Republicans in northwest Iowa are deciding Tuesday whether they’ve had enough of conservative lightning rod Steve King, after tolerating the congressman’s incendiary comments about immigrants and white supremacy for nearly two decades. ...
Feenstra has earned endorsements from GOP establishment groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He's also raked in donations from some of King’s House colleagues, including Rep. Steve Stivers (R-Ohio), who was the chair of the House GOP campaign arm when he ditched King in the closing weeks of the 2018 race.
Eight states and the District of Columbia will head to the polls (or mailbox) on Tuesday after the coronavirus pandemic delayed several states’ elections earlier this spring.
After he lost his committee assignments, Rep. Steve King’s (R) former allies have largely abandoned King in favor of state Sen. Randy Feenstra (R). House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy publicly contradicted King’s recent claim that GOP leadership would restore his committee status. (CNN) The NRCC “declined ... to say whether it would support King in November” should he win the primary “or opt for a second time to withhold support.” (AP) The Republican Main Street Partnership PAC, Defending Main Street and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (which has endorsed Feenstra) have all invested in ads against King, and the latest poll (May 16-18, 400 LVs, +/- 5%) from American Future Fund showed Feenstra leading King 41%-39%.
Firebrand U.S. congressman Steve King, who was called out by his colleagues last year for using hateful and intolerant rhetoric, is fighting for his political life in an Iowa primary where four Republicans are trying to take his seat. ...
Even the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which rarely endorses against Republican incumbents, has backed Feenstra, spending $200,000 in advertising on the race, and recently airing an ad to remind voters that King was kicked off the Agriculture Committee in the middle of a farming crisis. They’ve chosen to altogether avoid King’s past comments. “We like to stick to our lane,” Scott Reed, the chamber’s senior political strategist, told me.
King raised just $331,000 through May 13, compared with $926,000 for Feenstra. At least five Republican members of Congress donated to Feenstra, who also was endorsed by former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad and Iowa social-conservative leader Bob Vander Plaats. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and two Iowa-based super PACs aired anti-King ads.
Scott Reed, a Republican consultant who managed the 1996 presidential campaign of Bob Dole, said Mr. Biden’s situation was reminiscent of the challenge Mr. Dole faced after capturing the nomination in April 1996 and then having to fill time, and attract attention, for four months until the convention.
King faces a strong primary challenge from state Sen. Randy Feenstra, who argued that King has lost his ability to advocate for residents of the district by losing his committee placements. Feenstra's campaign emphasizes "Randy's Results" he can bring for the district and has drawn support from the National Right to Life and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Party leaders like Karl Rove and Rep. Steve Stivers (R-Ohio), the former chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), have backed Feenstra. A number of national organizations, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Right to Life Committee have pledged their support to elect the businessman.
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