J.D. Scholten
Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa made some callous and disgusting comments about her support for Medicaid cuts during a town hall on May 30, telling constituents that “we all are going to die.”
Now her comments have officially earned her a top Democratic challenger in the 2026 midterm election: JD Scholten, a current state representative for Iowa.
"After her comments over the weekend, I've been thinking about it for a while, but that's when I just said: This is unacceptable and you've gotta jump in," Scholten told The Gazette on Monday. "At the end of the day, though, it's not about her, it's not about me, it's about the people of Iowa deserving better. I don't think there's anything worse that you could do than cut Medicaid, cut SNAP benefits for everyday Iowans just so you can give billionaires bigger tax breaks. That is not Iowa in my mind."
Ernst has not apologized for her comments, but instead she’s doubled down, posting a video over the weekend to make fun of people who condemned her comments.
“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,” she said in the video.
But Scholten isn’t having her sarcasm, calling out her video as out of touch with what Iowans need.
“We’re taking them off [Medicaid], so billionaires can have a second yacht, so they can have a bigger tax break. We have a system that’s geared towards and favors billionaires and huge multinational corporations, and that’s not working for most of Iowa,” he told Politico.
Though Iowa has shifted right over the past decade—with Trump winning the state in every election since 2016—Ernst, who won in both 2014 and 2020, saw a margin of just 6 points in the 2020 election. That same year, Trump carried the state by 9 points.
And in a “blue wave” year like 2026 is shaping up to be—coupled with Ernst’s latest missteps—the race could be quite competitive.
Scholten overperformed the Republican lean in his district both in 2018 and 2020, according to Split Ticket data. And in 2024, he won his state House district by 6.9%, while Vice President Kamala Harris lost it by 1.6%.
It’s looking like we won’t want to sleep on Iowa in 2026.
Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.
