AMES, Iowa â On Tuesday, J.D. Scholten, a Democratic candidate in Iowaâs 4th Congressional District, held a meet and greet at the Mucky Duck Pub in Ames, Iowa, to celebrate filing his nomination petition signatures with the Iowa Secretary of Stateâs office.
Scholten reminded those in attendance that his 2018 campaign against U.S. Rep. Steve King moved the needle 24 points from the results of the 2016 election, and he received 25,000 more votes than there are registered Democrats in the district.
He said his campaign was and is unwilling to write anyone off.
âDoesnât matter if youâre Democrat, independent, Republican, weâre going out there to try to earn your vote. And weâll continue to do that. Weâre looking on building this movement and in taking what we did last time and just expanding on it,â Scholten said.
He also said that Iowaâs 4th Congressional District is unique.
âAnd weâre blessed because, in this district, itâs probably the only district in America where the incumbent has a primary, and the challenger doesnât,â Scholten added.
Iowaâs 4th Congressional District has more registered Republicans (+63,000) and independents (+49,000) than registered Democrats. A Democratic candidate canât gain any traction in that district without garnering the support of independents and Republicans.
Caffeinated Thoughts asked Scholten how he would reach out to Republicans who may be disillusioned with King and President Trump but are wary of the direction of the Democratic Party.
âWell, I think what one of the things we talked about a lot is his focus on Iowaâs Fourth Districtâs needs. And thereâs a lot of things. I mean, you look at agriculture when it comes to agriculture in us being the second most agricultural producing district in America, thereâs a lot of things I agree with Senator Grassley on. He talks all the time about antitrust and enforcing our antitrust laws, and thatâs one of my biggest issues. And thereâs thereâs a lot of commonality. My neighbor caucused for Trump and is a very strong conservative. And we realize we actually agree more on stuff than we donât agree. And so a lot of national narrative is we canât find commonality,â Scholten answered.
He pointed out that he doesnât expect Republicans will agree with him on everything.
âWe donât agree upon everything right, but at the end of the day, thereâs so much more that we can agree on, then we canât,â Scholten added.
Caffeinated Thoughts asked him if elected where he differed with Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
âOne of the reasons I decided to run is because, you know, thereâs this thing where like, people are like, Oh, youâre a moderate Democrat, or youâre a progressive Democrat. And I feel like the rural Democrat is being missed,â Scholten answered.
He said former U.S. Senator Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, is his hero, and voices like his are whatâs missing in Congress, especially at a time when Democrats are becoming more urban. He said the district needs someone who will listen to their concerns, which is the type of candidate he is trying to be.
He said he would take on a Democratic president if they pursued policies detrimental to Iowans.
âYou look at, like the Renewable Fuel Standard being abused, if thatâs a Democrat at the top thatâs doing that. Damn right. Iâm attacking that,â Scholten explained.
He said one of his biggest frustrations with King is his lack of leadership after being in Congress for 18 years.
âWe got 55,000 farmers, according to USDA, in the Fourth District, and we got our backs against the wall. Thereâs so many things we can do for this district,â Scholten added.