Iowa Democratic state Rep. JD Scholten, who represents parts of Sioux City, announced Monday that he is mounting a challenge to U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst—the Iowa Republican who is up for reelection in 2026 and who has come under scrutiny in recent days for comments she made downplaying constituent concerns over GOP efforts to cut Medicaid.

"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 said , according to the Iowa outlet 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 I

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