J.D. Scholten, Who Nearly Defeated White Nationalist Steve King, Is Running Again

Last fall, Scholten lost to King by only 3% of the vote, the closest margin for any of the Iowa congressman’s challengers in his nine terms in Congress.
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J.D. Scholten, the Democrat who nearly defeated Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) in 2018, announced Monday that he will seek to challenge the white nationalist congressman once again.

Scholten, a former baseball player, launched his run Monday with a video narrated by “Field of Dreams” star Kevin Costner.

Last fall, Scholten lost to King by only 3% of the vote, the closest margin for any of the Iowa congressman’s challengers during his nine terms in Congress.

After a long history of promoting racist and white nationalist rhetoric, as documented by HuffPost’s Chris Mathias last year, King has finally started to face some consequences. In January, after a New York Times interview in which he condoned white supremacy, GOP leaders removed him from congressional committees.

Scholten is the first Democrat so far to announce a run in the race against King, who represents Iowa’s fourth congressional district. Several Republicans have announced primary challenges against King.

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