Three days after Sen. Joni Ernst responded to a constituent’s concerns about potential Medicaid cuts by saying, “We’re all going to die,” the Iowa Republican drew a high-profile Democratic opponent. State Rep.

State Representative J.D. Scholten, a Democrat from Sioux City, said that he was not originally planning to launch a new campaign on Monday. But after he heard U.S. Senator Joni Ernst’s responses to a person who expressed fears that people will die because of Republican budget cuts to Medicaid and food assistance,