Scholten drops out of US Senate race, endorses fellow Democrat state representative Turek’s bid for seat

COUNCIL BLUFFS — Democrat J. D. Scholten of Sioux City is suspending his campaign for the United States Senate and today is endorsing state representative Josh Turek’s bid for the seat.

The Turek campaign announced Monday morning that Scholten would join Turek at an event in Council Bluffs later in the day to make an official announcement.

Scholten in a written statement says, “There are so many issues facing Iowans today, but we can’t sit idly by while healthcare is ripped from millions of Americans. Understanding this, I believe that there’s no better Democrat in Iowa to talk about healthcare issues than my friend, state representative Josh Turek.”

With Scholten dropping out of the race, there are now three other candidates facing Turek in a Democratic primary with Mason City native Nathan Sage, who is the director of the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce, as well as state senator Zach Walls and Des Moines School Board chair Jackie Norris.

Republican incumbent Joni Ernst has not announced whether she will seek re-election.