# J.D. Scholten

J.D. Scholten is a Democratic member of the Iowa House for district 1.

- Party: Democrat
- Seat: Iowa House, district 1
- Serving since: 2023-01-01
- Current term: IA 2025–26 session
- Open States ID: ocd-person/4483a8f0-d946-45b2-9a2e-00dbb4816816

Source: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/4483a8f0-d946-45b2-9a2e-00dbb4816816 (America’s Political Pulse, Polarization Research Lab), data through 2026-10-27. Data under CC BY 4.0. Cite as: Westwood, Sean J., and Yphtach Lelkes. 2024. America's Political Pulse [data set].

## Headline

The policy areas Scholten talks about and legislates on agree at 0.33 on a 0–1 scale, in the bottom tenth of State House Democrats.

## What Scholten says (IA 2025–26 session)

1,491 classified statements: 1,491 posts on X. Each rate is the share of statements with the label, against the State House Democrats average; rank 1 is the highest rate.

| Label | Scholten | State House Democrats average | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal attacks | 2.6% | 2.5% | 223 of 764 |
| Policy criticism | 10.8% | 10.4% | 288 of 764 |
| Policy discussion | 24.8% | 39.2% | 592 of 764 |
| Bipartisanship | 1.1% | 2.9% | 501 of 764 |
| Credit claiming | 2.0% | 14.4% | 642 of 764 |
| Extreme labels | 0.2% | 1.0% | 308 of 764 |

Most discussed policy areas: Agriculture and Food 43% (State House Democrats 4.6%); Government Operations and Politics 17% (State House Democrats 15%); Economics and Public Finance 14% (State House Democrats 11%); Commerce 13% (State House Democrats 3.1%); Foreign Trade and International Finance 11% (State House Democrats 0.9%).

## Ideology (CSIP)

CSIP score −0.89 (standard error 0.02), from 1,867 donors and 529 roll calls. Negative is left of 0, positive right of it, on one scale for every official. 17% of State House Democrats score lower.

## Votes (IA 2025–26 session)

822 roll calls. Attendance 91.2% (Iowa House 91.8%). Party unity 95.6% (96.0%). 28 votes against the party majority.

Key votes:

- 2026-10-02 · voted nay · Shall the bill pass? · HF 2801 A bill for an act modifying the major economic growth attraction program, and including effective date provisions. · pass · https://openstates.org/ia/bills/2025-2026/HF2801/
- 2026-05-02 · voted not voting · Shall amendment H-8456 be adopted? · SF 639 A bill for an act creating a specialty business court, and including effective date provisions. · fail · https://openstates.org/ia/bills/2025-2026/SF639/
- 2026-05-02 · voted not voting · Shall amendment H-8451, to amendment H-8414, be adopted? · HF 2770 A bill for an act relating to and making appropriations to the justice system, providing fees, and including applicability provisions. · pass · https://openstates.org/ia/bills/2025-2026/HF2770/
- 2026-05-02 · voted not voting · Shall the bill pass? · SF 2480 A bill for an act relating to the taxation and regulation of alternative nicotine products and vapor products, making appropriations, and including… · pass · https://openstates.org/ia/bills/2025-2026/SF2480/
- 2026-05-02 · voted not voting · Shall the bill pass? · SF 2465 A bill for an act relating to agriculture, including by providing for the powers and duties of the department of agriculture and land stewardship,… · pass · https://openstates.org/ia/bills/2025-2026/SF2465/
- 2026-05-02 · voted not voting · Shall amendment H-8416, to amendment H-8414, be adopted? · HF 2770 A bill for an act relating to and making appropriations to the justice system, providing fees, and including applicability provisions. · fail · https://openstates.org/ia/bills/2025-2026/HF2770/
- 2026-05-02 · voted not voting · Shall amendment H-8417, to amendment H-8414, be adopted? · HF 2770 A bill for an act relating to and making appropriations to the justice system, providing fees, and including applicability provisions. · fail · https://openstates.org/ia/bills/2025-2026/HF2770/
- 2026-05-02 · voted not voting · Shall the bill pass? · HF 2794 A bill for an act establishing a sexual assault forensic examination center grant program and trust fund. · pass · https://openstates.org/ia/bills/2025-2026/HF2794/
- 2026-05-02 · voted not voting · Shall the bill pass? · HF 2797 A bill for an act relating to the peace officer, public safety, and emergency personnel bill of rights, and providing fees. · pass · https://openstates.org/ia/bills/2025-2026/HF2797/
- 2026-05-02 · voted not voting · Shall the bill pass? · HF 2617 A bill for an act relating to abandoned vehicles. · pass · https://openstates.org/ia/bills/2025-2026/HF2617/

## Legislation (IA 2025–26 session)

Sponsored 41 bills: 41 reached committee, 2 passed one chamber, 0 passed both, 0 became law. Cosponsored 0. 4.9% of sponsored bills got out of committee (Iowa House 13.4%; rank 81 of 98).

Recent sponsored bills:

- HF 2740: A bill for an act relating to the confidentiality of certain information filed with the secretary of state by foreign persons holding agricultural land. (in committee, 2026-03-17) https://openstates.org/ia/bills/2025-2026/HF2740/
- HF 2734: A bill for an act providing for the processing and marketing of meat and poultry products, including by prohibiting vertical integration, providing for a… (in committee, 2026-03-09) https://openstates.org/ia/bills/2025-2026/HF2734/
- HF 2733: A bill for an act relating to water quality, including a water quality monitoring network and the water quality initiative, an agricultural best management… (in committee, 2026-03-09) https://openstates.org/ia/bills/2025-2026/HF2733/
- HF 2737: A bill for an act relating to the education savings account program, including modifying eligibility provisions, providing a future repeal date, and including… (in committee, 2026-03-09) https://openstates.org/ia/bills/2025-2026/HF2737/
- HF 2612: A bill for an act requiring boards of directors of school districts, the authorities in charge of accredited nonpublic schools, and the governing boards of… (in committee, 2026-02-19) https://openstates.org/ia/bills/2025-2026/HF2612/
- HF 2632: A bill for an act relating to bond election requirements applicable to school districts. (in committee, 2026-02-19) https://openstates.org/ia/bills/2025-2026/HF2632/
- HF 2613: A bill for an act relating to reporting requirements for accredited nonpublic schools and the department of education concerning education savings account… (in committee, 2026-02-19) https://openstates.org/ia/bills/2025-2026/HF2613/
- HF 2364: A bill for an act relating to the enactment of supplemental state aid and the suspension and forfeiture of legislative pay. (in committee, 2026-02-10) https://openstates.org/ia/bills/2025-2026/HF2364/
- HJR 2007: A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the State of Iowa relating to the right of the people to a clean environment. (in committee, 2026-02-06) https://openstates.org/ia/bills/2025-2026/HJR2007/
- HF 2264: A bill for an act relating to the minimum per hour wage provided to home health aides under the Medicaid program, and making an appropriation. (in committee, 2026-02-03) https://openstates.org/ia/bills/2025-2026/HF2264/

## Campaign money (2026 cycle)

Itemized receipts $7,508 (State House Democrats median $40.4K). 56% of itemized individual money came from in state. Aggregates only; no individual donors.

## Recent statements

Newest first. Posts on X are listed by date and link only.

- 2026-10-26 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/jdscholten/status/2114747448237404445
- 2026-10-26 · Post on X · https://x.com/jdscholten/status/2114755478186037628
- 2026-10-26 · Post on X · https://x.com/jdscholten/status/2114781766191841719
- 2026-10-26 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/jdscholten/status/2114785195156992359
- 2026-10-26 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/jdscholten/status/2114820436295098670
- 2026-10-25 · Post on X · https://x.com/jdscholten/status/2114202824133517533
- 2026-10-25 · Post on X · https://x.com/jdscholten/status/2114445876840010036
- 2026-10-24 · Post on X · https://x.com/jdscholten/status/2113835102929363320
- 2026-10-24 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/jdscholten/status/2114015917302776118
- 2026-10-24 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/jdscholten/status/2114027406725922943

## Links

- Official site: https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislators/legislator?ga=91&personID=33963
- Campaign site: https://www.scholtenforiowa.com/
- X: https://x.com/jdscholten
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Scholten4Iowa/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jdscholten/?hl=en
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Scholten4Iowa
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/j-d-scholten-468a293b/

Full profile, with every chart and the methods: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/4483a8f0-d946-45b2-9a2e-00dbb4816816