to be addressed are agricultural and environmental issues, as well as trying to rid politics of big money. He said there is an average of 22 lobbyists per congressman right now.  

Scholten is running on a grassroots movement. He stated that according to the Cook Political Report, his campaign has moved from a non-risk factor to a Level 4 risk.

He has out-raised King in the last two quarters, with just this past week hitting half a million dollars from 6,000 individual contributors. He wants to win the nomination and take King — who he calls “divisive” —  head on.

“A regular campaign can’t beat Steve King,” said Scholten. “But a movement can.”

Scholten is also a paralegal in intellectual property and innovation. He feels his baseball background can only help him.

“Having a baseball background has got me into a lot of doors that have traditionally not been there for Democrats,” said Scholten. “That’s one thing I take pride in.”

King has taken heat for some of the things he has said that have sparked outrage both locally and nationally. Scholten said King hasn’t addressed key issues and in turn has skirted them with bold and inaccurate statements.

“I just trying to remind folks what a representative is,” said Scholten. “We have to be disciplined in our message. When he says things like ‘diversity’s not our strength,’ it’s because he doesn’t have an answer to health care. When he says ‘we can’t restore civilization with other people’s babies,’ it’s because he doesn’t have an answer to the farmers that haven’t made a profit in four years.”

Scholten has plenty of touring around the state left in the coming weeks. That would be courtesy of his trusty Winnebago, named “Sioux City Sue,” after a popular song from the 40s that later became a movie. While attending elementary school in Sioux City, kids learned to sing the catchy tune — a song Scholten says can easily get stuck in your head.

“This tour with the Winnebago right now is just a test run for the general,” said Scholten. “I plan to be non-stop for the general and that’s what it’s going to take.”