Democratic candidate J.D. Scholten focuses on tariffs, agriculture at Soapbox speech

Robin Opsahl | The Des Moines Register

Show Caption Hide Caption Political Soapbox: J.D. Scholten J.D. Scholten, Democratic congressional candidate for the Fourth District, spoke to supporters at the Register's Political Soapbox.

J.D. Scholten said he was never that good at baseball — but he is hoping for a chance to prove he’ll be a better representative than a pitcher.

The former professional baseball playergained attention when he launched his campaign challenging Republican U.S. Rep. Steve King for the 4th District seat.

Scholten said Saturday he usually talks mainly about health care and the economy at his campaign speeches, but he wanted to focus on one specific issue at his speech on the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox: agriculture.

In November 2016, his grandmother made him promise to take care of their family farm, he said, and Scholten said he hopes to do that for the entire district by taking on agriculture policy.

“A lot of what I'm doing here is that promise — taking care of our farm," Scholten said.

The 4th District is "bearing the brunt" of tariffs on the United States, Scholten said. . The federal aid for farmers proposed to make up for money lost is not a good enough solution for the problems caused by the tariffs, he said.

"It's like you’re getting punched in the face," he said. "And the same guy that punches you in the face just gives you an ice cube.”

Scholten also criticized the Monsanto-Bayer merger, which went into effect Friday, saying farmers will lose jobs and market choice.

"Consolidation hurts farmers on both ends," he said. "We need to jump ahead of the curve on this — on consolidation."

The crowd of more than50 listeners at the State Fair cheered and clapped often for Scholten, but his race is a tough one. The 4th District is the most heavily Republican district in the state, and King has held the seat since the District’s formation in 2013, after Iowa lost a seat in the house following the 2010 census.

He said he hopes that traveling around the district and promising to get big money and special interests out of politics will help him woo voters to his campaign.

"I'm new to this, but I'm not as naive to think that I can shake 70,000 Republicans and all of a sudden have them vote for me," he said. "But I'm going to get a good chunk."

Scholten said his opponent should feel the pressure of a competitive race.

"He's going to have to look people in the eye and actually campaign this time, and he's struggling to do that," Scholten said. "He feels the threat, and everything I've seen, it's coming down to the wire."

More: View the stories, photos and video from all the candidates at DesMoinesRegister.com/Soapbox.