According to the Scholten campaign, an April edition of the Cook Political Report moved the 4th District Congressional race between Republican incumbent, Steve King, and Democratic candidate, J.D. Sholten, into the Democrats favor. They say that King’s seat was “at risk” due to the Scholten campaign’s strong fundraising. A July prediction from Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball stated King was out of the “Safe” rating for the first time in years. And the Roll Call’s Inside Elections edition last week moved the race out of the “Solid Republican” bracket. Publisher, Nathan Gonzales says, “We added seven Republican seats to our list of competitive races…The most interesting addition might by Congressman Steve King. President Donald Trump won Iowa’s 4th District with 61 percent, but King had just $118,000 in the bank on June 30 and it’s not clear what kind of campaign he will run.” Gonzales went on to say Scholten is going to run a credible race. Scholten responded, saying he is excited to see national ranking organizations taking note of what is happening in Iowa, and that it mirrors what he has been seeing for months. “People are tired of the divisiveness and ineffectiveness of Steve King,” Scholten says, “and [they] are ready for a Representative that will work with and for ALL of the people of the district. It’s become increasingly clear that this race is going to go down to the wire.” However, the Aug. 24 Cook Political Report has King squarely back in the “Likely Republican” category, meaning that, at this time, they do not consider the seat competitive, but there is the potential for it to become engaged.
