The editorial board of an Iowa newspaper broke with tradition on Friday and endorsed a 6-foot-6 former minor league gunslinger instead of incumbent Rep. Steve King (R).
The Sioux City Journal said it previously endorsed King, an eight-term congressman, because the board thought he was an “honest, principled family man,” who would reflect his constituents in Iowa’s 4th district.
“In spite of the criticisms we also shared in those endorsements, we believed King’s strengths were enough to make him a better choice for this district than the Democratic challengers he faced in past elections,” the editorial board wrote.
But King’s challenger, Democrat J.D. Scholten, has strengths of his own, the group wrote.
“With a candidate of Scholten’s caliber on the ballot, we decided we wouldn’t overlook, again, the concerns we have shared about King in the past in making an endorsement in this race this year,” the newspaper wrote.
Scholten is a former professional pitcher who is giving Iowans a clear choice in November.
He has a chance to make history by becoming the first Democrat in eight terms to defeat King; a politician whose entire political career is deeply-rooted in white supremacy.
King has been criticized by the newspaper for his “inflammatory or questionable” comments in the past, the Journal wrote.
He faced backlash earlier this month after endorsed a Toronto mayoral candidate described as a white supremacist after appearing on a podcast produced for a neo-Nazi website.
“That wasn’t the first time King was tied, by his words or actions, to such intolerant ugliness,” the newspaper wrote.
Scholten has outfundraised King in the last two years, bringing in more than $1.4 million, but King had a 10-point lead in a September poll from Emerson College.
“If underdog Scholten springs an upset, we hope he remembers this remains largely a conservative, Republican district and we urge him to take accordingly moderate positions on issues of the day,” the editorial board wrote.
Scholten thanked the newspaper on Twitter Saturday for the endorsement, saying it was reflecting the district.
“His purpose in running is that he’s tired of people thinking that Iowa is all like the current congressman who represents that district and has for several terms now,” said his wife Deb. “The current congressman has a very negative, racist point of view. It’s just, ugh. We just don’t believe that politics should be as nasty as it is right now.”
The nonpartisan Cook Political Report ranks the district “Likely Republican.”