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My parents met in Mason City. My father was raised on a farm outside of Larchwood in Lyon County. My mother was raised on a farm outside of Joice in Worth County. I was born in Ames before moving to Sioux City. Religion has always been very personal to me. My dad is Catholic and my mom is Lutheran, so I joke that the Reformation is alive and well in our family. I attended Morningside College and University of Nebraska-Lincoln where I played college baseball. In 2002, I led the University of Nebraska in E.R.A.’s and we made it to the College World Series. After graduating, I played professionally for my hometown Sioux City Explorers and in seven countries— including the U.S., Canada, Belgium, Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Cuba. In 2018, after continually seeing Representative Steve King embarrass Iowa with his controversial remarks, I knew someone had to take him on despite the fact he regularly won re-election by over 20 points. Our grassroots campaign (where I spent more nights sleeping in Walmart parking lots than my own bed while on the road in “Sioux City Sue,” our campaign Winnebago RV) captured the imagination of many who had written off rural Iowa. I’m thankful that because of our effort, Steve King is no longer in Congress. It's been an honor to serve the residents of my home town for two terms in the State Legislature. As one of only two Democratic state legislators remaining west of the Des Moines metro area, I often say I’m a blueberry in a bowl of tomato soup. I serve as the ranking member on the Agriculture Committee. On July 6, 2024, <a href="https://www.si.com/mlb/iowa-state-lawmaker-jd-scholten-emergency-start" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">at the age of 44,</a> I was called in as a last-minute replacement to pitch for the Sioux City Explorers. Despite not having pitched since 2007 professionally, I won the game and became a part of the rotation. I’m proud to be pitching again this season for the Explorers. Baseball has taught me invaluable lessons in perseverance and bringing people together from all backgrounds. I’m the only state legislator to play professional baseball while actively serving. Thanks to this, and because I'm the oldest person in league history to earn a pitching win, my 2024 jersey is in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. I hope I have the privilege to serve on your behalf in the U.S. Senate, where I will leave no community behind.

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I am suspending my campaign. I know this may come as a surprise but I made this decision because I think it’s in the best interest of Iowans and myself.&nbsp; From the very beginning, I thought a prairie populist athlete from Western Iowa would be the best candidate to win in the General election. 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. This is a decision founded on friendship. As the only two Democrats west of Des Moines in the state legislature, Josh and I have bonded over our shared love of sports, our childhoods growing up in parts of the state often neglected by Democrats, and our dreams for the future of Democratic politics in Iowa that actually delivers for the working class and young people in our state. In April, I talked to Josh about running for Senate at a Jack White concert. A lot transpired - I jumped in - and he decided to run too. Ultimately, I decided he could carry the issues I deeply care about - universal health care, breaking up monopolies that are hurting farmers and consumers, getting special interests out of politics. As his friend, I’m proud to support him.After Republicans passed the Billionaire Bailout Bill (aka One, Big Beautiful Bill), it became clear that Medicaid cuts would be crucial to the 2026 election. There are so many issues facing Iowans today but we can’t sit by while healthcare is ripped from millions of Americans. And there is no better Democrat in Iowa to talk about healthcare issues than my friend: State Rep. Josh Turek. I’m extremely grateful for all of the support from our volunteers, our early contributors, my staff, and everyone who believed in our message . What all of us were able to do in just a few months helped shape this race, including our <a style="color: var(--color-text-accent-primary); text-decoration-color: var(--color-text-accent-primary)" href="https://www.scholtenforiowa.com/issues/issue-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">🌽“Fair Game for Farmers and Us” Plan that I hope candidates across the country will look to as a model as the farm crisis deepens in our rural communities.</a> I want to stress this is a decision of my own accord. I’m ending my campaign because I believe it’s the right thing. I want Joni Ernst to be held accountable for her failed leadership. I want Democrats to win and I know we will if we elect Josh Turek.I will keep fighting for everything I believe in and hope to see many of you soon.Still Standing Tall for All - J.D.

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<h2></h2><img src="https://run.imgix.net/70d20c94-48b2-404b-bf1e-420ba4a282a1/e4f1f947-861c-4f30-92c2-d0bfa2e7f2a0/e4f1f947-861c-4f30-92c2-d0bfa2e7f2a0.webp?ixlib=js-3.8.0&amp;bri=0&amp;con=0&amp;sat=0&amp;high=0&amp;shad=0&amp;usm=0&amp;rect=0%2C0%2C1456%2C509&amp;w=1500" alt="" caption="" align="left" alignwidth="50" tiltdirection="left" variant="base"><h2><a href="https://screwed.substack.com/p/the-one-big-beautiful-bill-is-b-a" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">read my substack &gt;</a></h2>A weekly newsletter and video series about the "Second Gilded Age" and ways economic concentration is putting politics and profits over working people.

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<h3>iowans deserve better</h3>than Senator Joni “We All Are Going to Die” Ernst. We need a Senator committed to breaking up the corporate monopolies and standing up to the billionaires who are leaving working families behind.&nbsp;<h4><a href="https://www.scholtenforiowa.com/issues/issue-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Read my first policy plan: A Fair game for Farmers and US</a> and be sure to check out my Substack.</h4><h5> </h5>

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Iowa Capitol Dispatch

J.D. Scholten launches run after U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst’s statement on Medicaid

State Rep. J.D. Scholten On His Run For Senate In Iowa - Explains How A Dem Will Win

J.D. Scholten announces U.S. Senate campaign, cites recent Ernst comments as catalyst

Iowa Public Radio

Sen. Ernst's town hall controversy spawns 2026 opponent

MSNBC: Deadline: White House

You're hearing people call her Joni Hearse: Ernst challenger on backlash to Medicaid comment

Democrat challenges Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst days after ‘We’re all going to die’ remark

Iowa Democratic Rep. J.D. Scholten announces run against Ernst for U.S. Senate

KAAL TV (ABC 6 News)

Iowa state Rep. announces run for Senate after Senator Joni Ernst’s comments at a town hall

Brian Tyler Cohen

BREAKING: Red state suddenly IN PLAY with huge update

J.D. Scholten says he’s running for the U.S. Senate seat held by Joni Ernst

Iowa Democratic state Rep. J.D. Scholten launches run for U.S. Senate

KCAU-TV Sioux City

Iowa State Rep. J.D. Scholten Announces Campaign Bid for U.S. Senate

Northwest Iowa politician J.D. Scholten talks about why he decided to run for U.S. Senate

I got into politics because my Grandma Fern told me on her deathbed that I had to take care of our family farm. My ancestors were among the first to help turn the fields in Worth County six generations ago, and I come from the second most agriculture producing congressional district in the nation. Iowa’s agricultural heritage is a proud part of our history but is now at dire risk as farmers confront record corporate consolidation, low commodity prices and the Trump tariffs. This broken monopoly food system illustrates what’s happening across every sector of the American economy; a handful of corporations control the entire supply chain driving farmers off the land and raising costs for consumers at the grocery register.Iowans know this challenge first hand. Our economy is now ranked dead last in the nation as our Main Streets hollow out. Our current farm policy is based on helping multinational corporations and investor landlords. Instead, we need to revive our rural communities by helping farmers regain independence and provide a healthier, more secure food system for consumers. To do that, we must restore competition and conservation in the Farm Bill. Standing up for farmers in Iowa would represent a monumental win against corporate consolidation and ensure lower food prices and more secure supply chains for all Americans. This is why I’m proud to introduce my first policy piece in the 2026 campaign. - J.D. Scholten <h3>1. Bust up the Agriculture, Railroad and Food Monopolies</h3>In 1888, Iowa had the proud distinction of passing the first ever antitrust law as farmers confronted monopolies in the railroads, bank lenders and grain elevators. Now, in 2025, farmers face even more consolidated markets, and even worse, we’ve allowed our food supply to be owned by China and Brazil. Farmers today face record input costs and depressed commodity prices as a handful of corporations dominate every part of the food supply chain thanks to both parties being asleep at the wheel.&nbsp; <ul><li>Farmers used to get 40% of the food dollar. Now it’s at a record low 14%</li><li>Iowa has lost 90% of its hog farms in the last 40 years</li><li>In 1992, 97% of farmers were independent. Now, 70% of all hogs are sold under contract to buyers like Tyson and Smithfield (now owned by a Chinese corporation)</li><li>Corn and soybean farmers are facing their highest ever input costs </li></ul>Due to this loss of independent farmers, we’ve also lost hundreds of livestock yards, seed mills, processing plants, and grocery stores. My family owned a seed store in Larchwood in Lyon County that no longer exists.&nbsp; <h4>Here are some of the outrageous examples of concentration farmers and consumers face both on the input and output side: </h4><ul><li>Seeds: Thousands of seed companies have became the “big 6” which is now the “big 3” thanks to the approval of three big mergers in recent years: ChemChina - Syngenta, Bayer - Monsanto and Dow - DuPont (Corteva). This was after they had already eliminated previous competitors, Pioneer HI-Bred (founded by Iowa’s own Henry Wallace) and DeKalb.&nbsp;Monsanto and Corteva now control 77% of the corn seed market, 66% of the soybean market.</li><li>Fertilizer: &nbsp;In 1980, there were 46 fertilizer firms. In 2017, Potash Corp and Agrium merged to create Nutrien Ltd. Now only Nutrien and Mosaic control the entire market for Potash fertilizer, and 4 companies represent 75% of nitrogen based fertilizer: CF Industries, Koch, Nutrien and Yara-USA. Now fertilizer prices are up 200% in recent years.</li><li>Grain Buyers: Just 4 companies control 90% of the grain trade: Cargill, Bunge, Archer Daniels Midland and Dreyfus.</li><li>Meat: 4 companies control 85% of the meat market, two being foreign owned now by China and Brazil. 4 companies control 70% of the pork market with one in four hogs now owned by Smithfield. Where there were once 10,000 slaughterhouses, there are now about one-tenth. 50 plants produce 98 percent of the supply, endangering our entire food system if one plant goes off line as happened during COVID with Tyson’s Waterloo plant. The CEO of WH Group in China made $291 million after buying Smithfield.&nbsp;</li><li>Dairy: Just 2 firms, Dean Foods and Dairy Farmers of America control 60% of the milk supply. In 2020, DFA was allowed to acquire Dean Food’s processing plants.&nbsp;</li><li>Railroads: Farmers rely on railroads to move grain, fertilizer, livestock, equipment as do so many small and medium-sized businesses. The railroad robber barons are back as there are currently only six Class 1 railroads left. In 1980, prior to the Reagan deregulation Administration, there were 40 Class 1 railroads. Now, Union Pacific is in talks to merge with Norfolk Southern. The Surface Transportation Board needs to oppose more consolidation in this critical sector.</li><li>Right to Repair: 4 companies control the majority of tractors, combines, planters and precision ag equipment. John Deere alone controls 53% of the large tractor market and 60% of combine sales. Major machinery companies have restricted access to who can fix their diagnostic software, forcing farmers to pay for certified technicians that may be located far away from them.Small town and independent repair shops have also closed as a result. Farmers need to be able to manage and repair their own equipment.&nbsp;</li></ul><h4>We need to pass a Farm bill that addresses these issues and as a U.S. Senate candidate, I’m advocating for the following: </h4><ul><li>Call for Department of Justice and FTC investigations into mergers that should never have been approved. Back in the 1980s, we successfully broke up AT&amp;T’s monopoly. We can do the same with our seed, fertilizer and meatpacking companies.</li><li>Put a moratorium on all future ag mergers and oppose grocery mergers like the Albertsons-Krogers that would reduce consumer choices. Start enforcing the Robinson Patman Act (which has not been enforced since the 1980s)&nbsp; to stop the loss of independent grocery stores. This would ban price discrimination that allows big box stores like Wal Mart and Dollar General to undercut local grocery stores.</li><li>Update and enforce the Packers and Stockyards Act (PSA) which was originally passed over 100 years ago to break up consolidation in meatpacking. The Trump Administration got rid of the agency that used to be in charge of the PSA. A new and more robust office of Antitrust is needed within USDA.</li><li>Consider a Strategic Fertilizer Reserve in the same way we have a Strategic Petroleum Reserve for national security purposes. China and India have wisely implemented this already. We also need to continue investments in reviving domestic fertiizer production.</li><li>Stop foreign takeovers that jeopardize our food security. Make sure food security concerns are part of any attempted foreign agriculture mergers considered by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. If this had been the case, there is no way Syngenta and Smithfield would have been allowed to be purchased by companies aligned with the Chinese Communist party. Nor should JBS, a notoriously corrupt Brazilian company, have been allowed to take over Swift and other U.S. meatpacking companies.</li></ul><h3>2. Reform Commodity Payments so It’s Not Just the Top .01% Benefiting </h3><ul><li>The recently passed “One Big Beautiful Bill” expanded a subsidy program that primarily showers the richest farmers with government money. Currently the top 1% of farm program recipients receive 25% of all payments, and the top 10% receive 70%. Farm subsidy limits were raised from $125K to $155K and new loopholes granted for farm entities to claim even more money. This impacts less than one-tenth of 1% farmers and will fuel more consolidation in land ownership while failing to assist most family farmers. </li></ul><h3>3. Keep Farmland in Iowa Hands! Ban Foreign Ownership and Reduce Wall Street Buying up Farmland </h3><ul><li>China and other foreign countries have been buying up farmland in the U.S. Bill Gates is now one of the largest owners of farmland and hedge funds are competing with local farmers. We need to encourage local and in-state ownership who prioritize our local communities, not absentee landlords who only care about making a profit for Wall Street.&nbsp;</li></ul><h3>4. Label Made in USA Food with Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling </h3><ul><li>Currently meatpacking companies don’t want you to know that the hamburger or steak you are eating might not come from American ranchers. If we know where our T-shirts are made, we need to know where our food comes from.&nbsp; </li></ul><h3>5. Invest in Conservation, not “Get Big or Get Out” Policies </h3><ul><li>Planting fencerow to fencerow has proven to be a detriment to farmer’s profits as well as harming Iowa’s famous soil quality. We now have a water crisis that has impacted Iowans both in rural and urban areas with polluted water wells and the need for costly treatments for municipal water systems, possibly contributing to why Iowa ranks #2 in the nation now in cancer rates. Currently there are years-long waiting lists for conservation programs that the Trump Administration is attempting to cut.</li><li>We need to increase investments in programs like the Conservation Security Program, Environmental Quality Incentives Program, Conservation Reserve Program that can help with cover crops and buffer strips that have been proven to improve water quality. Crop insurance should be tied to stewardship incentives that protect our land and water and also be expanded to specialty crops.</li></ul><h3>6. Allow Easier Entry into Trucking&nbsp; </h3><ul><li>During planting and harvest, there are often not enough commercially licensed drivers to haul grain, livestock and farm equipment. We should reform federal age restrictions and help farm kids get their commercial license. </li></ul><h3>7. Decentralize the Supply Chain: Invest In Local and Regional Food Systems </h3><ul><li>The U.S. currently has the largest ever trade deficit in food - $58 billion in 2024. We are becoming dangerously reliant on imports to feed ourselves, which is a huge national security concern. It’s a heavy irony that while Iowa helps feed the world, 85% of all our food is imported into the state. 60% of apple juice is now made in China. We need more local food and less foreign imports.</li><li>We need to rebuild local processing plants and infrastructure by allowing ranchers and farmers to slaughter livestock locally instead of having to drive hours to USDA-approved corporate slaughterhouses. Consumers want to buy fresh, local, safe meat.&nbsp;</li><li>The Trump Administration eliminated the Regional Food Business Centers aimed at strengthening the local food supply chain. Funding for Local Food Purchasing and Local Food for Schools were also cancelled, at a time when Iowans are experiencing increased hunger. Iowa farmers lost a tremendous amount of guaranteed income to feed children and supply food banks.&nbsp;</li></ul><h3>8. Reform Checkoff System that Taxes Farmers Unfairly </h3><ul><li>Farmers are currently taxed to support a “checkoff” system that is designed to support promotion of U.S. food, but has now been thoroughly corrupted by USDA to fund corporate lobbying groups that serve the interests of multinational corporations like JBS and Smithfield and not farmers.&nbsp; </li></ul><h3>9.&nbsp;Invest in Homegrown Iowa Energy </h3><ul><li>Iowa has proudly developed homegrown biofuels that have reduced our dependence on foreign oil. Wind energy has benefitted farmers as well. The Trump Administration’s attack on renewable energy threatens this progress. Hemp could also be a key crop for renewable fuels if combined with extraction for fiber, food, or CBD production. </li></ul><h3>10. Stop Overregulation and Eminent Domain Abuses&nbsp; </h3><ul><li>Eminent Domain should never be used to take private property away to enrich corporate interests such as the Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline.&nbsp;</li><li>USDA should not engage in pointless overregulations such as the mandatory electronic animal ID that is designed for meatpackers profits while taxing farmers. Nor should they unfairly target farmers like South Dakota’s Charles and Heather Maude with prison time for overzealous land disputes. </li></ul><h3>11. Immigration Reform that Treats Workers Fairly </h3><ul><li>We know Iowa’s agricultural industry cannot succeed without hardworking immigrants, but we also cannot have chaos at the border. Visas and other programs must be reformed to allow for legal pathways for those wanting to come to Iowa and contribute to our communities.</li></ul>

Our current farm policy is based on helping multinational corporations and investor landlords. Instead, we need to revive our rural communities by helping farmers regain independence and provide a healthier, more secure food system for consumers.

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J.D. Scholten is a 6th generation Iowan and Proud Prarie populist from Sioux City, IA

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