J. D. Scholten

J. D. Scholten (born March 4, 1980) is an American paralegal, politician and retired professional baseball player from the State of Iowa. He was the Democratic nominee for Iowa's 4th congressional district in the 2018 and 2020 elections.

J. D. Scholten
Scholten at the 2019 Iowa Democratic Wing Ding
Personal details
Born (1980-03-04) March 4, 1980
Ames, Iowa, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationMorningside College
University of Nebraska, Lincoln (BA)
WebsiteCampaign website

Early life

Scholten was born in Ames, Iowa, in 1980.[1] His family moved to Sioux City, Iowa, when he was four years old. He attended East High School in Sioux City, and played for their baseball and basketball teams.[2] Scholten attended Morningside College, where he played college baseball as a pitcher and first baseman for three years, and then transferred to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln to pitch for the Nebraska Cornhuskers as a senior. In 2002, he led the Cornhuskers in earned run average.[3]

Career

Professional baseball

After graduating from college, Scholten played professional baseball, making his professional debut for the Saskatoon Legends of the Canadian Baseball League, an independent baseball league, in 2003. When the league folded during the season, he signed with the Sioux City Explorers of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, formerly of the Northern League.[4] He returned to Sioux City in 2004, and then played in Belgium in 2005 before returning to Sioux City.[5] In total, he played baseball in seven countries—the U.S., Canada, Belgium, Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Cuba.[6]

After retiring from baseball, Scholten became a paralegal. He worked for firms in Minneapolis and Seattle that focused on intellectual property, and returned to Sioux City after the 2016 United States elections.[3]

Politics
Scholten at a Pete Buttigieg rally in November 2019

In the 2018 elections, Scholten ran against Republican incumbent Steve King for the United States House of Representatives in Iowa's 4th congressional district.[7][8][9] He lost, 50%-47% in a closer showing than expected.[10] In January 2019, Scholten announced the formation of a nonprofit group to help low-income Iowans gain more information about the earned income tax credit.[11][12]

In August 2019, Scholten announced that he would seek a rematch against King in the 2020 elections.[13][14] He was unopposed in the primary and faced Randy Feenstra, who had defeated King in the Republican primary.[15] Scholten lost to Feenstra and conceded on election night.[16]

Personal life

Scholten's father, Jim, was Morningside College's baseball coach.[17][18]

References
  1. Rebecca Zweig (October 22, 2018). "J.D. Scholten Bets the Farm on Beating Steve King". The Nation. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  2. Block, Tim (February 17, 1998). "East's Scholten 'passing' muster". Sioux City Journal. Retrieved May 29, 2020 – via Newspapers.com. (subscription required)
  3. Hayworth, Bret. "Former Sioux City Explorer Scholten pitches his fitness for Iowa's 4th District seat". Sioux City Journal. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  4. "Explorers rough up Canaries, 14-8". Sioux City Journal. July 28, 2003. p. B1. Retrieved May 29, 2020 – via Newspapers.com. (subscription required)
  5. "2007 Sioux City Explorers". Sioux City Journal. May 10, 2007. p. B7. Retrieved May 29, 2020. (subscription required)
  6. Judd, Donald. "Iowa native JD Scholten announces second bid to unseat GOP Rep. Steve King". CNN. CNN. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  7. Andy Kroll. "Who Is J.D. Scholten, Steve King's Iowa Challenger? – Rolling Stone". Rollingstone.com. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  8. "Scholten wins Democratic bid to face U.S. Rep. Steve King in Iowa's 4th District". Des Moines Register. June 6, 2018. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  9. "Iowa election 2018 results: Republican Steve King overcomes strong challenge". Des Moines Register. November 5, 2018. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  10. "Steve King outlasts J.D. Scholten; lashes out at attempts by critics to 'Kavanaugh-ize' him | Government and Politics". Sioux City Journal. November 7, 2018. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  11. "J.D. Scholten. former Steve King foe, launches nonprofit, leaves door open for 2020 run". Des Moines Register. January 23, 2019. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  12. "J.D. Scholten calls for Iowa farmers to attend rally in Storm Lake | Government and Politics". Sioux City Journal. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  13. "JD Scholten launches second bid to unseat Steve King". The Hill. August 5, 2019. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  14. Judd, Donald (August 5, 2019). "'We built something, and we earned the votes': Iowa native JD Scholten announces second bid to unseat Rep. Steve King - CNNPolitics". Cnn.com. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  15. https://www.nwestiowa.com/news/scholten-says-hes-ready-for-feenstra/article_7b1bc3c4-aa95-11ea-a91d-e757170a6a6a.html
  16. https://theintercept.com/2020/11/03/jd-scholten-iowa-congress/
  17. "Sioux City native Scholten returns to Explorers". Sioux City Journal. April 4, 2007. p. B1. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  18. Poe, Barry (April 28, 2011). "College Baseball: Scholten will retire as Morningside coach". Sioux City Journal. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
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