J.D. Scholten

James Dennis Scholten 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. 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 (ERA). Scholten graduated from Nebraska in December 2003.

Professional baseball career 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. He returned to Sioux City in 2004, and then played in Belgium in 2005 before returning to Sioux City. In total, he played baseball in seven countries—the U.S., Canada, Belgium, Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Cuba.

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 in 2017.

On July 6, 2024, Scholten played over six innings for the Sioux City Explorers of the American Association of Professional Baseball as starting pitcher after receiving a last-minute phone call from the team's manager. The team won 11–2 against the Milwaukee Milkmen with 100 pitches thrown by Scholten. He signed with the Explorers the following day. In 11 starts for Sioux City, Scholten compiled a 6–2 record and 5.40 ERA with 29 strikeouts over 60 innings of work.

On April 26, 2025, Scholten re-signed with the Explorers. He went 1–1 in four games started, becoming the oldest player in the league's history to win a game and the only elected official to concurrently play professional baseball. The National Baseball Hall of Fame requested and received a game-worn jersey from Scholten. After the 2025 season, Scholten announced that he was retiring from professional baseball.

Political career 2018 U.S. House campaign

In the 2018 elections, Scholten ran against controversial Republican incumbent Steve King for the United States House of Representatives in . He lost, 50% to 47% in a closer showing than expected. 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.

2020 U.S. House campaign In August 2019, Scholten announced that he would seek a rematch against King in the 2020 elections. He was unopposed in the primary election and faced state Senator Randy Feenstra, who had defeated King in the Republican primary. Scholten lost to Feenstra by a 25-point margin.

Iowa House of Representatives On March 16, 2022, Scholten announced his candidacy for District 1 in the Iowa House of Representatives. He was unopposed in the Democratic Party primary and the general election.

In 2023, while serving in the Iowa House of Representatives, Scholten signed with the Twins Oosterhout in the Honkbal Hoofdklasse. He continued to work as a legislator remotely.

Scholten ran for reelection in the 2024 elections, and won his second term.

In 2026, Scholten announced that he would be retiring from the Iowa House at the end of the 2026 Legislative Session and will not seek re-election.

Committee assignments Scholten serves on the following committees in the General Assembly:

Agriculture (ranking member) Economic Growth and Technology Natural Resources Transportation

2026 U.S. Senate campaign On June 2, 2025, Scholten announced that he would run in the 2026 United States Senate election in Iowa, challenging incumbent Senator Joni Ernst.

On August 18, 2025, Scholten announced that he was dropping out of the race and endorsed fellow State Representative Josh Turek.

Political views Scholten has described himself as a "Lina Khan Democrat". Scholten has been described as a progressive, and has been characterized as a member of the populist wing of the Democratic Party.

Personal life Scholten's father, Jim, was Morningside University's baseball coach.