J. D. Scholten

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.[5] 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.[6] He returned to Sioux City in 2004, and then played in Belgium in 2005 before returning to Sioux City.[7] In total, he played baseball in seven countries—the U.S., Canada, Belgium, Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Cuba.[8]

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.[4]

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.[9][10][11] He lost, 50%–47% in a closer showing than expected.[12] 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.[13][14]

In August 2019, Scholten announced that he would seek a rematch against King in the 2020 elections.[15][16] He was unopposed in the primary election and faced Randy Feenstra, who had defeated King in the Republican primary.[17] Scholten lost to Feenstra by a 25 point margin.[18]

On March 16, 2022, Scholten announced his candidacy for District 1 in the Iowa House of Representatives.[19] He was unopposed in the Democratic Party primary and the general election.[20][21]