WEST DES MOINES — Rep. Steve King is facing a handful of Republican challengers in the June 2020 primary, but he doesn’t seem too worried about who Iowans in the 4th Congressional District will choose.
When Local 5’s political team asked King what he makes of a crowded Republican field, he said he’s likely made this job look easy.
“But I say that I must have made this mistake I made it must have made this job look too easy. Otherwise, why would they want it? And it’s, you know, it’s awfully hard to get that done,” said King. “It doesn’t look very logical from my standpoint. They have not made a case as to why they should be candidates, let alone a congressman….”
King said his challengers likely got into the race because they were trying to seize a political opportunity. In January 2019, King was quoted by the New York Times for making white supremacist remarks. Many of his fellow Republican colleagues condemned the remarks, and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy stripped King of his committee assignments.
“…Iowans understood who was right and who was wrong on this, and that’s a New York Times misquoted me and there’s been a concerted effort by the leftist media, especially in this country…” said King. “…I represent the people of the fourth district of Iowa, and I’m very privileged to do so. They are the best people in the world. And so let them all decide who’s going to be their congressman. We can’t let outside money or outside influence make that decision for them. I think that Iowans will stand up and take a good clear look at this, cast their ballot on June 2, and we’ll see how it comes out.”
King is seeking a 10th term in Congress. The other Republican candidates include Steve Reeder, State Sen. Randy Feenstra, Jeremy Taylor and Bret Richards.