Greene Bean Coffee in Jefferson was packed with people Tuesday afternoon to see a familiar challenger step back into the political ring for Iowa’s 4th Congressional District.

Democrat J.D. Scholten talked about the election results from 2018 when he lost to Republican incumbent Steve King by three-percentage points. He said he got 25,000 more votes than there were registered Democrats in District 4. He received 54-percent of the votes in Woodbury County, King’s home county which he has never lost as a U.S. Representative and he outperformed the top of the ticket in the 2018 election by 17-percent.

Scholten talked about why it took him until August to announce his bid to again be the Democratic nominee for the District 4. 

“It took some time after the election (of 2018) to figure out what’s next. Being a working class candidate, the system is not really meant for people like myself to run for office. It’s geared toward people with wealth and a lot of that stuff. So you’ve got to get your legs underneath you a little bit before you jump into something as big as a federal race. But here we are.”

Scholten added he has unfinished business from last year’s election as one of the reasons why he wanted to run again. His campaign sloan is “Fix, Fight and Secure.” Scholten explained it as fixing the country’s healthcare system, fighting for an economy that works for everyone and securing democracy. He also pledges, just like in his campaign last year, to not take corporation pac money. 

Scholten is looking to unseat nine-term Republican Steve King, who is also facing three challengers within the Republican Party for the June primary election.