Democrat J.D. Scholten, a two-term Iowa state House representative and former candidate for Iowa’s first congressional district, announced Monday that he intends to withdraw from the Iowa Senate primary, ending his race only a few months after launching his campaign.

The withdrawal announcement follows a push from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, or DSCC, to recruit and clear the field for fellow state House member Josh Turek, whom Scholten plans to officially endorse at a rally Monday night.

Turek’s recent entrance and Scholten’s sudden withdrawal indicates the DSCC, an organ of the Democratic Party establishment, is taking a more active role in key primaries this year as the party mounts a longshot bid to retake the upper chamber.

Two sources close to Scholten’s campaign

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