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Published
1 day ago
on
June 2, 2025
A Democratic state representative has announced his bid to unseat U.S. Senator Joni Ernst, following her widely criticized “we are all going to die” remarks and a sarcastic apology video filmed in a cemetery that drew broad condemnation of the Iowa Republican.
“I just felt, you know, I have to do this,” J.D. Scholten told POLITICO on Monday. “Now’s the time, and rather than being perfect with everything, I just feel like you got to do it.”
In 2020, Rep. Scholten attempted to win the seat held by the now-former U.S. Rep. Steve King, a once-powerful Republican, whose white nationalist remarks and associations ultimately led to bipartisan condemnation and his loss to a primary challenger.
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“I firmly believe that when you get out there to the people, prove you’re trustworthy, you’re gonna earn votes no matter who the folks are,” Scholten, who is also a professional baseball player, said. “I know how to talk to folks who don’t always vote Democrat.”
“After her comments over the weekend, I’ve been thinking about it for a while but that’s when I just said: This is unacceptable and you’ve gotta jump in,” Scholten also said, according to the Sioux City Journal. “At the end of the day though it’s not about her, it’s not about me, it’s about the people of Iowa deserving better. I don’t think there’s anything worse that you could do than cut Medicaid, cut SNAP benefits for everyday Iowans just so you can give billionaires bigger tax breaks. That is not Iowa in my mind.”
Senator Ernst at a Friday morning town hall responded to constituents angered over legislation that would gut Medicaid, SNAP, and Medicaid, kicking nearly 14 million people off health coverage, including Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
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“Well, we’re all going to die,” Ernst declared, after one attendee had shouted out that “people will die” as a result of the House bill’s cuts to Medicaid and other programs. “For heaven’s sake,” she added moments later.
Ernst on Saturday released a video (below) in which she mocked her constituents and then encouraged them to embrace my lord and savior Jesus Christ. The video appeared to be recorded in a cemetery.
“I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely apologize for a statement that I made yesterday at my town hall,” Ernst began. “I made an incorrect assumption that everyone in the auditorium understood that, yes, we are all going to perish from this earth. So, I apologize, and I’m really, really glad that I did not have to bring up the subject of the Tooth Fairy as well.”
“But for those that would like to see eternal and everlasting life, I encourage you to embrace my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,” she said.
Watch Ernst’s “apology” video below or at this link.
Against all odds, Joni Ernst has made it worse pic.twitter.com/aElIudNmZG
— Keith Edwards (@keithedwards) May 31, 2025
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