King challenger J.D. Scholten calls for economic development, immigration reform

DES MOINES - When he came back from Seattle in 2016 to help run the family farm in western Iowa, J.D. Scholten was dismayed by his job search.

'For about a month I was trying to find a job, and the best job I could find was $16 an hour (with) no benefits,” Scholten said. 'And I was working in one of the best economies in the world out in Seattle ...

'That's how,” he said, 'I started thinking about running for office, ‘I'm not accepting that that's the best Sioux City can offer.' ”

Scholten, the Democratic candidate for Congress in western Iowa's 4th District, appeared Thursday at the federal candidate series hosted by the Greater Des Moines Partnership, a coalition of central Iowa chambers of commerce and business leaders.

Scholten, 38, is running against Republican U.S. Rep. Steve King, 69, who is seeking an eighth term in Congress. King is not scheduled to appear at the Partnership's candidate series.

Libertarian Charles Aldrich also is running in the 4th District.

Scholten said in order to boost western Iowa's economy, he advocates more government investment in technology infrastructure and education, more equitable business investment between population centers and rural areas, and immigration reform.

'There's just a need. We're way behind in some of the areas (in western Iowa), and it's extremely frustrating because how are we supposed to compete with other states and other countries,” Scholten said of the region's technology infrastructure. 'That is a way for us to allow our children and the next generation to stay in Iowa.”

Scholten cited figures that show a large portion of venture capital dollars are invested in concentrated areas across the country. He said rural areas need more investment.

A recent report from PwC and CB Insights suggests roughly $4 out of every $5 of business investment is spent in just four states.

'People in Sioux City, if we want to be entrepreneurial, there's not always the money,” Scholten said. 'That's what we need, is more balance as a nation.”

Scholten said immigration reform could help bolster western Iowa's workforce. He said he supports a modernization of work visa programs, a pathway to residency and citizenship, and border security.

'If we want to increase the economy in that district, those are things we're going to have to deal with,” Scholten said.

Scholten said he is just beginning his third 39-county tour of the district.

King, who has represented the conservative district since 2003, leads Scholten by 6 percentage points in a poll made available last weekend by Scholten's campaign.

The poll was conducted by Washington, D.C.-based Expedition Strategies. The poll surveyed 380 likely voters and found King with support from 43 percent of likely voters, with Scholten at 37 percent.

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